Scottish football clubs in international competitions

Scottish football clubs have participated in European association football competitions since 1955, when Hibernian entered the inaugural European Cup.

Scottish sides have won four UEFA competitions between them, with Celtic becoming the first side from the British Isles to be European champions by winning the 1966–67 European Cup. Rangers (in 1972) and Aberdeen (in 1983) both won the Cup Winners' Cup before its abolition, with Aberdeen going on to become the only Scottish side to win the UEFA Super Cup in the same year as their Cup Winners' Cup triumph.

No Scottish club has reached a European final since the 2008 UEFA Cup Final, when Rangers lost 2–0 to Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg.

A number of non-top flight sides have represented Scotland in European competition, including Gretna and Queen of the South. The most recent side from outside the top level of Scottish football to play in European football was Hibernian in the 2016–17 Europa League.

Scottish clubs have never faced off in European tournaments at any stage; the closest this came to occurring was in the 1965–66 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup when Hearts lost a playoff to Real Zaragoza with Dunfermline already drawn to meet the winners in the next round,[1] and in the same competition two years later when, knowing Dundee would be the next opponent, Rangers were eliminated by eventual winners Leeds United.[2]

Qualification

The 2020–21 criteria for Scottish clubs to qualify for European competition are:[3]

Competition Who qualifies
UEFA Champions League third qualifying round 1st in Scottish Premiership
UEFA Champions League second qualifying round 2nd in Scottish Premiership
UEFA Europa League play off round Scottish Cup winners
UEFA Europa Conference League second qualifying round 3rd in Scottish Premiership
UEFA Europa Conference League second qualifying round 4th in Scottish Premiership

If the Scottish Cup winners have already qualified for European football, then 3rd and 4th in the Scottish Premiership move up to take their place and 5th in the Scottish Premiership also qualifies.

UEFA Coefficient
Year Position Coefficient[4]
2000 15th 20.500
2001 16th 22.625
2002 12th 26.125
2003 9th 30.375
2004 11th 32.125
2005 10th 31.750
2006 11th 30.375
2007 10th 30.500
2008 10th 33.375
2009 13th 27.875
2010 16th 25.791
2011 15th 25.141
2012 18th 21.141
2013 24th 15.191
2014 23rd 16.566
2015 23rd 17.725
2016 25th 17.300
2017 23rd 18.925
2018 26th 18.625
2019 20th 22.125
2020 14th 27.825
2021 13th 28.875*

* Season in progress

Finals

Scottish clubs have competed in all three major European finals – twice in the European Cup, three times in the UEFA Cup and four times in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.[5]

European Cup
Year Club Opponent Result
1966–67 Celtic Inter Milan 2–1 (N)[6]
1969–70 Celtic Feyenoord 1–2 (N; aet)[7]

UEFA Cup
Year Club Opponent 1st 2nd Agg
1986–87 Dundee United IFK Göteborg 0–1 (A) 1–1 (H) 1–2[8]
2002–03 Celtic Porto 2–3 (N; aet)[9]
2007–08 Rangers Zenit Saint Petersburg 0–2 (N)[10]

Cup Winners' Cup
Year Club Opponent 1st 2nd Agg
1960–61 Rangers Fiorentina 0–2 (H) 1–2 (A) 1–4[11]
1966–67 Rangers Bayern Munich 0–1 (N; aet)[12]
1971–72 Rangers Dynamo Moscow 3–2 (N)[13]
1982–83 Aberdeen Real Madrid 2–1 (N; aet)[14]

Finals at Hampden

Six European club finals not involving native clubs have taken place in Scotland; all were held at Hampden Park, and all were won by either a Spanish or a German club.[15] The first, the 1960 European Cup Final, drew the highest ever attendance (127,621) to a UEFA competition final and is also the highest scoring, with Real Madrid running up a 7–3 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.[16]

Scottish teams were eliminated at the semi-final stage in 1960 (Rangers) and 1966 (Celtic), and on both occasions the Scottish club involved went on to reach the final of a different European competition the following year. Hampden's two finals in the 2000s were also each followed by a Scottish team reaching a European final the next season after even longer waits: a hiatus of 26 years between Scotland hosting such events ended with the 2002 Champions League Final, before Celtic played in the 2003 UEFA Cup Final 33 years after their previous showpiece appearance,[17] while the 2007 UEFA Cup final in Glasgow immediately preceded Rangers' appearance in the same tournament in 2008, having waited 36 years since their last final.[18]

European finals held in Scotland
Competition Winners Score Runners-up Attendance
1959–60 European Cup Real Madrid 7–3 Eintracht Frankfurt 127,621
1961–62 European Cup Winners' Cup Atlético Madrid 1–1[lower-alpha 1] Fiorentina 29,066
1965–66 European Cup Winners' Cup Borussia Dortmund 2–1[lower-alpha 2] Liverpool 41,657
1975–76 European Cup Bayern Munich 1–0 Saint-Étienne 54,864
2001–02 UEFA Champions League Real Madrid 2–1 Bayer Leverkusen 50,499
2006–07 UEFA Cup Sevilla 2–2[lower-alpha 3] Espanyol 47,602
  1. AET, Atlético Madrid won 3–0 in a replay at Neckarstadion, Stuttgart
  2. AET, score was 1–1 after 90 minutes.
  3. AET, score was 1–1 after 90 minutes, Sevilla won 3–1 on penalties

Full European record

European Cup/Champions League
European Cup era
Clubs'56'57'58'59'60'61'62'63'64'65'66'67'68'69'70'71'72'73'74'75'76'77'78'79'80'81'82'83'84'85'86'87'88'89'90'91'92Total
Celtic•••••••••••WR1QFRUQFSFR2SFR1••R2•QF•R1R2•••R2•R2•••15
Rangers•R1R1•SF•QF•QRQF••••••••••R2R1•QF••••••••QF•R1R2R113
Aberdeen•••••••••••••••••••••••••R1•••R1QF••••••3
Heart of Midlothian•••PR•PR•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••2
Dundee•••••••SF•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••1
Dundee United••••••••••••••••••••••••••••SF••••••••1
HibernianSF••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••1
Kilmarnock••••••••••R1••••••••••••••••••••••••••1
Champions League era
Clubs'93'94'95'96'97'98'99'00'01'02'03'04'05'06'07'08'09'10'11'12'13'14'15'16'17'18'19'20'21Total
Celtic••••••Q2••GSQ3GSGSQ2R16R16GSPOQ3•R16GSPOPOGSGSQ3Q3Q220
RangersGSR1QRGSGSQ2•GSGSQ3•GSQ3R16•GSQ2GSGSQ3•••••••••17
Heart of Midlothian••••••••••••••Q3••••••••••••••1
Motherwell••••••••••••••••••••Q3••••••••1
  •   Club was transferred into the UEFA Cup or UEFA Europa League.
  •   Club progressed into the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League.

UEFA Cup/Europa League
UEFA Cup era
Club'72'73'74'75'76'77'78'79'80'81'82'83'84'85'86'87'88'89'90'91'92'93'94'95'96'97'98'99'00'01'02'03'04'05'06'07'08'09Total
AberdeenR2R1R2•••R1R1R1•R3•••••R2R1R1•R1••QR•R2•••QR•R1••••R3•16
Dundee United••••R2•R1R1R2R2QFQF•R3R3RUR2•R2R2••R1•••Q2•••••••Q2•••16
Celtic•••••R1••••••R3•••R1•••R2R2R2••R2R1R2R2R2R3RUQF•••••14
Rangers•••••••••••R2•R2R1R3•R2••••••••R1R3R3R3R4R1•GS•R4RU•14
Heart of Midlothian•••••••••••••R1•R1•QF•R2•R2R1••••••R1••R2GS•R1••10
Hibernian••R2R2R1R2•R2••••••••••R2••R1•••••••R1••••R1•••9
DundeeR3•R1R1••••••••••••••••••••••••••••R1•••••4
Kilmarnock•••••••••••••••••••••••••••Q2R1•R1•••••••3
Motherwell•••••••••••••••••••••••R1PR••••••••••••R13
St Mirren•••••••••R2••R1•R2•••••••••••••••••••••••3
Dunfermline•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••Q2••Q2•2
St JohnstoneR3•••••••••••••••••••••••••••R1•••••••••2
Gretna•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••Q2••1
Livingston•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••R1••••••1
Partick Thistle•R1••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••1
Queen of the South•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••Q21
Raith Rovers••••••••••••••••••••••••R2•••••••••••••1
Europa League era
Club'10'11'12'13'14'15'16'17'18'19'20'21Total
CelticGSPOGS••R32GS•R32R32R32GS9
Aberdeen•••••Q3Q3Q3Q3Q2Q3Q37
Rangers•R16PO•••••Q1GSR166
MotherwellQ3PO•POQ3Q2•••••Q36
St Johnstone•••Q2Q3Q3Q1•Q1•••5
Heart of MidlothianPO•POPO•••Q2••••4
Hibernian•Q3••Q2••Q2•Q3••4
Dundee United•POQ2Q3••••••••3
FalkirkQ2•••••••••••1
Inverness Caledonian Thistle••••••Q2•••••1
Kilmarnock••••••••••Q1•1
  •   Club was transferred into the UEFA Europa League knockout phase after finishing third in their UEFA Champions League group.
  •   Club progressed from the group stage into the knockout phase of the UEFA Europa League.

UEFA Intertoto Cup

Between 1995 and 2008, UEFA ran the Intertoto Cup, a summer competition for sides that had not qualified for the other European competitions with the sides progressing the furthest qualifying for the UEFA Cup (it had operated independently since the 1960s, but no clubs from Scotland – among other nations – took part in that era). Scottish clubs were only involved five times, with Hibernian being the closest side to qualify for the UEFA Cup through this tournament, losing on away goals in the 2006 edition. The competition was abolished in 2008, with sides who would have entered the competition entering the UEFA Europa League instead.

Club'95'96'97'98'99'00'01'02'03'04'05'06'07'08Total
Hibernian•••••••••R2•R3•R23
Dundee••••••R1•••••••1
Partick ThistleGS•••••••••••••1

Cup Winners' Cup

A single Scottish club was entered into the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup throughout its history – usually the winners of the Scottish Cup. In years in which the Scottish Cup holders had already qualified for the European Cup or Champions League, the other finalist would be entered in their place. For the 1983–84 edition, two Scottish sides were entered – Rangers as Scottish Cup runners-up and Aberdeen as the holders of the competition (and the Scottish Cup). The Cup Winners' Cup was merged with the UEFA Cup in 1999.

Club'61'62'63'64'65'66'67'68'69'70'71'72'73'74'75'76'77'78'79'80'81'82'83'84'85'86'87'88'89'90'91'92'93'94'95'96'97'98'99Total
RangersRU•R1•••RU••R2•W•R2•••R1•R2•R1•R2•••••••••••••••10
Aberdeen•••••••R2••R1•••••••R2•••WSF••R1•••R2••R2•••••8
Celtic•••SF•SF•••••••••QF••••R1•••R2R1•••R1•••••R2•••8
Dundee United••••••••••••••R2•••••••••••••R2•••••R1••••3
Heart of Midlothian••••••••••••••••R2•••••••••••••••••••QR•R13
Dunfermline Athletic•QF••••••SF••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••2
Airdrieonians••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••R1••••••1
Dundee••••R2••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••1
Hibernian••••••••••••QF••••••••••••••••••••••••••1
Kilmarnock•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••R1•1
Motherwell•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••R1•••••••1
St Mirren•••••••••••••••••••••••••••R2•••••••••••1

Super Cup

Only two Scottish clubs have competed in the UEFA Super Cup since its creation, with Rangers and Aberdeen both competing as winners of the Cup Winners' Cup.

Year Club Opponent 1st 2nd Agg.
1972 Rangers Ajax1–3 (H)2–3 (A)3–6[lower-alpha 1]
1983 Aberdeen Hamburg0–0 (A)2–0 (H)2–0
  1. The 1972 final is not recognised by UEFA as an official title[19]

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, set up to promote international trade fairs, was played between 1955 and 1971, although no Scottish teams entered until the 1960–61 edition which was the first to be completed over a single season. The competition was initially only open to teams from cities that hosted trade fairs and where these teams finished in their national league had no relevance, therefore the number of entrants varied each year, and at times was restricted to one per city (Clyde were denied entry to the 1967–68 competition when they finished in 3rd place in the Scottish League, as Rangers finished above them and were given the single Fairs Cup place for Glasgow; the Bully Wee never played in Europe).[20] After 1968, it was sometimes referred to as the Runners-up Cup, with teams now qualifying based on league position. In 1971, it came under the auspices of UEFA and was replaced by the UEFA Cup.[21] UEFA does not consider clubs' records in the Fairs Cup to be part of their European record;[21][22] however, FIFA does view the competition as a major honour.

No Scottish team reached the final of the Fairs Cup, although four different clubs reached the semi-finals, including Kilmarnock in 1966–67, the same season as Celtic and Rangers both reached the finals of the other continental tournaments and Scotland defeated England at Wembley.[23][24] It was Leeds United who ended Kilmarnock's dream, and in the following 1967–68 edition, the Yorkshire club eliminated three Scottish teams in successive rounds on their way to winning the cup – Hibernian in Round Three (2–1 on aggregate), Rangers in the quarter-final (2–0) and Dundee in the semi-final (2–1).[20] The next year, Rangers made the semi-final but again were eliminated by an English opponent who went on to lift the trophy, this time Newcastle United.[25]

Club'58'60'61'62'63'64'65'66'67'68'69'70'71Total
Hibernian••SFR2QF••R1•R3R3•R37
Kilmarnock••••••R2•SF••R3R14
Dunfermline Athletic••••R2•R3•R2••R3•4
Rangers•••••••••QFSF•R13
Dundee United••••••••R3••R1R23
Heart of Midlothian•••R2•R1•R3•••••3
Celtic••••R1•R2••••••2
Dundee•••••••••SF•••1
Partick Thistle•••••R2•••••••1
Aberdeen••••••••••R2••1
Morton••••••••••R1••1

Overall club record
As of 1 October 2020[26]
Club Pld W D L GF GA GD W% Pts P/G
Aberdeen 144 59 38 47 215 162 +53 040.972151.49
Airdrieonians 2 0 0 2 1 3 −2 000.0000.00
Celtic 384 178 71 135 589 438 +151 046.356051.58
Dundee 34 16 3 15 63 50 +13 047.06511.50
Dundee United 110 46 30 34 168 116 +52 041.821681.53
Dunfermline 46 23 7 16 87 51 +36 050.00761.65
Falkirk 2 1 0 1 1 2 −1 050.0031.50
Greenock Morton 2 0 0 2 3 9 −6 000.0000.00
Gretna 2 0 1 1 3 7 −4 000.0010.50
Heart of Midlothian 80 30 18 32 105 112 −7 037.501081.35
Hibernian 96 42 19 35 162 146 +16 043.751451.51
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2 0 1 1 0 1 −1 000.0010.50
Kilmarnock 42 15 9 18 52 62 −10 035.71541.29
Livingston 4 1 2 1 7 9 −2 025.0051.25
Motherwell 33 10 3 20 43 48 −5 030.30331.00
Partick Thistle 10 4 1 5 16 17 −1 040.00131.30
Queen of the South 2 0 0 2 2 4 −2 000.0000.00
Raith Rovers 6 2 1 3 10 8 +2 033.3371.17
Rangers 346 146 89 111 513 409 +104 042.205271.52
St Johnstone 24 7 7 10 25 30 −5 029.17281.17
St Mirren 14 3 5 6 10 14 −4 021.43141.00
Total 1,379 577 305 497 2,051 1,694 +357 041.842,0361.48

Intercontinental Cup

Before being supplanted by the FIFA Club World Cup, the now defunct Intercontinental Cup served as an de facto annual world club championship contested by the European and South American club champions. The only Scottish side to have competed in the competition was Celtic in 1967, following their European Cup win.[27]

Year Club Opponent 1st 2nd PO
1967 Celtic Racing Club1–0 (H)1–2 (A)0–1 (N)

Scottish Challenge Cup

The 2016–17 Scottish Challenge Cup saw the addition of four non-Scottish league sides for the first time. The competition, usually involving sides from the national divisions below the top flight, introduced top two teams from the Welsh Premier League and Northern Ireland's NIFL Premiership entered the competition in the fourth round.[28] Welsh champions The New Saints progressed furthest of the four, being defeated in the semi-finals by St Mirren. The 2017–18 competition saw two League of Ireland sides compete along with two from Wales and Northern Ireland.[29] This time the guest teams entered in the second round, with TNS and Crusaders both reaching the semi-finals. The 2018–19 edition was expanded again, this time to include two teams from the English fifth tier National League along with the teams from the other Celtic nations.[30]

See also

References
  1. Hearts Beaten by Only Goal, The Glasgow Herald, 3 March 1966
  2. Enormous Task for Rangers at Elland Road, The Glasgow Herald, 9 April 1968
  3. "Access List 2021/22". kassiesa.net. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  4. Bert Kassies. "UEFA European Cup Coefficients Database". kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  5. "Scottish Teams in Europe - Finals". londonhearts.com. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  6. "Celtic win European Cup 1967". BBC Sport. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  7. "1970-05-06: Celtic 1-2 Feyenoord, European CupThis is a featured page". thecelticwiki.com. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  8. Dave Low (16 October 2014). "Dundee Utd reach the UEFA Cup Final 1987". BBC. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  9. "Porto end Celtic's Uefa dream". BBC Sport. 21 May 2003. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  10. Clive Lindsay (14 May 2008). "Zenit St Petersburg 2-0 Rangers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  11. Keir Murray (22 April 2008). "When Rangers met Fiorentina in '61". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  12. Keir Murray (30 May 2007). "When Euro glory evaded Rangers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  13. "Rangers triumph in Europe 1972". BBC Sport. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  14. Steven Brocklehurst (9 May 2013). "Fergie's greatest triumph? - How Aberdeen conquered European football". BBC News. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  15. "Hampden's Euro roll-call". BBC Sport. BBC. 14 May 2007. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  16. "114 Years of the Hampden Roar". Scottish Football Museum. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  17. "O'Neill inspired by Lions". BBC Sport. BBC. 20 May 2003. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  18. "Echoes of 1972". BBC Sport. BBC. 13 May 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  19. "Club competition winners do battle". Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  20. "European Nights: Dundee 1 1 Leeds United (report and contemporary newspaper scans)". Leeds United F.C. History. 1 May 1968. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  21. "UEFA Cup: All-time finals". UEFA. 30 June 2005. Archived from the original on 31 August 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
  22. "UEFA Europa League: History: New format provides fresh impetus". UEFA. Archived from the original on 21 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  23. "1967 & all that". The Herald. 25 May 2007. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  24. Richard Foster (29 February 2016). "Never mind England in 1966, here's Scotland conquering Europe in 1967". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  25. "Newcastle United v Glasgow Rangers: The battle of St James' Park in 1969". ChronicleLive. 7 February 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  26. "Scottish Teams in Europe". londonhearts.com. 6 August 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  27. "Celtic to play Racing Club on 50th anniversary of shame games". Evening Times. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  28. "Northern Irish and Welsh sides to join top flight U20s in Challenge Cup". STV News. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  29. "Irn-Bru Cup expanded for 2017/18". Scottish Professional Football League. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  30. "Sutton United & Boreham Wood to enter Irn Bru Scottish Challenge Cup". BBC Sport. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
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