Comparing Celtic FC Greatest XI v Rangers FC Greatest XI Of All Time
Rangers XI
GK – Andy Goram
Andy is arguably the greatest goalkeeper to ever pull on the Rangers number 1 shirt. A brilliant shot-stopper with magnificent positional sense, he enjoyed a remarkable run of 44 games in the 1992-93 season without defeat lasting seven months in both Scottish and European competition.
Another way of measuring his outstanding talent is that he kept 107 clean sheets in his 258 games for Rangers. A brilliant record by anyone’s standards. Goram was in goal for the last six of Rangers Nine-In-A Row Championships. He was the rock which gave Rangers’ defence the confidence to know that even when their lines had been breached, Goram would often pull off the impossible.
Throughout his career, he made valuable and unbelievable saves for Rangers and at one point people were undecided whether Andy or Peter Schmeichel was the best goalkeeper in Britain. A crucial figure in the nine in a row run so much so that Tommy Burns, then the Celtic manager said, “On my gravestone, it will read Andy Goram broke my heart”.
RB – Sandy Jardine
Jardine had true athletic prowess that could rival many of the best left-backs in current world football, even after 90 minutes he never looked tired. His versatility for Rangers was one of his greatest assets, along with his overall ability and his calm demeanour on the ball.
Twice Player of the Year in Scotland and a key man in the Treble teams of 1976 and 1978 as well as the Barcelona victory. He had played wing-half, inside forward – even centre forward – before manager Willie Waddell moved him to full back, where he gave such precise and cultured performances that he was acclaimed as one of the best defenders in the 1974 World Cup.
Jardine went on to play in two World Cups, winning 39 caps for Scotland. He made 674 appearances for Rangers -the third-highest of all time after Dougie Gray and John Greig – and scored 77 goals. He won three Championships with Rangers, five Scottish Cups, five League Cups and the European Cup Winners’ Cup.
CB – Richard Gough
Richard Gough was the captain of the Rangers side which won the famous “Nine in a Row” consecutive league titles. He has a whooping 427 appearances for the Glasgow Rangers and won 18 trophies over that period.
Gough was the first Scottish player to be signed for over £1,000,000. The Scot was a good defender who used to make his performance stand out and made sure his presence was known while he was on the pitch.
He also played in two World Cups with his country and also played as a captain for Scotland national football team in the 1992 European Championships.
CB – Derek Johnstone
Derek Johnstone was a star for Gers for almost 14 years, making 546 appearances for the Glasgow team over two spells. He was an outstanding Rangers player who was so versatile he could play with equal ease at centre-half, centre forward or in midfield and did so for both club and country.
Famously scored the winner at 16 in the 1970/71 League Cup final and triumphed in Europe two years later. He went on to score more than 200 goals for Rangers as well as appearing over 500 times for the club. He finished his career with three Scottish League First Division titles, five Scottish Cups and five Scottish League Cups.
LB- John Greig
John Greig spent his entire career with Rangers, as a player, manager and director. He was voted “The Greatest Ever Ranger” in 1999 by the club’s supporters and has been elected to Rangers’ Hall of Fame.
A true battler in the days that Celtic and Jock Stein dominated the Scottish league, he held the standard high for all Rangers players and made sure the club was heard during those less trophy-laden times.
Greig made 755 official appearances for Rangers, scored 120 goals for the club and won three domestic trebles. Greig was captain when Rangers won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1972 beating Dynamo Moscow 3–2 in Barcelona.