L | Player Pics | A-Z of Players | Seville

Personal

Fullname: Paul Lambert
Height: 5.11
Weight: 9.10
Born: 7 Aug 1969
Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland
Signed: 1997
Position: Midfielder
Internationals: Scotland
International Caps: 40 caps
International Goals: 1 goal

Biog

Paul Lambert's career started at St Mirren where he amassed 227 appearances for the club and had a Scottish Cup winners medal tucked under his belt before he left for three seasons at Motherwell. If rumours are to be believed, Lambert and Motherwell parted company over the trifling matter of a request for an additional £50 in his weekly wage packet. One wonders how Fir Park afficionados must have felt as they watched a triumphant Lambert lift the European Cup with Borussia Dortmund only 10 months later, where he played an important part and was lauded by his fellow team mates and by the management also. He helped set up the opening goal, and became the first British player to win Champions League medal since its reincarnation as the Champions League.

Although there is no doubt that Lambert was worth that extra £50, he returned from Germany to Scotland after 15 months at the Westfalen as a completely different player and was suddenly a mainstay in the national side. He moved to Celtic to the surprise of some as he had grown up as a Rangers fan as a boy!

How did it go? The following eight seasons with Celtic saw Lambert achieve four league winners medals, 2 Scottish Cups, 2 League Cups, a Football Writers' Player of the Year Award (2002) and another appearance in a European Final. He was quite simply a magnificent professional who gave his all every week for Celtic.

He played a crucial role in the wonderful 1997-98 season that saw Celtic stop Rangers "Ten-in-a-row" bid, and his joy as we beat Rangers in the crucial New Years game was there for all to see, especially as he scored the second that sealed the win and turned our season around for us. That game was pivotal and he more then played the part.

Wasn't all plain sailing though with injury curtailing his time during the gloomy one season under Barnes/Dalglish (a blessing in disguise for him possibly). The lowest point, came in one match against Rangers, his cheekbone was smashed and teeth knocked by Jorg Albertz in a tackle (must add it was NOT a malicious attack by Albertz). A sorry situation, and without using any common sense or tact, the Rangers manager (the aptly named Dick Advocaat) raged that Lambert was at fault and should have been red carded for it!!!! Pathetic, and we lost a penalty on the back of it. Unbeliveable. Likely enough to shake out any remnants of sympathy for Rangers from Lambert if ever any remained.

He recovered, and under new Celtic manager Martin O'Neil, Lambert experienced a golden period in his career for Celtic, and he was a fundamental part of the whole success. The treble in 2000-01 was special and in some way revenge over Dick Advocaat after his disgraceful comments in the previous season. Onwards from there were successive league victories and then the pinnacle with Celtic as we reached the UEFA cup final in 2003 where we sadly lost.

Lambert was pivotal in the success and a major boon for Martin O'Neil. A great leader who led by example on the pitch, he helped to shore up the side and give us the added edge over opponents. Experience in Germany meant he was well taught, and we heavily benefited from his presence. Fair to say that he was the best midfield player we'd had over the past twenty years (alongside Paul McStay).

However it was also as a person that he was respected, and perhaps the greatest testimony to the man comes not from these achievements but from the fans of the clubs for whom he was such a consistent performer. The Dortmund support stayed behind after his last game in Germany to show their appreciation with countless banners and messages of gratitude and he is very fondly remembered down Love Street way for his part in their halcyon days of the late eighties.

Lambert stepped into management, but resigned as Livingston player-manager in his first stint, but gives further insight into the man and his character. In a move that was as humble as it was brave, he resigned as manager in the hope that someone else would be able to save the club from relegation, inflicting potentially irreparable damage to his fledgling managerial career. This despite assurances from the board that his job was safe and amid widespread belief that his was an impossible task. His modesty, however, told him that there may be something that another individual could bring to the club to save it from relegation.

Lambert recovered from this blow to his managerial career when he was named as the Wycombe Wanderers manager in June 2006. He left Wycombe at the end of the 2007-08 season. He was appointed manager of English League Division 1 side Colchester Utd on the 9th October 2008.

We hope him all the best, a great player we have had the priviedge to see have played with us.

Playing Career

Club	From	To	Fee	League		Scottish Cup		League cup		Other
Livingston	01/08/2005	14/05/2006	Signed	7 (0)	0	2 (0)	0	1 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Celtic	07/11/1997	01/08/2005	£ 2,000,000	179 (14)	14	20 (4)	1	10 (2)	2	43 (3)	2
B. Dortmund	01/08/1996	07/11/1997	Free	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0	3 (0)	0
Motherwell	07/09/1993	01/08/1996	Signed	103 (0)	6	1 (0)	0	3 (0)	1	2 (0)	0
St Mirren	01/08/1985	07/09/1993	Signed	227 (0)	14	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Linwood Rangers BC	01/08/1984	01/08/1985		No appearance data available
Totals			£2,000,000	516 (14)	34	23 (4)	1	14 (2)	3	48 (3)	2
			goals / game	0.06		0.03		0.18		0.03
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals

Honours as Celtic Player

Scottish Premier League

• 1997-98,
  
• 2000-01,
  
• 2001-02,
  
• 2003-04

Scottish Cup

• 2001,
  
• 2004,
  
• 2005

Scottish League Cup

• 2000,
  
• 2001

UEFA Cup

• Runners-up 2003

Scottish Hall of Fame

• 2009

Pictures

• Player Pics

KStreet

• How good was Lambert (June 08)

Interview: Stopping 10-in-a-row – Paul Lambert’s greatest moment in career full of highlights

Hugh MacDonald Published on 2 Jan 2010The Herald Newspaper
It is a career that should belong only in the fevered imagination of a schoolboy. A Scottish Cup winner’s medal at the age of 17 was followed by negating Zinedine Zidane in a Champions League final and laying on a goal for Karl-Heinz Riedle.

His return to Scotland was festooned with four league titles, three Scottish Cup wins and four league cups. He also captained Celtic to a UEFA Cup final. This is a career with so many highlights it could double for Mo Johnston’s hair. Yet Paul Lambert has no doubt about his greatest achievement. “It has to be stopping 10-in-a-row,” he said. The statement was made when the midfielder was inducted tothe Scottish Football Hall of Fame in November. His judgment of the campaign of 1997-1998 owes nothing to any narrow bias. Lambert, a product of Linwood Rangers Boys’ Club, was merely reflecting on a period when winning was not only accompanied by jubilation but was liberally laced with relief.

“The pressure was hugely intense,” he recalls of the season when Walter Smith’s side were thwarted by a resurgent Celtic under Wim Jansen.

“That is what made winning the league very special. Everybody was talking about 10-in-a-row. We all knew that we could not be the Celtic team that allowed Rangers to win 10 consecutive titles. That would have been etched in Celtic’s history. Out of all the cups and all the leagues, that title win is simply very special. “I do not say that to annoy Rangers fans, I just say it because I have never felt so relieved in football as I did when that championship was won.”

Lambert, of course, won the Scottish Cup with St Mirren in 1987, lifted the Champions League trophy with Borussia Dortmund in 1997, and went on to win four titles with Celtic.

“It is hard to categorise every accolade you have won,” he said.

“Getting into the Hall of Fame is great. It is fantastic to be recognised by your own country. To be part of the history of our national game is simply humbling. And it will always be there, which is an incredible honour when you see the people in it.

“The Champions League is the pinnacle of anyone’s career, but stopping Rangers winning the title was certainly up there because of the pressure and that is why I mentioned it at the Hall of Fame dinner. The supporters of both clubs were desperate in that season so imagine how the players felt.”

Lambert, a highly technical player with virtues that sometimes went unnoticed, eschewed the spectacular for much of his career. He was more concerned with being an important part of a team rather than a maverick who stole thunder at the expense of the efficiency of the unit. Yet he scored goals in two of the most important Old Firm matches in recent history.

His magnificent strike on January 2 1998 galvanised Celtic’s battle for the title. He slotted home the third goal in the 6-2 defeat of Rangers on August 27, 2000, which signalled that Martin O’Neill had immediately constructed a side capable of snatching a title from Dick Advocaat’s team. The New Year strike was Lambert’s first goal for Celtic. “We had to win that New Year game,” he said.

“There was no room for error because of the points difference.” Celtic were already four points behind Rangers and knew the gap had to be narrowed. Craig Burley’s slick finish was complemented by Lambert’s shot from 30 yards. “I still get reminded of the one I whacked in the top corner,” said Lambert.

“It was one of those ones that you see coming at you and you decide just to have a go. The bounce was right, it felt right to hit it and it went right into the top corner.” The goal in the 6-2 game suffers in comparison with the extraordinary lob conjured up by Henrik Larsson as O’Neill’s team laid down a marker for the season.

There was much pre-match talk about O’Neill being content to take time in constructing a side capable of winning a title. His team knew this modest ambition was strictly for the consumption of the press. Every player was left in no doubt before the match that O’Neill expected victory and a championship by the end of the season. “The big thing about that match was that we knocked out Ajax in a Champions League qualifier that gave us great confidence,” he said.

The victory over Rangers was the satisfying appetiser to a treble-winning season. “I guarantee you a lot of people at Celtic would love to see that team back again,” said Lambert of a side built on solid virtues. The Champions League-winning midfielder was surrounded by Larsson, Chris Sutton, Stilian Petrov, Neil Lennon, Johan Mjallby and others who had skill overlaid with a winning mentality.

“I was talking to Bobby Lennox and he told me that he didn’t realise just how good that team was until it was disbanded. That was a massive compliment,” said Lambert. “That was a team of men. Anybody looking at the team could see there were brilliant players. But they were proper men, they would not wilt, they would stick together. Everybody says we were strong physically, and we were, but we could play the game. That is how and why we won things.” But how is triumph grasped from the frenetic atmosphere of an Old Firm match?

“The occasion is great but it should not be overwhelming. First and foremost, you have to play the occasion. You do not want to get caught up in that incredible atmosphere and get sent off . You have to keep 11 on the park to have a great chance of winning the game. And you need a bit of luck.”

Lambert also acknowledged that the testing experience can pay dividends in later life. Now managing successfully at Norwich City, he said:
“We have pressure at this club. We have 25,000 fans at every match at Carrow Road and they quite rightly have expectations.” Lambert, who has managed at Livingston, Wycombe, and Colchester, is meeting those expectations as Norwich sit in third place in League One. He is enjoying the pressure of leading his club back to prominence. Does the experience of being an Old Firm player help one deal with pressure?

“Absolutely,” he said. “Every big moment has stresses and lessons that you take into your managerial career. You can pass it down to the lads who work under you. And everybody knows you handled it.”

* Path to glory
Born in Paisley in 1969, Paul Lambert enjoyed a career of extraordinary footballing achievement. He won the Scottish Cup with his home town team in 1987 and 10 years later helped Borussia Dortmund lift the Champions League by beating Juventus 3-1. Lambert also gained 40 caps, playing in the 1998 World Cup. He started his managerial career with Livingston. He then moved to England where he coached Wycombe Wanderers and Colchester United before taking over at Norwich City earlier this season.

Honours SPL title 1997-98, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2003-04. Scottish Cup 1986-87, 2000-01, 2003-04, 2004-2005. League Cup 1997-98, 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2005-06. Champions League 1996-97. Scottish Hall of Fame 2009