Gabby Agbonlahor ranks Rangers v Celtic derby against other British rivalries
Gabby Agbonlahor believes that Rangers and Celtic is the biggest footballing derby in British football “by a mile”, and has admitted it is on his bucket list to watch live.
The Old Firm derby has become deeply embedded in Scottish football over the years, and the rivalry was on show for all to see once again as Michael Beale’s side fell to a 2-1 defeat to Celtic in the Viaplay Cup final last Sunday (26 February).
Speaking to talkSPORT (Friday 3 March), Agbonlahor ranked the Old Firm derby as the biggest and most bruising derby in British football and admitted it was streets ahead of the rivalry between Manchester United and Manchester City.
“Biggest derby is Rangers v Celtic,” he said. “It is on my bucket list to go and see. When you watch it on the TV, you can feel the adrenaline watching the game.
“You can feel the atmosphere from the fans, you can see the two teams dislike each other. That is a big, big derby. The biggest in Britain by a mile, for me.
“Some of the others… Manchester United vs Manchester City – not really for me.”
True facts
Agbonlahor is spot on in this assessment of British footballing rivalries. The passion and commitment of Rangers fans when it comes to the Old Firm derby are second to none, and the ViaPlay Cup final highlighted just how fierce this derby has grown over the years.
Every time the two teams meet there is an animosity that can’t be matched by any Premier League rivalry. The Manchester derby, in particular, has seemingly lost its cutting edge over the past few years after the arrival of Pep Guardiola.
Whenever an Old Firm match comes around, tackles fly in from the first whistle, cards are a mere formality, and red cards are by no means out of the equation.
If Beale really wishes to cement his popularity within the Gers fanbase, there is no better way to do it than defeating the club’s noisy neighbours. After drawing 2-2 and losing 2-1 in his first two Old Firm encounters, the English manager will be hoping to get the better of Celtic next time they square off.
In other Rangers news, Micah Richards accused Chris Sutton of making his Beale feud personal.