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Name: John William Madden
AKA: "Johnny" or "Jake" Madden, or "Rooster"
Date: of Birth: 11 June 1865
Died: 17th April 1948
Born: Dumbarton, Scotland
Position: Winger
Caps: 2 for Scotland & 5 goals!!! All v Wales

Biog

The great John Madden was the first man to ever lead a Celtic forward line. Used to be a riveter in the Glasgow shipyards

An accomplished player, the Dumbarton centre-forward was keenly pursued by Celtic officals who were eager to have this fine attacker in their line up. Madden was convinced to turn out for the Bhoys in their inaugural match – a 5-1 home defeat of Rangers Swifts – but then returned to Dumbarton.

The pull of the ambitious new club proved too much though and Madden joined the Celts again in August 1889. An entertaining player to watch Madden was skilful and strong and possessed a powerful shot. He loved to trick opponents with dummies and clever flicks.

He was also a hard worker and this priceless combination of attributes made him a sought after player among the professional clubs in England. So much so that to ensure he remained north of the border he was among the highest earning players at the supposedly amateur Celtic!

Madden won championship medals in 1892 and 1893 with Celtic and he scored a total of 49 goals in 118 appearances. A fine servant to the Bhoys he eventually joined Dundee in 1897 after a brief retirement. Madden later went on to play for Tottenham Hotspur and coach Slavia Prague.

Played for Scotland twice and scored 5 goals!!! Four of them in one game v Wales. The other game was also v Wales and he scored in that also!

Celtic & Scotland Honours

Scotland international 2 full caps; 0 goals
Represented the Scottish League
Scottish Championship winners medal 1893, 1894, 1896
Scottish Cup winners medal 1892

The Czech Republic Legend!!!

One of the most interesting yet hardly known characters from Celtic's history, Johnny Madden is a legend in what is now the Czech Republic.

Went on Celtic's tour of Czechoslovakia in 1905 and took up the Slavia Prague manager's post on 15th February 1905. His reign is seen as great era for Slavia, having started when he took over and brought new tactics and views on football from his Scotland (you don't read that often!).

He was one of the first Scottish players to work as a coach on the European continent. Was said to be a disciplinarian who stopped players smoking and drinking before and after matches, while trained them with gymnastic and athletic exercises. Some things that obviously would not have gone down well with many Celtic players from over the years.

He managed to set up an early golden age for the club for a long 25 years, where under Madden Slavia won an incredible 134 domestic matches from a possible 169, and 304 internationals from 429 between the years 1905 and 1930.

Johnny was the first real Slavia manager, where before him there was only team captains who had something like managers' rights.

He won a local cup four times between 1908 and 1912, and more importantly he won the Czechoslovakian league title in 1925, 1929 and 1930.

In 1930 he coached the Slavia Prague team in the Coupe Des Nations which was a counterweight tournament held in Switzerland to the World Cup in Uruguay, and got them to the final where alas they lost.

In June 1930 Madden retired from Slavia and professional football at the age of 66, though he remained in Prague for the rest of his life.

Amazingly, he was still coaching teams from his wheelchair at 73!!

He remains a hero in Prague, where he stayed until his death having married a local lady.

After his death, a statue of him was erected in Prague. Slavia's subsequent history was blighted by the tendency of the Communist state to use clubs as political pawns, by name changes and stadium switches. Often the priority has been to preserve their identity, but Madden's name lives on.


Johnny Madden is the gentlemen standing on the far left in this picture




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External Links

• Slavia prague on the legend that is Johnny Madden