David Sque - Roy Of The Rovers - The Lisbon Lions, Celtic 1967

The Shared Story — Two Special Editions by David Sque for World Vintage Colours

In 2017, artist David Sque, best known for his work on Roy of the Rovers, produced two special edition illustrated football prints exclusively for World Vintage Colours.

The first depicted Sunderland AFC during their 1935–36 league championship season, capturing Raich Carter in action as Sunderland moved toward what remains the club’s most recent Football League title.

The second illustrated Celtic FC’s victory in the 1967 European Cup Final, showing the decisive moment as Celtic overcame Internazionale in Lisbon to become the first British club to win the competition.

Although the two scenes represent different eras and competitions, they were conceived as companion pieces, each focusing on a defining achievement in British football history and rendered in a classic narrative illustration style more commonly associated with mid-20th-century football art and comics.

As privately commissioned works, produced in very small original print runs and never released through Roy of the Rovers or any other commercial or syndicated channels, these two images are probably among the rarest David Sque / Roy of the Rovers–associated football illustrations ever produced.

At the time of their original release, both prints received limited publicity and circulated quietly among collectors. They are now being reissued by World Vintage Colours, presented to a new audience with the benefit of renewed interest in football’s visual, cultural, and illustrative heritage.

Together, the two prints form a matched pair: one marking the pinnacle of an English league campaign in the inter-war years, the other commemorating a landmark European triumph three decades later — each captured by an artist whose work helped shape how generations first encountered football on the printed page.

2. Celtic & the Lisbon Lions — European Champions, 1967

On 25 May 1967, Celtic FC changed the history of European football forever. At the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon, Celtic defeated Internazionale to become the first British club to lift the European Cup — and they did so in a manner that redefined what was possible.

The side that achieved this feat would become immortalised as the Lisbon Lions: a team composed entirely of players born within thirty miles of Celtic Park. Under Jock Stein, Celtic played attacking, expansive football against a defensive Inter side that embodied the tactical orthodoxy of the era.

David Sque’s illustration freezes the defining moment of that final — Tommy Gemmell’s thunderous equaliser, followed by the relentless pressure that would bring the winning goal. The goalkeeper beaten, the defenders scrambling, and the ball rolling inexorably toward history — this is football captured at its most dramatic and symbolic.

The Lisbon victory was more than a triumph for Celtic. It was a victory for attacking football, for local identity, and for the idea that imagination and courage could overcome tactical conservatism. In the context of European football’s evolution, 1967 stands as a turning point — a moment when British football announced itself on the continental stage.

This print celebrates not only the result, but the philosophy behind it: boldness, unity, and belief. For Celtic supporters, it is the defining image of the club’s greatest achievement. For football historians, it is one of the game’s most important nights.

Product details:

• You will only pay shipping/postage for 1 item, no matter how many items you purchase.
• Discounts are given for multiple purchases.
• Size: A3, A4, A5
• Single Sided
• Paper: 400gsm premium art stock
• Print quality: Museum-grade, high-resolution
• Finish: Unframed
• Watermark shown in images does NOT appear on the final print
• Carefully packaged for safe delivery

A striking piece of football history — ideal for collectors, historians, and lovers of our national game.

Any issues please contact me at paul@worldvintagecolours.com by clicking the hyperlink and I will get back to you ASAP.