The Holy Grail

The Holy Grail

November 1997 saw a bruising and keenly contested match at Ibrox between Rangers and Celtic. It was the first derby game between the big two in what would be a pivotal season in Rangers quest to better Celtic’s 9 in a row which they had equalled the previous season. It was an fairly even game with chances on both sides and you got the impression one goal would settle things. Goram made a good double save from Henrik Larsson but it was a slack pass from Reggie Blinker which allowed the elegant Brian Laudrup to race clear and square for Richard Gough to slide a shot past Gould in the  Celtic goal. It would prove to be the only goal of the game.

As Richard Gough wheeled away in delight he pushed the palms of both hands repeatedly in the air in a gesture which was quite clear to all who saw it. He was saying to everyone watching in the stadium and on TV around the world; ‘here we go for ten in a row.’ But as the old saying goes, ‘there’s many a slip between cup and lip’ and that bit of arrogance came back to bite Gough as Celtic eventually stopped their bid for ten in a row in the spring of the following year. In football you never count your trophies until they’re won.

As season 2020-21 gets underway in a couple of weeks there will be huge pressure on both Celtic and Rangers. For Celtic there is a historic opportunity to clinch a Scottish record of ten championships in a row. That would be a magnificent feat and is for many Hoops fans more important than any European or treble ambitions this season. To do the ‘Ten’ would re-establish the record the club held until it was equalled by Rangers in the 1990s.

For Rangers the prospect of their nine in a row of the 1990s being eclipsed by their bitter rivals would be a bitter pill to swallow. The club has wallowed in mediocrity since being allowed to join the league in the aftermath of the collapse and bankruptcy of the original Rangers. They have endured some humiliating defeats from Celtic in recent years but must have felt that their eventual promotion to the top league would at last see them stop Celtic in their tracks. It hasn’t quite worked out like that and Celtic has won every trophy available since Rangers joined the top flight. They have shown improvement under Steven Gerrard but still seem to lack the know-how and mental toughness needed to win a title. All of this will be swirling around Scottish football as it enters what will be fractious and fascinating season.

It has been the case historically that teams with long streaks of success in their national championship have tended to come from the smaller leagues of Europe. In such countries there are fewer large cities meaning fewer big clubs to compete for the honours.  Consider the following list….

Most consecutive titles win in European Leagues

14 Lincoln (Gibraltar) 2002/03–2015/16
14 Skonto (Latvia) 1991–2004
13 BATE Borisov (Belarus) 2006–2018
13 Rosenborg (Norway) 1992–2004
11 Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) 2005/06–2015/16
10 Dinamo Tbilisi (Georgia) 1990–1999
10 Dynamo Berlin (East Germany) 1978/79–1987/88
10 MTK Budapest (Hungary) 1914, 1917–1925
10 Pyunik (Armenia) 2001–2010
10 Sheriff (Moldova) 2001–2010

There has though been an increasing trend in some of the bigger leagues for one or two clubs to dominate as they flex their financial muscle. In Italy Juventus are on the cusp on nine in a row while in the Bundesliga Bayern have completed an unheard of eighth successive title win. In France PSG, buoyed up by huge financial input by owners the Qatar Sports Investments have won 7 of the last 8 titles are now among the wealthiest clubs on the planet. They are, along with Manchester City, the only state owned club in the world.

In Spain, only Atletico Madrid (2014) have wrested the title from Barcelona and Real Madrid in the past 16 years and Real and Barca have won 31 of the past 35 Spanish titles.  The dominance of these two clubs led to fans of Deportivo La Coruna displayed a banner at one La Liga match which translated as ‘We don’t want another Scottish League.’ The fear in Spain is that Barcelona and Real Madrid will dominate for the foreseeable future as Celtic and Rangers have done historically in Scotland. 

When hostilities commence in August there will be the sort of hysteria we last saw in Scotland in that emotion drenched 1997-98 season when Celtic were desperate to stop Rangers doing the dreaded ‘Ten.’ Referees will be scrutinised, decisions argued over and the usual conspiracy theories given an airing. It may not matter a jot to anyone outside the bubble of Scottish football but here in Caledonia it will be the only show in town. Can Celtic make it ten in a row or will Rangers find the impetus as Win Janson’s team did in 1998 to stop them? It’ll be tense, it’ll dramatic and those of us who love the green hope it will be historical.  

Only twice in the 130 year history of the Scottish game has a club had the opportunity to complete 10 in a row and on both occasions they failed. In 1974-75 Celtic were well in contention until the New Year when they faltered badly and finished third. A 3-0 defeat at Ibrox in January 1975 seemed to infuse Rangers with belief and drain Celtic of their normal self-confidence. In 1997-98 season it was Celtic’s 2-0 win in the January fixture which broke the spell and made them believe that this was to be their season. In both seasons the matches between the clubs were of great importance and there is little doubt it will be the same in season 2020-21.

Already the boasts and vows are being spread over the tabloids as a variety of Rangers players past and present state that this is the year they become champions. The trouble is that such confident predictions in the media have not been matched on the pitch where league titles are won and lost. Each summer we see the fairly blatant drum beating for Rangers in certain tabloids but it has been to no avail as the team faltered time and time again. It takes a certain mentality to win a title after years of failure and the jury is still out on whether Rangers have this.

It is my hope Celtic, as they have done for the past 9 seasons, do their talking on the pitch and focus on each game as it comes along. It may be an old cliché but the most important game is always the next one. Let others brag in the press but let’s see Celtic quietly and professionally prepare for each game as it comes along. We are tantalisingly close to what is the Holy Grail for many Celtic supporters but every title has to be earned, every point fought for. This is going to be one tumultuous season which will need nerves of steel to negotiate.

Should things go well early on then we smile a satisfied smile and look to the next game but we don’t fall into the trap of thinking the job is done. We fight from first to last, from August to May and we never behave as Richard Gough did on that day at Ibrox all those years ago. In football it’s never over till it’s over and he should have known that.

I hope Celtic win the title this season but they’ll have to earn it the hard way. We’re not here to boast or spout glib phrases in the press; we’re here to retain our title and we’ll give everything we have to do just that.