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Hibernian F.C.

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This article is about the Scottish football club. For the Maltese football club, see Hibernians F.C.
Hibernian
Image:Hibernian logo.gif
Full name Hibernian Football Club
Nickname(s) Hibees, Hibs, The Cabbage
Founded August 1875
Ground Easter Road
Leith
Edinburgh
Scotland
(Capacity 17,500)
Chairman Flag of Scotland Rod Petrie
Caretaker Manager Flag of Scotland Tommy Craig
League Scottish Premier League
2006-07 Scottish Premier League, 6th
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
 
Home colours
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
 
Away colours

Hibernian Football Club (informally known as Hibbies and Hibees) are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, north Edinburgh. Along with city rivals Hearts, they represent Edinburgh in the Scottish Premier League.

Contents

History

The club was founded in August 1875 by members of the St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church based on the Cowgate. The club's principal founders were Canon Edward Joseph Hannan, and the head of the local Catholic Young Men's Association, Michael Whelahan, who became the first club captain. The meeting which established the club took place at the St. Mary's Street Hall, which can still be seen today. The team originally played, like all other teams of the time, on the Meadows, a park towards the south of Edinburgh's Old Town. The club moved to Leith in 1880, to a purpose built ground named Hibernian Park, which stood where Bothwell Street now stands today. The club moved to its present ground at Easter Road in 1891, just a stone's throw away from their first home. Hibs were the first major club in Scotland formed by members of the Irish Catholic population of the time. The club's name reflects its Irish roots (Hibernia is the Latin name for Ireland). A strict translation of the name Hibernian F.C. would be "Irishmen Football Club." As the first such team, their example led to the creation of Dundee Hibernian (now Dundee United) and Celtic, who when they were formed were nearly called "Glasgow Hibernian". The club is seen as being much less of a Catholic institution now than it was in the past, and today geographical association rather than religion is the primary reason that fans support the team (Hibernian being the club for East Edinburgh). With the League title out of range, although they did eventually finish a very creditable third behind Champions Celtic and runners up Rangers, Hibernians entered 1896 with high hopes of a Scottish Cup win and began their campaign with a tough 3-2 away to East Stirlingshire only to face a longish delay for their next opponents Raith Rovers who progressed following a successful protest. The delay caused no problems however and the greens stormed to a fine 6-1 win at Easter Road. The reward for that win was a trip to Ibrox in the ne3xt round for a very tough tie against high flying Rangers. This would be the talk of Scottish football with few suggesting that the greens could progress but that did not stop supporters of Hibernian making up at least 50% of the 15,000 crowd. In a very physical encounter the greens took a 2-0 lead only for Rangers to pull a goal back as well as miss a penalty before half time. Despite what seemed to be foul play in the lead up a Rangers equaliser was allowed to stand but the decision seemed to galvanise the greens and Willie Groves in particular who began to run amok around the Rangers defenders. Soon the darling of the Hibernians fans put the greens ahead but then the home side was awarded a hotly disputed penalty only for their fans to groan in horror as keeper Pat McCall brilliantly saved the spot kick. Try as they might the Rangers could not score again and Hibernian had secured a famous victory. Just one week later the greens would have to face a Renton side which had been on fire. There was to be no neutral venue at this time and the draw had secured the Hibernian home advantage. The first half, in which Hibernians Captain Barney Lester had elected to shoot up the slop, was a trying time for the home side which found itself a goal down in just 5 minutes but as the half wore on the greens fought back and were level on the half hour. The second half would prove a wholly different affair with the greens only denied by the fine goalkeeping of the Renton stopper. Finally, with just five minutes left to play Bobby Neill cracked home what would prove not only to be the winning goal but the goal which took the Hibernians into the Scottish Cup Final. Only three years on from having survived on the brink of extinction Hibernians had won the Second Division twice and finished a highly creditable third in their first season in the top League, as well as reaching the Cup Final. Despite what appeared to be a spiteful protest by Renton the greens survived an enquiry and were then set to meet their long time rivals Hearts in the first ever all Edinburgh Final. Renton however did not let it rest there and raised a further protest just four days before the Final what scheduled to be played. Again the protest was thrown out by the SFA, the Celtic representative suggesting the grounds were frivolous, ridiculous and unsatisfactory. Still the defeated team would not let go and this time they resorted to an appeal to the Court of Session but this too was turned down with Renton required to meet legal costs. All of this was most unsettling for the Easter Road Club as the last rejection by the Court had come just 24 hours before the Scottish Cup Final was due to be played. Ironically, given the recent debates regarding where the 2006 Semi Final should be played the SFA had a similar problem to consider back in 1896. Hearts suggested Tynecastle which was of course rejected, whilst Hibernian wanted the game played in Glasgow as this was the traditional home of the Final. The SFA decided an Edinburgh venue made more sense and considered Powderhall but rejected it and selected Logie Green instead. The Hibernians team selection on the day of the Final caused a stir amongst the support. Willie Groves who was known to be suffering from a heart condition and John O’Neill, a new and as yet unseen outside left were both selected to play in the forward line. The Hearts were a well settled and strong outfit and they would dominate large parts of the game as nerves struck the greens. It was no real surprise when the Tynecastle men ran out 3-1 winners, much to the delight of their support but to the dismay of the large contingent of Hibernians amongst the 17,000 crowd. The League and Cup now settled the greens were to play 16 more games before the season ended, including a friendly in Birmingham against English Champions Aston Villa from whom Willie Groves had been signed when he had decided to return home to Edinburgh. A 2-1 win was recorded with Groves grabbing the winner against many of his former team mates. There would be a few friendlies with English clubs at this time, perhaps the greens already willing to flex their wings and play in other countries. Sheffield United drew with Hibernian 1-1, Aston Villa gained revenge with a 5-2 win at Easter Road and Preston North End triumphed 3-1. It should be borne in mind that football clubs in England were at that time far more professionally organised and many were paying high wages to their full time players. Season 1895/96 drew to a close in mid May of ’96 and a few around Easter Road breathed a huge sigh of relief. It had been a very eventful and not entirely unprofitable season for the Club which had stunned many by finishing third in the League and reaching the Scottish Cup Final. The word ‘stunned’ is used deliberately because just three seasons earlier the Hibernians had looked to be down and out as their Committee struggled to keep the Club afloat. The efforts of men such as Thomas Flood, John and Philip Farmer, Charles Sandilands, John and Thomas McCabe and a still very active in the background Michael Whelahan cannot be emphasised enough as without the efforts of these men there would be no Hibernian Football Club. The Hibs song Glory, Glory to the Hibees was written and performed by Scottish Comedian Hector Nicol

"World Champions"

On August 13 1887, Hibernian defeated Preston North End in a match co-billed by the FA and SFA as the Association Football Championship of the World decider, due to the two teams' achievements in their respective domestic cup trophies.

Colours

The team colours are green and white. The strip has a green body, with white sleeves, a white collar, and white cuffs (on long sleeved tops). The shorts are green, and the socks are green with white tops. Hibernian introduced white sleeves to their shirts on 13 August 1938 against Hamilton Accies after a major brightening up of Easter Road had taken place. The harp and shamrocks at the entrance had been repainted as had the stand and the wall round the pitch and the terracing barriers had all been painted white. The goalposts had been replaced with oval ones with green nets. On that day, Harry Swan addressed the large crowd over new loudspeakers about "the brighter Easter Road" before the team appeared in their new strip. For the 2004/2005 season, the colour of the shorts was changed to a green which matches the shirt colour. This was done to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the club's 2-0 friendly win over Real Madrid, as this was the kit worn for this friendly match (to avoid a clash with Madrid's all-white).

First British club in Europe

Hibernian were the first British club to appear in European competition, when they were invited to play in the inaugural Champions Cup in the 1955/56 season. Playing their first game against German side Rot-Weiss Essen, Hibernian won 4-0 in Essen and the return tie in Scotland ended in a 1-1 draw. Hibernian went on to reach the semi-finals, only to be defeated by a Stade de Reims side inspired by Raymond Kopa. In 1977 Hibernian became the first prominent British club to have sponsorship on their shirts (the sponsor was Bukta). Hibernian chairman Tom Hart had previously banned television cameras from Easter Road but when Hibs created shirt advertising the television companies boycotted Hibs. The eventual compromise was that Hibs wore purple shirts and then yellow shirts when TV cameras were present.

First Scottish club to have undersoil heating

In 1980 Hibernian were the first Scotish club to have undersoil heating installed at its home ground Easter Road.

Recent history

The last major trophy won by the club was the 2007 League Cup, when they defeated Kilmarnock 5-1 in the final. They also reached the League Cup final in 2004, losing to Livingston. Hibernian have not won the Scottish Cup since 1902. Their last appearance in the final was a 3-0 loss to Celtic in 2001. Hibernian's most recent relegation to the First Division came at the end of the 1997-98 season. They immediately won promotion back to the SPL, however, in the 1998-99 season, helped by a run of 12 wins in a row on as they were crowned First Division champions. They earned a record total of 89 points and finished 23 points ahead of second-placed Falkirk. Once back in the top flight, Hibs performed well and finished mid-table in season 1999/2000. Hibs reached the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup that year, only for two late Aberdeen goals to scupper any dreams of lifting silverware. 1999/2000 saw a landmark moment in the Club’s history as we bid farewell to the famous Easter Road slope. Only three years earlier, Hibs were in the First Division. Many people had written off their chances of ever becoming a major force in Scottish football again. However, Alex McLeish took the Easter Road side back to where they belong, and in season 2000/2001, they blasted through the early season, recording six consecutive victories in August, and an unbeaten Hibs side sat proudly at the top of the SPL table. Hibs also reached the final of the Tennent’s Scottish Cup for the first time in 22 years but lost to Celtic at Hampden Park, although a tremendous effort was well-appreciated by the Easter Road faithful, and Hibs went on to secure third place behind the Old Firm, which meant European football was back at Easter Road again. A spine-tingling season of football saw Hibs record a special 6-2 victory over city rivals Hearts at Easter Road. That demolition job on 22 October 2000 was a magnificent effort and a spectacular team performance was capped when Finnish International Mixu Paatelainen grabbed the first ever hat-trick in an Edinburgh derby. That game also saw John O’Neil score his first goal for the Club. A brand new West Stand was completed for the start of season 2001/2002. Hibs also enjoyed European football and the Easter Road Club did themselves proud by almost knocking AEK Athens out of the UEFA Cup. Hibs lost 2-0 in Athens but recorded a 3-2 win at Easter Road (after extra-time). Alex McLeish and Andy Watson departed for Ibrox and fans’ favourite Franck Sauzee was installed as new Club manager. However the results didn’t happen under the popular Frenchman and he was to be replaced by Bobby Williamson, who joined from Kilmarnock. Bobby recorded five wins from nine matches, which saw Hibernian retain their status in the top flight in Scottish football. Bobby's time in charge produced an almost bizarre statistic, as the club was seemingly ‘jinxed’ by late goals and lost so many it was heart-breaking at one point. Indeed one leading football magazine noted in a survey that if you removed the final 15 minutes of every SPL match then Hibs would have finished in third spot and qualified for Europe! A string of exciting young players characterised Hibs in recent years, and in Garry O’Connor, Derek Riordan, Scott Brown the club have some of the most exciting young talent in the Scottish game. This was further underlined when Tony Mowbray arrived at the club to take over the from Bobby Williamson who had departed at the end of the 2004/05 season to Plymouth. From that May 24th 2004 arrival, Tony promised to have Hibernian playing the type of free-flowing, attacking football that he knew the traditions of Hibernian Football Club demanded. Tony was true to his word. The 2004/05 season was one of the most exciting seen at Easter Road since the 1970's. A very young and talented existing squad was added to with the arrival of such as Dean Shiels, Sam Morrow, David Murphy and in the minds of many Hibs supporters, the best of them all - Guillaume Beuzelin. For much of the season Hibernian produced a brand of football that had supporters flocking back to the stadium, the club bucking the trend somewhat in showing large attendance increases at a time when most in Scotland were seeing their gate receipts fall alarmingly. Hibernian finished the season in 3rd place, and in doing so they were back in Europe - fittingly giving that this was the 50th anniversary year of Hibernian making that very first British entry into the European Cup.

Rivalry

Hibs' traditional local rivals in the city of Edinburgh are Hearts. The first "official" derby match was on Christmas Day 1875, when Hearts beat Hibernian 1–0. It wasn't until their five-game struggle for the EFA Cup in 1878, that the two clubs became the dominant ones in Edinburgh. Hearts won 3–2 after 0–0, 1–1, 1–1 and 1–1 draws. The clubs' most notable meeting occurred in the 1896 Scottish Cup Final, played on 14 March 1896, Hearts winning 3-1 at Logie Green in the only final played outside Glasgow. For more detailed information on this rivalry, please see the separate Edinburgh derby article.

Tony Mowbray era

Tony Mowbray was appointed Hibs manager on 24 May 2004, replacing Bobby Williamson.[1] His appointment came as a surprise because the media had been speculating about many other possible candidates, such as John Gorman,[2] David Hay and Tommy Burns.[3] Mowbray placed an emphasis on playing attacking, passing football, despite the relative youth of the team and the pressure for results.

2004-05 season

These policies were rewarded with a 3rd place finish in Mowbray's first season as manager (2004-05), and a place in the UEFA Cup for the following season (2005-06). Hibs reached the semi-final stage of the Scottish Cup where they lost 1-2 to Dundee United, despite taking the lead early in the second half.

2005-06 season

In the 2005-06 season, Hibs got off to an excellent start, winning 10 of their first 14 league games. This form led to speculation by some commentators that they could put in a challenge for the championship, but Tony Mowbray played down the club's chances, pointing to the lack of squad depth and the much higher budgets of Rangers, Celtic and Hearts. Highlights of the season included three consecutive victories over Rangers and a 2-0 victory over Hearts, ending Hearts' unbeaten start to the league[4]. Injuries, suspensions, and the sale of Garry O'Connor to Lokomotiv Moscow exposed this lack of depth. After a largely disappointing second half of the season, Hibs finished 4th in the SPL and qualified for the Intertoto Cup. Hibs were beaten 5-1 on aggregate by Ukrainian club FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the first round of the UEFA Cup[5]. The lost 3-0 to Dunfermline Athletic in the League Cup. They showed promising signs in the Scottish Cup, beating Arbroath 6-0, Rangers 3-0 and Falkirk 5-1, but were well beaten 0-4 by City rivals Hearts in the semi-final at Hampden Park.

2006-07 under Mowbray

For further information, see Hibernian FC season 2006-07.

John Collins

Following media speculation about Falkirk manager John Hughes, Cowdenbeath manager Mixu Paatelainen and Nottingham Forest coach Ian McParland, it was announced on 31 October 2006 that John Collins would be the new manager, with Tommy Craig as assistant manager.[6] Collins resigned on 20 December 2007, having won the Scottish League Cup during his sole year in charge.[7]

2006-07 under John Collins

For further information, see Hibernian FC season 2006-07.

2007-08

For further information, see Hibernian FC season 2007-08.

Nicknames

The club's name is almost universally shortened to Hibs. However, the team are also often known by their fans by the nickname "the Hibees" (pronounced "high-bees"). Hibs supporters are known as "Hibbies" (singular: "Hibby"). Also many fans call them "The Cabbage", as per the Cockney Rhyming Slang "The Cabbage And Ribs" after which a pub in Albert Street, Edinburgh was named.

Managers

Players

As of 7 September 2007.

Current squad

No. Position Player
2 Flag of Scotland DF Kevin McCann
3 Flag of England DF David Murphy
4 Flag of England DF Chris Hogg (vice-captain)
5 Flag of England DF Rob Jones (captain)
6 Flag of Scotland MF Brian Kerr
7 Flag of Morocco MF Merouane Zemmama
8 Flag of England FW Clayton Donaldson
9 Flag of Scotland FW Steven Fletcher
10 Flag of Morocco FW Abdessalam Benjelloun
11 Flag of Ireland MF Alan O'Brien
12 Flag of Portugal MF Filipe Morais
14 Flag of France MF Guillaume Beuzelin
15 Flag of France MF Patrick Noubissie
16 Flag of Scotland MF Lewis Stevenson
17 Flag of Scotland MF Sean Lynch
No. Position Player
18 Flag of Canada MF Keegan Ayre
19 Flag of Cameroon DF Thierry Gathuessi
21 Flag of Scotland GK Andrew McNeil
22 Flag of Northern Ireland MF Dean Shiels
23 Flag of Scotland MF Ross Chisholm
24 Flag of Germany DF Torben Joneleit (on loan from Monaco)
25 Flag of Scotland DF Darren McCormack
27 Flag of France FW Mickaël Antoine-Curier
28 Flag of Scotland FW Ross Campbell
29 Flag of England FW Damon Gray
32 Flag of Ireland DF Patrick Mailey
33 Flag of Scotland DF Steven Notman
41 Flag of Hungary GK Dávid Gróf
50 Flag of Belgium GK Yves Makabu Ma-Kalambay

Players out on loan

No. Position Player
26 Flag of Northern Ireland DF Dermot McCaffrey (on loan to Livingston)
30 Flag of Scotland GK Alastair Brown (on loan to Stenhousemuir)
31 Flag of Poland GK Zbigniew Małkowski (on loan to Inverness Caledonian Thistle)

Famous players

The most famous group of Hibs players were the "Famous Five" forward line of the late 1940s and early 1950s: Gordon Smith, Bobby Johnstone, Lawrie Reilly, Eddie Turnbull and Willie Ormond. This group led Hibs to three league championships between 1948 and 1952. The next most famous group of Hibs players was "Turnbull's Tornados", managed by Eddie Turnbull, including players such as Pat Stanton, Alan Gordon, Joe Harper, John Blackley, John Brownlie, Des Bremner and Erich Schaedler. This group led Hibs to a League Cup win in 1972 and two Drybrough Cup wins. Other notable players have included Joe Baker, Peter Cormack and Peter Marinello in the 1960s; Alan Rough and Gordon Durie in the 1980s; and John Collins, Andy Goram and Jim Leighton in the 1990s. Former Manchester United player George Best was with the club for half a season, playing 22 games and scoring 3 goals. Notable Hibs players since 2000 include:

In popular culture

The club has been mentioned in many works of literature, mainly by local authors. The works of author Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting) contain several references to Hibernian, presumably due to his being a native of Leith. The team is often mentioned in casual conversation and is the team many of his characters support. There are many references to Hibernian's firm support. Visual references to Hibs are noticeable in the films adapted from his works. More observant persons would have spotted many images of Hibernian in Danny Boyle's film, Trainspotting, such as Begbie wearing a Hibs shirt while he plays five-a-side. During the famous baby-on-the-ceiling/detox scene, many posters and pictures of Hibernian can be seen on the walls of Mark Renton's bedroom. In the final short film in the trilogy The Acid House, with the same title as the movie, Coco Bryce, a boy from the "Hibs firm", is struck by lightning while under the influence of LSD in a Pilton park only to have his soul transferred to the body of an unborn child from one of the more affluent areas of Edinburgh. The final scene of the movie is that of Coco in the baby's body strapped to his mother's back with a Hibs top in the pub chanting "Oo to, oo to be, oo to be a Hibee". Hibernian are also frequently referred to in the Inspector Rebus detective series by Ian Rankin. In the later books, Rebus's colleague DS Siobhan Clarke is a season ticket holder at Easter Road. In the 2006 television adaptation of the series, Rebus (a Raith Rovers fan in the books) is the Hibs fan. In their song "Cap in Hand", from the album Sunshine on Leith (1988), The Proclaimers sing, "I can understand why Stranraer lie so lowly / They could save a lot of points by signing Hibs' goalie". The title track from this album has become a Hibs anthem, and is traditionally played before matches at Easter Road it was also sang after their 5-1 victory over Killmarnock in the CIS cup.

Club records

Scottish Cup finals

Hibs last won the Scottish Cup with a 1-0 victory over Celtic on 26 April 1902. They have been in 10 finals and 19 semi-finals. Hibs have played a record 333 games in the competition since last winning it outright[12]. Dumbarton and Queen's Park have gone longer since their last wins, but have played fewer matches in the intervening period.

Date F Opponents A

Sat 12 February 1887

Hibernian

2

Dumbarton

1

Sat 14 March 1896

Hibernian

1

Heart of Midlothian

3

Sat 26 April 1902

Hibernian

1

Celtic

0

Sat 11 April 1914

Hibernian

0

Celtic

0

Thu 16 April 1914

Hibernian

1

Celtic

4

Sat 31 March 1923

Hibernian

0

Celtic

1

Sat 19 April 1924

Hibernian

0

Airdrieonians

2

Sat 19 April 1947

Hibernian

1

Aberdeen

2

Sat 26 April 1958

Hibernian

0

Clyde

1

Sat 6 May 1972

Hibernian

1

Celtic

6

Sat 12 May 1979

Hibernian

0

Rangers

0

Wed 16 May 1979

Hibernian

0

Rangers

0

Mon 28 May 1979

Hibernian

2

Rangers

3

Sat 26 May 2001

Hibernian

0

Celtic

3

League Cup finals

NB Hibs won the 1943-44 Southern League Cup[13] vs Rangers 6-5 on corners after the game ended 0-0.

Date F Opponents A

28 October 1950

Hibernian

0

Motherwell

3

5 April 1969

Hibernian

2

Celtic

6

9 December 1972

Hibernian

2

Celtic

1

26 October 1974

Hibernian

3

Celtic

6

27 October 1985

Hibernian

0

Aberdeen

3

27 October 1991

Hibernian

2

Dunfermline Athletic

0

24 October 1993

Hibernian

1

Rangers

2

14 March 2004

Hibernian

0

Livingston

2

18 March 2007

Hibernian

5

Kilmarnock

1

Honours

See also

References

  1. ^ Few Hibees will mourn Williamson. BBC Sport (2004-04-20). Retrieved on 2007-06-05.
  2. ^ Gorman backed for Hibs. BBC Sport (2004-05-12). Retrieved on 2007-06-05.
  3. ^ Hay and Burns ponder Hibs. BBC Sport (2004-04-24). Retrieved on 2007-06-05.
  4. ^ London Hearts
  5. ^ BBC Sport
  6. ^ John Collins confirmed as Hibs manager. BBC Sport (2006-10-31). Retrieved on 2007-06-05.
  7. ^ Collins resigns as Hibs manager. BBC Sport (2007-12-20). Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
  8. ^ Game details at London Hearts
  9. ^ Ross, David (2005). The Roar of the Crowd: Following Scottish football down the years. Argyll publishing, 94. ISBN 9-8781902-831831. 
  10. ^ Match Report
  11. ^ Scott Brown's transfer is a record fee between Scottish clubs as of 2007
  12. ^ London Hearts
  13. ^ a b Became the Scottish League Cup in 1947. Not every team entered during WWII so not considered a full honour.
  14. ^ a b 1981 and 1999 represent second-tier championships, won after the creation of the Scottish Premier Division in 1975 (and latterly the Scottish Premier League in 1998).
  15. ^ a b These two competitions were won when the League Cup was completed in the first half of the season. The competition changed format in 1999, meaning that the semi finals and final are now played in the second half of the season. Therefore the League Cup was not won by anyone in the calendar year of 1999.
  16. ^ The Summer Cup was contested in place of the Scottish Cup (which was not contested between 1939 and 1946) in 1942.

External links

Official websites
News sites
Fanzines / Unofficial sites

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