The first Old Firm derby of the season takes place this weekend as Celtic travel to Ibrox to face Rangers. It will see new Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou make his Old Firm managerial debut.
There have been many memorable Old Firm debuts by new Celtic and Rangers bosses in this famous fixture. Here is a look at five of the most famous of all time.
Top Five Old Firm Managerial Debuts
Martin O’Neill (Celtic 6-2 Rangers, 2000)
One of the most famous Old Firm derbies of all time. Dubbed the demolition derby, it saw new Celtic boss Martin O’Neill make a memorable Old Firm debut.
Celtic got off to a blistering start by scoring three goals in the first 11 minutes, with Chris Sutton, Stiliyan Petrov and Paul Lambert all getting on the scoresheet. Rangers pulled one back before half-time through Claudio Reyna.
Then, five minutes into the second half, Henrik Larsson scored one of the great Old Firm goals, slaloming his way through the Rangers defence and brilliantly chipping the ball over Rangers keeper Stefan Klos.
Billy Dodds pulled another goal back for Rangers via the penalty spot. However, another goal for Larsson made sure of the three points. Chris Sutton added extra gloss for Celtic with a sixth goal in stoppage time to cap off a famous win. Barry Ferguson was sent off for Rangers to further compound a miserable day.
It was a day that Celtic fans will never forget and signalled a turning point in Scottish football, as Celtic went on to win the treble for only the third time in their history at the time. Martin O’Neill joined Jock Stein as Celtic managers to achieve the feat.
Alex McLeish (Celtic 1-2 Rangers, 2002)
Celtic came into the League Cup semi-final against Rangers in 2002 looking for a sixth successive win against their rivals. New Rangers boss Alex McLeish was only in the job for a few months and was looking for a debut Old Firm victory.
Peter Lovenkrands gave Rangers the lead on the stroke of half-time. However, Celtic levelled with just 15 minutes to go thanks to Bobo Balde tapping home from close range. Moments later, the big defender gave away a penalty. Up stepped striker Shota Arveladze but he blazed the ball over the bar.
Rangers weren’t to be denied in extra time as Bert Konterman fired a blistering 25 yard shot past Robert Douglas in the Celtic goal. The Ibrox side hung on for a crucial victory.
Alex McLeish would go on to guide Rangers to the cup double that season and would secure the title the following season.
Brendan Rodgers (Celtic 5-1 Rangers, 2016)
Brendan Rodgers arrived at Celtic to a heroes welcome with over 20,000 fans at his unveiling at Celtic Park. He already had a big impact in his early months in charge guiding Celtic into the Champions League group stages for the first time in seven years.
His Old Firm managerial debut began a period of dominance in this fixture. It will be remembered for Moussa Dembele becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in an Old Firm derby in 50 years.
Scott Sinclair and Stuart Armstrong added further goals, as Rangers were run ragged. Joe Garner had given them hope just before half-time by making the score 2-1 before their second-half collapse.
Their miserable afternoon was further compounded by the dismissal of Philippe Senderos.
Brendan Rodgers would go onto guide Celtic to a historic invincible treble, the start of four successive trebles for the club.
Ally McCoist (Rangers 4-2 Celtic, 2011)
Ally McCoist took charge of his first Old Firm derby in September 2011. They went into the encounter at Ibrox a point clear of their Glasgow rivals.
A spectacular strike from Steven Naismith put Rangers ahead after 23 minutes. Celtic turned the game on its head, scoring twice in seven minutes thanks to Gary Hooper and Badr El Kaddouri.
However, Rangers fought back in the second half and goals from Nikica Jelavic and Kyle Lafferty turned the game in their favour. Celtic had Charlie Mulgrew sent off and then Steven Naismith sealed all three points late on for Rangers.
It would however be the highlight of Rangers season as the club would end the campaign in administration and eventually would be liquidated and would have to drop down to the bottom tier of Scottish football.
Dick Advocaat (Rangers 0-0 Celtic, 1998)
After missing out on ten league titles in a row the previous season, Rangers responded by splashing the cash. Rod Wallace, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Andrei Kanchelskis were just some of the players brought in. Dick Advocaat took over from Walter Smith to join the expensive revolution.
His first Old Firm derby may have finished goalless but it was a thrilling encounter at Ibrox. New striker Gabriel Amato was guilty of missing three clear cut chances as the hosts dominated possession.
Celtic though had their chances and would have taken the lead in the first half, if it wasn’t for a spectacular acrobatic save by new Rangers keeper Lionel Charbonnier denying Henrik Larsson the opening goal.
It was a thrilling end to end contest but neither side could find the winner. Rangers would go on to win the treble in Advocaat’s first season and win the league title by six points.
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