Tom fulfilled Euro dream

The Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo of his day.

But it was with Lisburn Distillery that Finney was given the opportunity to fulfil his dream of playing European football.

Finney turned out for the Whites at Windsor Park in September 1963 when Distillery met European giants Benfica in the European Cup.

Benfica, with the likes of Eusebio in their ranks, had been the beaten finalists four months prior to the encounter, however, with Finney in their line-up, the Whites held Benfica to a 3-3 draw on a famous night in Belfast.

Finney, who came out of retirement for the one-off match, played over 500 times for his beloved Preston North End.

However, on the 30th Anniversary of Distillery’s famous European adventure, it was the footballing legend who thanked the Whites for allowing him to fulfil his European ambitions.

Memories of Finney’s night with the Whites were stirred this week after the 91-year-old passed away last Friday.

Current Club Director, Terry Thompson, was there to witness Finney in action and he recalled the legendary forward’s reaction when the 30th Anniversary of the match was celebrated and a crystal bell had been sent to him.

Terry recalls how the crystal bell was returned to the club: “It was the crystal bell being returned with a lovely note from Sir Tom which thanked us for such a generous gift but requesting that club held onto it in the hope that when people looked at it they would recall the night when Tom Finney was given the chance to make his dream of playing European football come true by his being allowed to play for Distillery Football Club, that was such a nice touch by one of the games true gentlemen.”