Bhoys head for Celtic's date with destiny

Thousands of Celtic fans were tonight going to the Olimpico Stadium in Seville to watch their heroes bid to make history.

More than 50,000 supporters have travelled to the Andalusian capital for the Glasgow club’s first European final in 33 years.

Today their immense presence amounted to a near occupation and the city centre was transformed into a human tide of green and white.

No Scottish club has ever won the Uefa Cup but if support alone was a factor then the trophy would already be captured.

Traffic was brought to a standstill as the Parkhead faithful sang and danced in the streets.

The Portuguese champions are favourites for the match but the Celtic fans, who have journeyed from as far afield as America, Australia, and the Far East are confident Martin O’Neill’s men can cause an upset.

Rival fans shook hands and exchanged shirts and scarves, while hundreds of Celtic supporters climbed on top of fountains and waved banners and scarves as locals looked on.

One stone statue was even decked out in a tricolour and a green afro wig for the occasion.

Rousing choruses of You’ll Never Walk Alone and Hail! Hail! The Celts are here! reverberated around the city.

But in stark contrast to the noise generated by the Celtic fans hundreds of Porto followers took in a brass band concert in the shadow of Seville Cathedral.

It is estimated that only half of the Celtic fans will have tickets but thousands were expected to gather to watch the game on a giant screen at the Puerta De Triana.

Porto fans will assemble at the Prado San Sebastian, where a Celtic concert was staged last night.

Touts were still offering tickets just hours before kick off but the asking price was 700 euros.

Strathclyde police said there had been no major trouble overnight and described the Celtic invasion as “good natured”.

Celtic fan Joe Miller has only missed one game in the past three seasons and has been at every European cup game since O’Neill joined the club as manager in the summer of 2000.

Looking ahead to the match the 36-year-old from Drumchapel near Glasgow said: “Porto are a fantastic team and they are the favourites but I think that will work in our favour.

“They are no better than some of the teams we put out of the competition such as Celta Vigo, Liverpool, Stuttgart and Blackburn.

“I think it will be a high scoring match and I fancy Celtic to win 3-1 or 3-2.”

Mr Miller arrived in Seville this morning after flying from Glasgow to Brussels and then Brussels to Madrid yesterday.

Along with eight friends he drove from Madrid through the night in a people carrier decked out with green and white bunting.

Uefa has said the Celtic following in Seville is the largest travelling support yet to have assembled for a single game.

Locals have watched with a mixture of wonder and bemusement at the sheer scale of the invasion, and many have laughed at the boundless enthusiasm of their visitors.

Ian McGuigan said he had to deal with a family dilemma before travelling to Seville.

The 47-year-old from East Kilbride said: “I promised two of my sons after we beat Liverpool, that I would take them to the final.

“But my eldest son Mark could not make it because he is today travelling to Lake Garda to play in a tournament for Celtic’s under-14 team.

“I told him that he would probably get the chance to go to a European final again but this is probably my last chance.

“It was two good choices, between Lake Garda and Seville, and I told him he was always better playing football than watching it.”

Mr McGuigan travelled to Spain with his wife, Isabel, and his 12-year-old son, Paul, even though the family do not have tickets for the match.