Match summary
With the Intercontinental Cup still a two-leg affair, Racing Club travelled to Scotland for the first leg against European Cup winners Celtic. The match, held on 18 October in Glasgow's Hampden Park, was a tight affair with José Pizzuti's men restricting the home side to a single goal by McNeill midway through the second half (69). In the return leg in Buenos Aires on November 1, the Argentine club suffered another blow, conceding an early goal to a Gemmel penalty (21'). Then Norberto Raffo (48') fired La Academia level on the night, but with the clock ticking it looked as if the trophy was headed for the Old Continent. However, in stoppage time the legendary José Cárdenas finished an explosive move (93') to win the return leg for Racing. With away goals not applicable in those days, the tie required a third game to decide the winner.

The play-off, which was held at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay, was a bad-tempered affair with the Paraguayan referee forced to send off Lennox and Johnstone for Celtic and Alfio Basile for Racing in the first half. With neither side willing to risk anything, it was always going to be a little piece of magic that would make the difference, and once again it fell to "El Chango" Cárdenas to provide it. The Argentine striker, picking up a through ball from Juan Carlos Rulli, let fly with a powerful left-footer from almost 35 yards that curled into Fallon's top right-hand corner (56'). By the time Hughes and Rulli had been sent off late on, Racing had the match under control and were able to hold out for victory.

Key player
In a side replete with young players, Humberto Maschio's experience was one of the decisive factors in Racing's march to the world title. After starting out with Arsenal of Lavallol, he then helped Quilmes to promotion before joining Racing Club in 1954. Initially a front man, he later switched to midfield. In 1957 he decided to try his luck in Italian football, and so impressed at Bologna, Atalanta, Inter and Florentina that he was called into the Italian squad for the 1962 FIFA World Cup Chile ^TM. He returned to Avellaneda en 1966, and enjoyed his crowning glory with Racing Club's victory over Celtic. In total, he played 139 times for the Argentine club, scoring 44 goals. In 1999, he shared coaching duties at the club with Gustavo Costas, another idol of the Racing Club faithful

Coach
Juan José Pizzuti is considered one of the greatest coaches in the club's history. His appointment on 19 September 1965 was ostensibly a last-gasp measure to stave off relegation. Not only did he lead Racing to safety, but he built a hardworking and fiercely competitive side that became league champions the following year and South American and world champions the season after that. If that were not impressive enough, his side also set a record of 39 straight games unbeaten.

His attack-minded football revolutionised the Argentine domestic scene, which had begun to experiment with a less cautious style of football after the failure of the national side at the 1958 FIFA World Cup Sweden ^TM. Testimony to the effectiveness of his methods was the fact that with the exception of the goalkeepers and Oscar Martín, every member of his side got among the goals that season. The achievements of "José's team", as it was then known as, came to be held in higher regard with the passing of the years. They remained the last Racing side to win the Argentine league until the club triumphed again in 2001.

First leg (Hampden Park, Scotland, 18 October)
Celtic 1-0 Racing Club
Attendance: 103,000
Referee: Juan Gardeazábal (Esp)
Goal: McNeill (69)
Celtic: Simpson - McNeill and Gemmell - Craig, Murdoch and Clark - Johnstone, Lennox, Wallace - Auld and Hughes.
Racing Club: Cejas - Perfumo and Díaz - Martín, Mori and Basile - Raffo, Rulli, Cárdenas, J. J. Rodríguez and Maschio.
Second leg (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1 November)
Racing Club 2 - 1 Celtic
Attendance: 100,000
Referee :Esteban Marino (Uru)
Goals :Gemmel (21), Raffo (48) and Cárdenas (93).
Racing Club : Cejas - Perfumo and Chabay - Martín, Rulli and Basile - Cardoso, Maschio, Cárdenas, J. J. Rodríguez and Raffo.
Celtic : Fallon - McNeill and Gemmell - Craig, Murdoch and Clark - Johnstone, Wallace, Chalmers, O'Neill and Lennox.
Play-off (Montevideo, Uruguay)
Racing Club 1 - 0 Celtic
Attendance: 65,172
Referee: Rodolfo Pérez Osorio (Par)
Goal : Cárdenas (56').
Racing Club : Cejas - Perfumo and Chabay - Martín, Rulli and Basile - Cardoso, Maschio, Cárdenas, J. J. Rodríguez and Raffo.
Celtic: Fallon - Mc Neill and Gemmell - Craig, Murdoch and Clark - Johnstone, Lennox, Wallace, Auld and Hughes.