Celtic and Rangers have dominated the Scottish football scene in the twenty-first century, monopolizing Premiership title triumphs.
Since the turn of the millennium, the Glasgow rivals have also won 16 Scottish Cup Finals and 16 League Cup Finals, as they have been home to some of the best players to have played in Scotland’s top division. Celtic Park and Ibrox have had great swaths of success since we all moved on from fretting about the Y2K catastrophe and just getting on with life, from Scottish heroes like Scott Brown and Allan McGregor to foreign players like Henrik Larsson and Fernando Ricksen.
With our tin hits firmly on our heads, we take a look back at the last 23 years and pick out a combined Celtic and Rangers XI:
A four-time Scottish Premiership champion, four-time Scottish Cup winner, five-time Scottish League Cup winner and two-time UEFA Cup/Europa League runner-up. McGregor is a Rangers legend after making over 500 appearances for the club and becoming a firm favourite with the Ibrox faithful.
Ricksen became a popular character during a six-year stay at Rangers after moving to Ibrox from Dutch club AZ Alkmaar. After a challenging start to his time with the blue half of Glasgow, the 12-times capped Netherlands international went on to claim seven major honours before joining Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2006. Ricksen sadly passed away in Lanarkshire in 2019 at the age of just 43 after a six-year battle with Motor Neurone Disease.
Little was known of the Honduras international when he joined Celtic from Montagua in 2010 – but he quickly made a name for himself with the Hoops. Solid in defence, adventurous in attack, Izaguirre was a seven-time Premiership champion and won three Scottish Cups and two League Cups by the time his second spell with the club came to an end in 2019.
Probably now better known for his exploits with Liverpool, Van Dijk’s time at Celtic was relatively short but he made quite an impression, winning two league titles and a League Cup during a two-year stint at Celtic Park.
Weir was without doubt in the twilight of his long career when he returned to the SPL to join Rangers in 2007 – but he enjoyed a highly successful time at Ibrox. After teaming up with Walter Smith once again, Weir went on to claim eight major honours before bringing down the curtain on his career at the end of the 2011/12 season.
Brought up as a Rangers fan, Ferguson went on to enjoy two successful spells with the club, claiming 15 major honours including five Premiership titles either side of the millennium. A classy and hardworking midfielder, Ferguson earned his place playing alongside a whole host of Rangers legends and became one himself.
Has another player become so synonymous with Celtic in recent years? A true leader in the heart of the Hoops midfield over a 14-year spell with the club, Brown amassed an impressive trophy haul consisting of ten league titles, six Scottish Cups and six Scottish League clubs.
A set-piece specialist, the Japan international became a cult hero with Celtic after joining from Italian club Reggina in 2005. Over a four-year spell at Celtic Park, Nakamura became a three-time Premiership champion, a two-time League Cup winner and was part of the Hoops side that lifted the Scottish Cup with a 1-0 win against Dunfermline Athletic in 2007.
The Premiership’s record goalscorer, Boyd found the net with regularity during his time at Kilmarnock before going on to have a similar impact during two spells with Rangers. He plundered his way to over 120 goals during his time at Ibrox and helped Rangers to success in the Premiership, Scottish Cup and League Cup.
Sutton arrived at Celtic Park on the back of an underwhelming spell at Chelsea after scoring just three goals in all competitions during his time at Stamford Bridge. However, the former Premier League winner had no such issues with Celtic as averaged not far short of a goal in every two games during a near-six year stay with the club.
Where to start on this one? How do you describe one of the most devastating strikers in the history of the league. Larsson joined Celtic in 1997 and scored over 220 goals for the club before departing for Barcelona. Eight major honours were secured along with a place in the hearts of Celtic supporters for decades to come.
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