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When you think of great rivalries in world football what do you think of? Do you think AC Milan and Inter fighting it out at the San Siro? How about Manchester United going for Liverpool's throat ...

Great Rivalries In World Football 3: Celtic v Rangers

by Thomas (Senior Writer)

26

646 reads

Opinion

September 23, 2008


When you think of great rivalries in world football what do you think of?

Do you think AC Milan and Inter fighting it out at the San Siro? How about Manchester United going for Liverpool's throat at Old Trafford? Or perhaps you're Spanish and you think of Barcelona and Real Madrid fighting for dominance at the Camp Nou?

In my last rivalry I went to Athens to take a look at Olympiacos and Panathinakos, the two Greek powerhouses. This time, I head north to Glasgow, Scotland, to take a look at the Old Firm derby between Celtic FC and Rangers FC.

Anyone who thinks of Scottish football will undoubtedly mention the Old Firm derby. It's one of the most exciting derbies in the world with two of the most successful clubs in Scotland. Between the two clubs, they have won a total of 66 Scottish Cups 93 Scottish Premier League titles.

The Old Firm derby began back in 1888, when Celtic defeated the Rangers, 5-2. Since then, the two clubs have met 380 times. Of those meetings, Celtic have won 136 matches, Rangers have won 152 matches, and they have drawn 92 matches. The last match was on August 31, 2008, when the Rangers defeated Celtic, 4-2. The two clubs meet four times a year and are frequently matched up against each other in the Scottish competitions.

 

As we all know, any two clubs that's in the same city are bound to bring hatred and rivalries. Let's take a look at how these two clubs have dealt with each other.

The older of the two clubs is Rangers FC. Founded in 1873, the club has the world record for the most league titles, with 51. They also have won more major trophies than any other club in the world. The Rangers have been successful ever since their beginning.  They have won 51 league titles, 1 Cup Winners' Cup, 32  Scottish Cup, and 25 League Cup.

Traditionally, the majority of Ranger fans were Protestant and held political views in line with the Unionists of Scotland. However, in more recent times, this has become untrue. While the club is known as The Teddy Bears or the Gers (a slang from Rangers), the fans have been known as Bluenoses. The Rangers' stadium, the Ibrox, was the first stadium in Scotland to receive a five-star status from UEFA.

The Rangers have had a steady stream of stars come through. Among them have been Bobby Shearer, Ian Durrant, and Ian Ferguson. Nowadays, players like Barry Ferguson, Kris Boyd, and David Weirare wowing the Ranger faithful. The club also has two Americans on the squad - Maurice Edu and American legend DaMarcus Beasley.

 

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26 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment

  1. Miah D. 9 months ago

    must have been pretty tense games back in the times when they had the sectarianism issues,

    thanks for the insights, great read.

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    • Thomas 9 months ago

      if anyone here would know more bout this rivalry it'd be Andrew. it must have been horrid back then.

      Thanks

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  2. Eric Gomez 9 months ago

    Probably the most shallow and non-sequitur thing to say about this, but - considering I don't know much about either team: I've always loved Celtic's uniforms. And I'd really like to know why there's a team called "Hearts" in Scotland.

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  3. Dev Ashish 9 months ago

    Nice read .... Some intense rivalry for sure ... Celtic are my personal faves though ;)

    Hearts FC takes its name from the novel The Heart of Midlothian by Sir Walter Scott. Their badge is a heart based on the Heart of Midlothian mosaic on the Royal Mile. Infact, the clubs actual name is Hearts of Midlothian FC.

    Thomas, some interesting rivalry history between Hearts and Hibernian FC as well...In 1800s, Hearts played illegal matches with the Hibs who were forbidden to play in the Scottish league due to sectarian issues and were fined every time, which resulted in the two clubs playing another match to pay the fine off. lol :P

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  4. Andrew McNair 9 months ago

    Ya don't need to put in "The" Rangers, we're happy as Rangers :)

    A mention for the likes of Paul Gascoigne, Brian Laudrup, De Boer Brothers, Van Bronckhorst etc would have been nice as we've had some fantastic players over the years and of course our all time top scorer Ally McCoist who is now assistant manager.

    Thanks for the spotlight Thomas.

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    • Thomas 9 months ago

      it sounds funny just Rangers to me. dont knoww why. Hope I did this to ur liking, since ur from there and all.

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  5. Alex Dimond 9 months ago

    All I'm saying is don't let Jon [Marum] see this....

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  6. Benjamin Rogers 9 months ago

    Great article mate, celtic and rangers are big rivals and it always makes for a great game of football.

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  7. Bela Trimmel 9 months ago

    Good article, Thomas.

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  8. Yoosof Farah 9 months ago

    intense rivalry, i love watching it on setanta. i must go and see an old firm derby live one day. maybe at celtic park, it seems better than ibrox. anyway, good article thomas.

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  9. John O'Neill 9 months ago

    It s great that you found time to write about the old firm however there are a number of factual inaccuracies within your report. Please let me know if youd like me to highlight them?

    Cheers, John

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  10. James Rocks 9 months ago

    c wen it says celtic would not sign a protestant this is completly untrue celtic have always signed protestant even the late great jock stein who managed us 2 the european cup with 11 home grown players all born within a 30 mile radius of parkhead was a protestant so can u pleasue correct this as we have always been open 2 any religion
    HAIL HAIL!!!!!
    btw evry1 who said celtic good choice :-)

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  11. James Rocks 8 months ago

    a ment 2 say please correct this
    mon the hoops

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  12. Andy Peters 8 months ago

    Im afraid James has slightly misled you aswell. The problems that you mentioned started because Celtic were founded as an Irish-Catholic club so as a result Rangers were potrayed as the other. Rangers were just another football club on establishment. Also unfortunatly the 'great' Jock Stein, as James refered to, was not so great as he unfortunately covered up a series of child abuse scandals in the late 60s. Hope this makes things clearer.

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  13. Graeme Cowan 7 months ago

    What the f*** are you all doing supporting the tattie munchers ;)

    Great wee read,and thanks for sharing your opinion about the greatest team in the world........and celitc haha

    As for pakhead having a better atmosphere,I can't tell you how wrong you are.
    All I can say is, go to an old firm game.
    Probably one of the greatest things you'll ever experience

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  14. Calum Williamson 6 months ago

    Great insight into the Old Firm Thomas.

    I'm A Rangers Supporter myself mate, and it's good to finally see an Unbias artical.

    Well Done.

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