When it comes to British football, the five clubs that immediately come to mind are Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Glasgow Rangers and Celtic. If English football is considered a reference, then Scottish football is intransigence, passion and constant struggle. Compared to the “Old Firm Derby”, “El Clásico” is like children playing in the sandbox. If we take the beginning of the confrontation, then this is 1888. And the vaunted “El Clásico” only began to gain momentum in the 1950s. By the way, to join the history and culture of Glasgow Rangers, go to the online store and order sportswear.
Origins
In 1872, two McNeil brothers, Peter and Moses, Peter Campbell and William McBeath organized a football team. At the same time, they gave her the name of the book that one of them was reading at that moment. However, the official founding date of the club is July 15, 1873, when the first meeting of the team was held.
Rangers, along with Dumbarton, became the first Scottish champions in 1890. Subsequently, this is the most titled club in the country. The beginning of the twentieth century was very successful for the team. The Blues have won four league titles in a row. Almost every year, two clubs from Glasgow fought for the championship – Celtic and Rangers. The last duel before World War II took place on January 2, 1939. Then the Rangers turned out to be stronger, and a record 118,567 spectators watched the fight.
By the way, go to the Rangers online store and order branded T-shirts.
Mid-Late 20th And Early 21st Century
In the fifties and sixties, the “blue” were habitually successful. They periodically gave the palm of the Scottish championship to the guys from the “Hearts” and “Hibernian”. With the advent of the seventies, Celtic climbed to the top, which backfired in 1971.
“The Ibrock Nightmare” – that’s what they called January 2 this year. “Rangers” took home “Celts”. The match went to a goalless draw as Jimmy Johnston put Celtic ahead in the final minutes. A few seconds later, Colin Stein equalized. Fights began in the stands, which ended more than in failure – sixty-six people died.
A year later, the Rangers won their first and, so far, the only European trophy – the Cup Winners’ Cup. He finished in the final match of the Moscow “Dynamo”. Between 1989 and 1997, the Blues were champions nine times in a row. For the first three years the team was led by Graeme Souness and then by Walter Smith. Dick Advocaat’s tenure at the head of the club was extremely successful. The Dutch coach managed to become the champion of Scotland twice, win the Scottish Cup twice, and also win the League Cup. Another foreigner, the Frenchman Paul Le Guen, did not find any laurels, having not won a single trophy in two years. And in 2007, Walter Smith again stood at the helm of the team, it was under his leadership that the team became the champion of Scotland twice in a row, confidently beating Celtic.
And if you want to join the history of your favorite club, then go to the Rangers website and buy T-shirts and sports equipment.
Celtic became the main rival almost from the very beginning of the club. Meetings between these teams became known as “old firm”. The confrontation is so serious that here the matter is not limited to just club likes or dislikes. Let’s start with the fact that Catholics support Celtic, and Protestants support Rangers. For the Catholic world, the division into “us” and “them” according to religious norms is very common. But in Glasgow it has grown, perhaps, to indecent proportions. On this basis, more than once there have been incidents ending in death. People suffered, but it was not possible to stop the pressure of the two sides. Perhaps the twenty-first century, the century of globalization, has somewhat reduced the degree of intolerance between the two fan camps towards each other.
The “Old Firm” is the oldest derby in Europe. Even the recognized rivals in the face of the Milan derby or the Madrid confrontation are noticeably behind their “brothers” from Scotland.
The Rangers‘ home arena is Ibrox. It can accommodate over fifty thousand spectators. This is one of the oldest stadiums in the UK, built in 1899. He has an amazing story, which we will definitely write about in future articles. Meanwhile, visit the Rangers website and order ammunition with the logo of your favorite club!