This article is about the Scottish football club. For the Maltese football club, see Hibernians F.C.
Hibernian Football Club (informally known as Hibs, Hibbies and Hibees) are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, north Edinburgh. Along with city rivals Hearts, they represent Edinburgh in the Scottish Premier League. The club is currently managed by John Collins with Tommy Craig as his assistant.

History
On August 13, 1887, Hibernian defeated Preston North End in a match co-billed by the FA and SFA as the Association Football Championship of the World decider, due to the two teams' achievements in their respective domestic cup trophies.

"World Champions"
The team colours are emerald green and white. The strip has a green body, with white sleeves, a white collar, and green cuffs (on long sleeved tops). The shorts are white, and the socks are green with white tops.
Hibernian introduced white sleeves to their shirts on 13 August 1938 against Hamilton Accies after a major brightening up of Easter Road had taken place. The harp and shamrocks at the entrance had been repainted as had the stand and the wall round the pitch and the terracing barriers had all been painted white. The goalposts had been replaced with oval ones with green nets. On that day, Harry Swan addressed the large crowd over new loudspeakers about "the brighter Easter Road" before the team appeared in their new strip.
For the 2004/2005 season, the colour of the shorts was changed to a green which matches the shirt colour. This was done to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the club's 2-0 friendly win over Real Madrid, as this was the kit worn for this friendly match (to avoid a clash with Madrid's all-white).

Colours
Hibernian were the first British club to appear in European competition, when they were invited to play in the inaugrural Champions Cup in the 1955/56 season. Playing their first game against German side Rot-Weiss Essen, Hibernian won 4-0 in Essen and the return tie in Scotland ended in a 1-1 draw. Hibernian went on to reach the semi-finals, only to be defeated by a Stade de Reims side inspired by Raymond Kopa.

First British club in Europe
In 1977 Hibernian became the first prominant British club to have sponsorship on their shirts (the sponsor was Bukta). Strangely enough, Hibernian chairman Tom Hart had previously banned television cameras from Easter Road but when Hibs created shirt advertising the television companies boycotted Hibs. The eventual compromise was that Hibs wore purple shirts and then yellow shirts when TV cameras were present.

First Scottish club to have shirt advertising
In 1980 Hibernian were the first Scotish club to have undersoil heating installed at it's home ground Easter Road.

First Scottish club to have undersoil heating
The last major trophy won by the club was the 2007 League Cup, when they defeated Kilmarnock 5-1 in the final. They also reached the League Cup final in 2004, losing to Livingston. Hibernian have not won the Scottish Cup since 1902. Their last appearance in the final was a 3-0 loss to Celtic in 2001.
Hibernian's most recent relegation to the First Division came at the end of the 1997-98 season. They immediately won promotion back to the SPL, however, in the 1998-99 season, helped by a run of 12 wins in a row on as they were crowned First Division champions. They earned a record total of 89 points and finished 23 points ahead of second-placed Falkirk.

Recent history
Fans of Hibernian have recently developed a connection with Dutch Eredivisie side FC Groningen. The unofficial connection between the teams was started by fans of both teams who have visited the other's matches.

Link with Groningen
Hibs' traditional local rivals in the city of Edinburgh are Hearts.
The first "official" derby match was on Christmas Day 1875, when Hearts beat Hibernian 1–0. It wasn't until their five-game struggle for the EFA Cup in 1878, that the two clubs became the dominant ones in Edinburgh. Hearts won 3–2 after 0–0, 1–1, 1–1 and 1–1 draws. The clubs' most notable meeting occurred in the 1896 Scottish Cup Final, played on 14 March 1896, Hearts winning 3-1 at Logie Green in the only final played outside Glasgow.
For more detailed information on this rivalry, please see the separate Edinburgh derby article.

Rivalry
Tony Mowbray was appointed Hibs manager on 24 May 2004, replacing the unpopular Bobby Williamson. Mowbray placed an emphasis on playing attacking, passing football, despite the relative youth of the team and the pressure for results.

Tony Mowbray era
These policies were rewarded with a 3rd place finish in Mowbray's first season as manager (2004-05), and a place in the UEFA Cup for the following season (2005-06). Hibs reached the semi-final stage of the Scottish Cup where they lost 1-2 to Dundee United, despite taking the lead early in the second half.

2004-05 season
In the 2005-06 season, Hibs got off to an excellent start, winning 10 of their first 14 league games. This form led to speculation by some commentators that they could put in a challenge for the championship, but Tony Mowbray played down the club's chances, pointing to the lack of squad depth and the much higher budgets of Rangers, Celtic and Hearts. Highlights of the season included three consecutive victories over Rangers and a 2-0 victory over Hearts, ending Hearts' unbeaten start to the league. The lost 3-0 to Dunfermline Athletic in the League Cup. They showed promising signs in the Scottish Cup, beating Arbroath 6-0, Rangers 3-0 and Falkirk 5-1, but were well beaten 0-4 by City rivals Hearts in the semi-final at Hampden Park.

2005-06 season
For further information, see Hibernian FC season 2006-07.

2006-07 under Mowbray
Following media speculation about Falkirk manager John Hughes, Cowdenbeath manager Mixu Paatelainen and Nottingham Forest coach Ian McParland, it was announced on 31 October 2006 that John Collins would be the new manager, with Tommy Craig as assistant manager.

John Collins
For further information, see Hibernian FC season 2006-07.

2006-07 under John Collins
For further information, see Hibernian FC season 2007-08.

2007-08
The club's name is almost universally shortened to Hibs. However, the team are also often known by their fans by the nickname "the Hibees" (pronounced "high-bees"). Hibs supporters are known as "Hibbies" (singular: "Hibby"). Also many fans call them "The Cabbage", as per the Cockney Rhyming Slang "The Cabbage And Ribs" after which a pub in Albert Street, Edinburgh was named.

Managers
As of 7 September 2007.

Players

Current squad

Players out on loan
The most famous group of Hibs players were the "Famous Five" forward line of the late 1940s and early 1950s: Gordon Smith, Bobby Johnstone, Lawrie Reilly, Eddie Turnbull and Willie Ormond. This group led Hibs to three league championships between 1948 and 1952.
The next most famous group of Hibs players was "Turnbull's Tornados", managed by Eddie Turnbull, including players such as Pat Stanton, Alan Gordon, Joe Harper, John Blackley, John Brownlie, Des Bremner and Erich Schaedler. This group led Hibs to a League Cup win in 1972 and two Drybrough Cup wins.
Other notable players have included Joe Baker, Peter Cormack and Peter Marinello in the 1960s; Alan Rough and Gordon Durie in the 1980s; and John Collins, Andy Goram and Jim Leighton in the 1990s. Former Manchester United player George Best was with the club for half a season, playing 22 games and scoring 3 goals.
Notable Hibs players since 2000 include:

Russell Latapy - Trinidad and Tobago World Cup player (2006), now with Falkirk
Franck Sauzée - former France international and European Cup winner (with Olympique Marseille), now retired
Ulises de la Cruz - Ecuador World Cup player (2002 & 2006), now with Reading
Ian Murray - Scotland international, now with Norwich City
Garry O'Connor - current Scotland international, now with Birmingham City
Derek Riordan - Scotland international, now with Celtic
Gary Caldwell - current Scotland international, now with Celtic
Kevin Thomson - former club captain and Scotland under-21 international, now with Rangers
Chris Killen - current New Zealand international, now with Celtic
Scott Brown - current Scotland international, now with Celtic
Ivan Sproule - current Northern Ireland international, now with Bristol City
Steven Whittaker - Scotland under-21 international, now with Rangers Famous players
The club has been mentioned in many works of literature, mainly by local authors. The works of author Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting) contain several references to Hibernian, presumably due to his being a native of Leith. The team is often mentioned in casual conversation and is the team many of his characters support. There are many references to Hibernian's firm support. Visual references to Hibs are noticeable in the films adapted from his works. More observant persons would have spotted many images of Hibernian in Danny Boyle's film, Trainspotting, such as Begbie wearing a Hibs shirt while he plays five-a-side. During the famous baby on the ceiling/detox scene, many posters and pictures of Hibernian can be seen on the walls of Mark Renton's bedroom.
In the final short film in the trilogy The Acid House, with the same title as the movie, Coco Bryce, a boy from the "Hibs firm", is struck by lightning while under the influence of LSD in a Pilton park only to have his soul transferred to the body of an unborn child from one of the more affluent areas of Edinburgh. The final scene of the movie is that of Coco in the baby's body strapped to his mother's back with a Hibs top in the pub chanting "Oo to, oo to be, oo to be a Hibee".
Hibernian are also frequently referred to in the Inspector Rebus detective series by Ian Rankin. In the later books, Rebus's colleague DS Siobhan Clarke is a season ticket holder at Easter Road. In the 2006 television adaptation of the series, Rebus (a Raith Rovers fan in the books) is the Hibs fan.
In their song "Cap in Hand", from the album Sunshine on Leith (1988), The Proclaimers sing, "I can understand why Stranraer lie so lowly / They could save a lot of points by signing Hibs' goalie". The title track from this album has become a Hibs anthem, and is traditionally played before matches at Easter Road.

In popular culture

Highest home attendance: 65,860 vs Hearts; 2 January 1950
Record fee paid - £750k for Ulises de la Cruz in 2000 from Deportivo Quito Club records
Hibs last won the Scottish Cup with a 1-0 victory over Celtic on 26 April 1902. They have been in 10 finals and 19 semi-finals. Hibs have played a record 333 games in the competition without winning the competition. Dumbarton and Queen's Park have gone longer since their last wins, but have played fewer matches in the intervening period.
Sat 12 February 1887
Hibernian
2
Dumbarton
1
Sat 14 March 1896
Hibernian
1
Heart of Midlothian
3
Sat 26 April 1902
Hibernian
1
Celtic
0
Sat 11 April 1914
Hibernian
0
Celtic
0
Thu 16 April 1914
Hibernian
1
Celtic
4
Sat 31 March 1923
Hibernian
0
Celtic
1
Sat 19 April 1924
Hibernian
0
Airdrieonians
2
Sat 19 April 1947
Hibernian
1
Aberdeen
2
Sat 26 April 1958
Hibernian
0
Clyde
1
Sat 6 May 1972
Hibernian
1
Celtic
6
Sat 12 May 1979
Hibernian
0
Rangers
0
Wed 16 May 1979
Hibernian
0
Rangers
0
Mon 28 May 1979
Hibernian
2
Rangers
3
Sat 26 May 2001
Hibernian
0
Celtic
3

Scottish Cup finals
NB Hibs won the 1943-44 Southern League Cup vs Rangers 6-5 on corners after the game ended 0-0.
28 October 1950
Hibernian
0
Motherwell
3
5 April 1969
Hibernian
2
Celtic
6
9 December 1972
Hibernian
2
Celtic
1
26 October 1974
Hibernian
3
Celtic
6
27 October 1985
Hibernian
0
Aberdeen
3
27 October 1991
Hibernian
2
Dunfermline Athletic
0
24 October 1993
Hibernian
1
Rangers
2
14 March 2004
Hibernian
0
Livingston
2
18 March 2007
Hibernian
5
Kilmarnock
1

Honours

Hibernian FC season 2006-07
Hibernian FC season 2007-08