Football: A Tale of Two Rivals

This is a tale of the contrasting stories of two of the biggest rivals in world football. One of them is the most successful domestic club in Europe, and the other is the first British club to win the European Cup.

Don’t know how many of you got it right, but I’m talking about the Old Firm – the rivalry between Celtic FC and Rangers FC. A long standing rivalry which once captured people’s imagination and appreciation just as ‘ The El Classico’ manages to do it.

Rangers have won the Scottish league 54 times, while Celtic have won it 43 times. Rangers have won the Scottish Cup 35 times while Celtic have won it 33 times. The Rangers’ Ibrox stadium has a capacity of 50,987 while Celtic’s Celtic park has a capacity of 60,832. Thus, 2 rivals who compete with each other in every possible statistic promise an intense rivalry. It has been reported that admissions to hospital emergency rooms in Scotland increases nine fold on the day of a Celtic- Rangers Derby.

In the last decade, both these teams have gone on a downward spiral, leading to the decrease of the importance of this classic rivalry. As both these clubs try to regain their lost glory, they got exactly opposite results.

First, let’s look at the team that went the right way

Celtic FC

Celtic recently celebrated its 125th year of existence by beating FC Barcelona, a match which is being hailed as one of the best victories the Champions League has ever seen. Also, they are sitting comfortably on the top of the SPL table. And to top it off, they have managed to qualify for the knock-out rounds of the Champions League for the first time in 20 years of the existence of the new format of the Champions League.

In the 1966-67 season, they became the first British team to win the European Cup. What made this win even special was that all the players in the side, commonly known as ‘The Lisbon Lions’, were home-grown, and all but one member of the 15-man squad were born within 10 miles of Celtic’s stadium, The Celtic Park. This feat is unlikely to be ever recorded again.

Also, in that season, Celtic competed in 5 tournaments, namely, The SPL, Scottish cup, Scottish League Cup, Glasgow Cup and European Cup, winning all 5 tournaments, and thus winning an unprecedented Quintuple.

But not qualifying for Europe’s premier competition for almost a decade had started to threaten the club’s great history. But if their strong performances this season are an indication, they have begun their way to once again carving out a place in Europe which they rightfully deserve. Of course, they are far from achieving what they did in 1966-67, but they are at least moving in the right direction.

Now let us look at the Glasgow side that got it all wrong:

Ranger FC

Rangers FC, like their neighbours, are rich in history too.

It is the most successful club in Europe in terms of the number of titles won, and is the first British club to reach a UEFA tournament final, back in 1961. Rangers FC are the only club in the world that has won 7 trebles.

Writing this article, I could feel for the Rangers FC faithful, whose number of trophies would make many of the top European clubs envious. They have had the poor fate of seeing their club win 3 successive SPL titles and then slipping down to the little known corridors of the third tier of Scottish football. Seeing their club change ownership for just $1, and seeing it liquidate, are the worst nightmares a fan can possibly see for its club.

Of course, there is a very realistic chance that they may soon make their way back up to where they belong, but rebuilding its legacy from almost nothing, all over again, and achieving similar heights, will undoubtedly be a herculean task.

This means that we will not have the luxury of watching this rivalry for some years, except in case of a very lucky draw in the Scottish League Cup.

Lets hope that this rivalry, ‘The Old Firm’, will regain its full glory and wish the fans of these clubs best of luck for their future.

After all, who wouldn’t like to see an intense rivalry between the two of the most supported clubs in its full glory again?