The Beginnings of the Old Firm Rivalry
Few fixtures in world football carry the intensity, history and edge of the Old Firm derby. Celtic and Rangers, Glasgow’s great rivals, have contested supremacy for well over a century, their feud spilling beyond the pitch into questions of religion, politics, and identity. It is a rivalry that defines Scottish football and shapes much of the city’s cultural life.
Celtic were founded in 1887 by Brother Walfrid, a Marist priest, as a club to support Glasgow’s Irish Catholic immigrant community. Rangers, formed in 1872, already represented the city’s Protestant working class, and by the 1890s, the battle lines were drawn. Their first meeting in 1888, a 5–2 win for Celtic, set the tone for a fixture that would never be just about football.
In the years leading up to the First World War, both clubs quickly established themselves as the dominant forces in Scottish football. Rangers captured early league titles, while Celtic, under Willie Maley’s stewardship, became a powerhouse, winning six consecutive championships between 1905 and 1910.
The Old Firm Rivalry Post-World War 1
The inter-war years entrenched the pattern. Rangers, bolstered by the managerial reign of Bill Struth, rose to dominance, winning title after title. Celtic retained their strength but increasingly found themselves overshadowed by their neighbours.
In the terraces, allegiances were bound up with faith, identity and politics: Union Jacks and Orange Order influences on one side; Irish tricolours and Catholic solidarity on the other. The Old Firm was unlike any other derby because it was woven into the social fabric of Scotland.
After the Second World War, the rivalry only intensified. Rangers’ continued dominance under Struth cemented their status, while Celtic struggled until the 1960s.
European Glory in Glasgow
Then came Jock Stein — a transformative figure who led Celtic to nine consecutive league titles from 1966 to 1974 and, most famously, the European Cup in 1967, when the “Lisbon Lions” became the first British side to conquer the continent.
Rangers responded with their own continental glory, winning the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1972.
The 1980s brought turbulence both on and off the pitch. Celtic maintained their competitive edge, but Rangers entered a new chapter with the arrival of Graeme Souness as player-manager in 1986. His bold recruitment of top English talent reshaped Scottish football and reignited Rangers’ dominance.
The Modern Face of the Old Firm Clubs
The 1990s saw the famous run of nine consecutive league titles under Walter Smith, a period in which Celtic struggled to keep pace but remained the immovable obstacle to Rangers’ ambitions.
As the new millennium dawned, the rivalry evolved in a changing football landscape. Celtic enjoyed resurgence under Martin O’Neill, with Henrik Larsson spearheading memorable victories.
Rangers continued to battle fiercely, but financial instability would eventually threaten their very existence. The club’s liquidation in 2012 and subsequent reformation forced them into the lower divisions, leaving Celtic unchallenged domestically for several years.
Yet even in Rangers’ absence, the Old Firm loomed large — their meetings in cups or upon Rangers’ return in 2016 were treated as seismic events.
In recent years, the balance has shifted back and forth. Celtic’s period of dominance under Neil Lennon and Brendan Rodgers gave way to Rangers’ revival under Steven Gerrard, who ended Celtic’s nine-in-a-row streak in 2021.
Each victory in the Old Firm remains seismic, its impact felt across Scotland and beyond. The fixture is still laced with sectarian symbolism and civic rivalry, though in modern football it is increasingly framed as one of the sport’s great cultural spectacles.
The Old Firm is not simply a derby. It is history, religion, politics, pride, and passion bound into ninety minutes of football. It is Glasgow divided and united at the same time.
Watch the short documentary about the Old Firm Derby: Rangers vs Celtic
