Celtic View

Argentinian Rabbi pays tribute to his footballing hero 40 years after seeing him play in Buenos Aires

Gregor Kyle

11 July 2007

Yet standing on the sloping stands of El Cilindro, one 14-year-old Argentinian boywas transfixed as Celtic’s little flame-haired winger picked himself up off theground, took possession of the ball andonce again ran at his man-markers with ‘unbelievable bravery’.

That teenager may now have grown up and long since moved away from his native Buenos Aires to Peru, where he is now the Chief Rabbi of the country’s small but proud and vibrant Jewish community.Yet hardly a day has gone by where Rabbi Guillermo Bronstein has not thought about Jimmy Johnstone – ‘the Greatest Ever Celt’ -who he believes is one of the greatest football players who ever lived.“For me, there were 21 players out on the pitch that day and Jimmy Johnstone,” Rabbi Bronstein explained to the View.

“He was so dazzling. His dribbling, hisspeed, his clarity of mind and ability to seethe game as a whole was so different to anyother player.“People who love opera say that whenPavarotti sings it is a ‘sunshine day’ and when you saw Jimmy Johnstone play it wasalso a sunshine day because he was socompletely different to anyone.”

It was a close friend’s wedding that finally brought Rabbi Bronstein to Scotland in the summer of 2007 and gave him the opportunity to pay his respects to JimmyJohnstone, the player and the man. In fact, when he agreed to conduct the wedding ceremony in St Andrew’s and was asked by his Scottish hosts what famous sights or landmarks he would like to see, his immediate answer was to pay a visit to the graveside of the Celtic legend.

After saying a prayer and leaving a rose on Jinky’s grave, alongside the many other tributes that are lovingly maintained by supporters, the Rabbi, his family and his friends then made the short journey to Celtic Park. There he had a chance to look at Jinky’s complete collection of medals in the Celtic boardroom before meeting Lisbon Lion John Clark, who also played in those games against Racing Club. And Rabbi Bronstein was presented with a Celtic shirt which, coincidentally, was emblazoned with the former defender’s own No.6.

As the two men talked, the memories sooncame flooding back and it was interesting to discover just how important that infamous game was to the people of Argentina.“It was the first time that an Argentinian club had won a World Championship so it was very exciting for us,” explained Rabbi Bronstein.

“The previous year the Argentinian SouthAmerican champions, Independiente, who are Racing Club’s neighbours, had been beaten byInter Milan in the final. “So we were following the three games very closely that year and we watched the first one in Glasgow on television and then we went to the return leg in Buenos Aries.

“But I never was a Racing Club supporter,”he continued with a smile. “My father was, but I supported Ferrocarril Oeste.“ In 1966/67 it had been a very bad campaign for our club and this was the year that Racing Club became the champions, so when I saw a team coming over here to play Racing Club wearing my team’s colours, I said that I would support them.

“They were very physical games and I think that Racing Club realised that Celtic had ‘high ability’ players, players who could cause them problems, such as Johnstone and Bobby Lennox.“The two central defenders that day were Alfio Basile, who is the current Argentina coach and was also in charge of the national team at the World Cup in America. The other was Roberto Perfumo, who is now a journalist and usually played like Beckenbauer. He played the game by the book, would take the ball out of defence andwas an elegant player.

“But they both changed from their normalgames that afternoon. In Buenos Aires all they wanted to do was stop Johnstone and they managed that with no good manners.”After a violent first leg in Glasgow, in which Celtic were the worthy1-0 winners, Racing Club had redoubled their efforts on home territory. But time and again, the little man picked himself and got on with the game, much to the amazement of the supporters.

“He was intelligent and although he was short and thin he was so brave andhad the ability and confidence to play the way he wanted,”continued Guillermo. “You couldn’t help but watch him.

“I was in second year at high school at the time and I still remember that the next day in school all my mates were talking about that ‘little red-haired forward – he’s terrifying how he plays!’ “Every one of them was saying that they would have to take care of him in the final match in Uruguay - that they would have to put three men in front of him to stop him getting to the ball!

“Even today people still remember JimmyJohnstone. I live next to a journalist from Uruguay who was at the third and finalgame between Celtic and Racing inMontevideo and he has always said that he saw one of the great players when he sawJimmy Johnstone.”

That last meeting between the two clubs on ‘neutral’ Uruguayan territory saw Racing clinch the World Club Championship thanks to a solitary Cardenas goal. For Celtic, it was an episode that they were happy to put behind them and they returned home to continue their dominance of the Scottish scene and make fresh inroads in Europe. Meanwhile their Argentinian opponents went into a slump which has only seen them win one solitary title league in the 40 years since.

“For me to be here to visit to Celtic’s stadium and pay tribute to Jimmy Johnstone is a goal that I have always wanted to achieve,” said Rabbi Bronstein with another glance out across the pitch at Celtic Park.“I never expected to be here in Scotlandand for me, in my entire life, this is only my fourth time in Europe.

“Seeing Jimmy Johnstone play was unforgettable. He looked so good, so mischievous, because when he had the ball he did what he wanted and that was what made him so amazing.“For me, personally, Jimmy Johnstone is in that first line of great players. On that topline, you have only around four or five players, Pele, Maradona, Di Stefano,Beckenbauer – but Jimmy Johnstone is certainly up there with them.

“It is just a shame that he never played in a World Cup, because had he played in that competition, he would be celebrated all around the world. “But he was not only a great player,but a great human being,” added Rabbi Bronstein. “To see someone like that,who played the game so beautifully, but lived a beautiful life, is really amazing.”

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