THERE IS ONLY ONE JIMMY JOHNSTONE

Yesterday, Monday March 13, Jimmy Johnstone passed away. He was probably the best ever player to grace the hooped Celtic strip. This is a short excerpt of chapter 3 of “Boh”, the book I am writing. It is obviously dedicated to this little big player and man.
LONG LIVE JIMMY JOHNSTONE.

One of my childhood’s most important moments has been the Champions Cup semi-finals match between Celtic and Inter Milan (at that time it was not yet called Champions Business League).
I don't exactly remember what year it was (for this is enough to check this competition’s yearbooks), the game was in Glasgow, it was pouring rain and in the Celtic team, a team that was wearing a strange shirt with white and green stripes, a small but incredibly gifted player was playing, he was having red hair and the number 7 on his shorts.
Celtic lost the penalty shoot-out, but that night was the night when my love affair with Celtic started. The most lasting love story of my life, a love affair without betrayals, really and literally through good and bad times and that will last until the day I will be lying in my coffin, dressed in that famous green and white shirt, now unfortunately polluted by a sponsor’s logo, in the name of “God money” which rules everything on earth.
For me "carrot head" or "rusty head" as I was called by my friends, it was a revenge, I had finally found my role model in this small but really exciting and wonderful right winger who was wearing that strange but surely unique shirt.
From that moment my destiny was fulfilled, from that day have become a Bhoy!
Even today, more than ever, the first thing that I check when I connect to internet (wherever I may be) are Celtic’s news, new possible players, injuries, team plans or just "gossip": Celtic may well be the only constant thing of my life.
All of this thanks to Jinky? Or it is a Karmic matter? Or just Celtic is more than a simple football team, is a reason of life?
Was it also the first skirmish of my strangeness? At that time everyone I knew was supporting Inter Milan, A.C. Milan or Juventus, instead I was supporting a team nobody where I was living even knew about..

Of those years I also remember another very painful setback, the one at St. Siro Stadium. It was the Champions Cup final, against the Feyenoord. Still black and white TV images that that brought that child the first suffering caused for the love of his team.
I didn’t even know it was an end of a wonderful era, the end of the "Lisbon Lions!"
And strangely enough I have no memories of this wonderful team’s greatest triumph, if just being so happy because… my brother was an Inter fan!

And even today when I have some free time I put on my computer and start to play with some football manager game, I always choose to be the Celtic manager. Sometimes I would like to change, to try another team, but it does really not make any sense to me. Celtic or nothing!
I find a great satisfaction to create my own Celtic team, a team that wins championships and Cups. For a middle aged man it may not be really such a great achievement but at least it helps to keep alive the kid that still is living in me.

Thanks Jimmy, thanks for making me fall in love with our Celtic.
Long live Jinky, forever. Hail Hail.

BAN NAUDOM, North Eastern Thailand, March 14th, 2549

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