What is the World's Greatest Football Rivalry?
G'day Hive! Let me open up the conversation to you. What is the best football derby in world football in your opinion? Personally I cannot look past the Old Firm derby between Rangers and Celtic. If you're from Glasgow, you’re either going for the royal blue or emerald green.
Football derbies are born out of a hatred for one another and its usually as a result of geographical proximity or because of similar league stature. The Old Firm covers both these reasons, but it's on a whole different level.
Rangers vs. Celtic is a rivalry that's embedded into Scottish culture and has created social, political, religious and sectarian divides. Many people across the UK and Ireland are also supporters of either Celtic or Rangers above their own local teams because of political or religious views.
The derby and the disorder created between fans has led to such things as the banning of alcohol being served in Scottish football stadiums for over 40 years. The Scottish FA also actively tries to avoid an Old Firm title decider following crowd troubles in 1999.
What does the derby mean to both sets of fans and why do they hate each other so much?
Well, Rangers are a club built on Protestant roots and Celtic are built upon Catholic Church foundations. This is where the divide between Celtic and Rangers begins. A Glasgow City Council report on sectarianism found that 74% of Celtic fans identified as Catholic and 10% Protestant. This is compared to 65% of Rangers fans identifying as Protestant and 2% Catholic.
Rangers fans mostly identify as being pro-British Unionists
Source: Photo by Vladislav Zolotov
Add to the religious divisions and ethnic divide between the clubs. Native and Ulster Scots make up most of the Rangers fan base. Celtic fans are made up of mostly Catholic-Irish immigrants. Rangers fans are also pro-British, often displaying the Union Flag whereas Celtic fans often show Irish tricolours.
Historically the divide started to happen in 1912 when Northern Irish company Harland & Wolff opened a shipyard in Glasgow. Celtic and Ranger fans are split with respect to Ireland-Northern Ireland relations.
Many workers at the shipyard were of Ulster Protestant or Scottish descent but the shipyard had anti-Catholic hiring practices which fuelled sectarianism divide among the impoverished Catholic-Irish immigrants from the east end of Glasgow and the Protestant workers of the shipyard.
Although sectarianism has somewhat simmered down in recent years, there's still strong divides between the two clubs. It's not only limited to Glasgow and Scotland. In Northern Ireland it’s advised not to wear a Celtic jersey in Protestant Loyalist areas of Belfast and in reverse, its best to avoid wearing a Rangers shirt in Catholic Republican areas.
About 74% of Celtic fans identify themselves as being Catholic
Source: Photo by Vintage Medical
All that meaning behind the Old Firm makes it in my eyes, the best derby in World Football. It's also an important part of the Scottish economy, worth at least £120m a year.
There's a dangerous side to the derby too. Between 1996 and 2003 there were an estimated eight deaths and thousands of assaults linked directly to the Old Firm rivalry. Rangers and Celtic continue to distance themselves from their sectarian histories and have clamped down on fan violence.
Rangers lead the overall title race 55 to 51 over Celtic. The 2020-21 season would reignite the rivalry as the Rangers would stop Celtic from becoming the first team of the two to win ten-in-a-row, with both clubs having achieved nine-in-a-row throughout their histories.
So...what is the best football derby in world football in your opinion?
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Yes, that rivalry certainly transcends just football. The religious divide also underpins a political divide which has arguably become more relevant than sectarianism. The Protestant community are more likely to be Unionists and the Catholics more likely to favour Scottish independence a rivalry in some ways then that dates back to the Middle Ages!
I guess in that sense Real Madrid vs Barcelona which is also a battle between 2 of the greatest ever football clubs also represents a fight for political independence for Catalonia from Spain
That is so true regarding El Clasico. Perhaps it's not 'politically' correct in me saying, but I think the divides which can help create these sorts of rivalries are 'special' in a kind of way. It's like a celebration of what makes us different...but some take it too far. We have a derby here in Sydney ; Sydney FC vs. Western Sydney Wanderers. Lines are somewhat drawn geographically because of socio-economical status, immigrant backgrounds etc.
Absolutely and better to have those clashes on a sports field than elsewhere
Very wise words. And what happens on the field stays on the field
The Paulista Derby between Sao Paulo's Corinthians and Palmeiras, as well as the Turkish Derby between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce both deserve a mention, but the one I have firsthand experience of is the Old Firm between Celtic and Rangers. I have been to three of them over the years and the build up, match and atmosphere were unbelievable.
Omg wow... it's on my bucket list to go to the Old Firm. Did you go for anyone or watch as a neutral? I could just imagine the noise and passion that would be at the game
I went to support Celtic and actually you just reminded me of a really cool story about the last match I went to, that involves top notch middle of the park tickets and a guitar player from a legendary Scottish band! I'm going to do a Sports Talk Social post about it this week - thanks for the inspiration man!!
The matches were amazing though, the atmosphere is something else. I don't go in for all the hatred and vitriol that can be present at these games from fans on both sides. But once you are able to kind of ignore all that sillyness, the atmosphere, passion and excitement is excellent. I'm an avid Arsenal fan and have been to plenty of stadiums around the world and there are few to rival Park Head in my opinion. Rep. of Ireland matches at major tournaments do exceed the Old Firm matches, but not many other football games do.
Awesome man I can't wait to read the article tag me in it!
Oh Rep Ireland I can feel it through the TV. How about Rep Ireland vs. Northern Ireland? I can only imagine.
How is the atmosphere at Emirates btw? Sometimes I feel like it's quiet on TV but I feel like it's just the nervousness of fans I can feel. It's almost always full so there is no way it's as quiet as it may sometimes appear to be.
I will indeed man.
Those games can be very intense alright, especially when they are competitive, like the game back in 1993 when we somehow got away with a 1-1 draw in Windsor park to help us qualify for the World Cup in USA in 1994. That game was full of hatred and vitriol in the crowd, that's for sure. That was at a very tense time in Northern Ireland though before the Peace Process was signed.
I was at the last match between the two in Dublin, which was a friendly and it was a boring 0-0 draw with zero crowd trouble or issues of any sort, so hopefully both sets of fans are mature enough now to just enjoy a good competitive game of football and who knows maybe some day there will be an all Ireland team, like we have in rugby, though I doubt that will ever happen to be completely honest.
As for the atmosphere at the Emirates, it's not the greatest now to be honest, for a 60,000 seater that place should be heaving on match day, but rarely is, unless it is a big match against Spurs or Man United. I wish the atmosphere was better, like you see at Anfield or St James Park. I've been to St.James park a good few times over the years and they have the best atmosphere in the league up there for me.
I think this might be the only derby in Europe that have reached the intensity level in South American derbies. Good pick.