Celtic v Rangers at Bar Paolo Gas for the Barga Celtic Supporters Club with images streaming live via Channel 67.
It sometimes seems impossible that the intensity of Old Firm* matches can increase with each passing one. As this Scottish campaign enters its final and crucial phase, however, the heat surrounding the country’s biggest football game can surely only be on the up. Sunday’s game marks the first of three remaining Glasgow derbies, with Celtic looking to prove something that has not been apparent in the Old Firm clashes that have taken place already this season. Namely, that home advantage counts.
Rangers will return to Parkhead for a Scottish Cup replay on 2 March with the pair to meet once again after the Scottish Premier League undertakes its annual split.
In short, a fixture that is routinely laced with more scrutiny than a modern-day politician’s expenses claim is about to be cranked up further and further as the two major honours in the Scottish game come up for grabs.
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Neutral observers of the Old Firm game – if such a thing exists – can be heartened by the potential for colour. El Hadji Diouf and Scott Brown had a minor spat during the last meeting of Rangers and Celtic, with the Parkhead manager, Neil Lennon, also not known for his peacekeeping qualities in these encounters.
*The Old Firm is a common collective name for the association football clubs Celtic and Rangers, both based in Glasgow, Scotland.
The origin of the term is unclear. One theory has it that the expression derives from Celtic’s first game in 1888, which was played against Rangers. However, William J. Murray states that the term derives from the commercial benefits of the two clubs’ rivalry, which were viewed with distaste in some quarters in the early days of the game.
The two clubs are the most successful in Scotland, having won between them 67 Scottish Cups, 40 Scottish League Cups and 95 Scottish League championships (as of May 2010). Interruptions to their ascendancy have occurred infrequently, most recently with the challenge of the New Firm of Aberdeen and Dundee United in the first half of the 1980s and other times happening in the 1890s and 1950s. Since the 1995–96 season, the Old Firm clubs have finished in the top two places in every season, apart from 2005–06, when Hearts finished second ahead of Rangers.
As of 6 February 2011, Rangers and Celtic had played each other 391 times: Rangers winning 156 matches, Celtic 141 matches and 94 draws. The two clubs normally compete four times a year in the SPL and are regularly drawn against each other in the two Scottish cup competitions.
The clubs have large support bases around Glasgow, but also have supporters clubs in most towns throughout Scotland and in many cities around the world. The presence of Rangers and Celtic has been estimated to be worth £120 million to the Scottish economy.
Celtic enjoy breathing space at the top after beating dismal Rangers: Celtic 3 – Rangers 0
It seems appropriate that Gary Hooper, one of the most impressive performers of this, Neil Lennon’s first full season in charge of Celtic, orchestrated this Old Firm victory. Finally, the manager’s destiny is in his own hands.
Celtic now lead their oldest rivals by eight points in the Scottish Premier League, with Rangers’ two games in hand no longer sufficient to send them back to the top of the table.
On what was an utterly miserable day for Rangers Kris Commons, who rejected a move to Ibrox from Derby County last month, scored Celtic’s third goal. – source