Glasgow Rangers is one of two iconic teams in Scottish football history. They are the ones which have won the most domestic titles alongside their local archrival, Celtic, with 55 Scottish top flight titles, 33 Scottish Cup titles and 29 Scottish League Cup trophies. They have even won the domestic trebles seventh times so far. Moreover, the club also managed to win one European title, UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1972 and become the runners-up three times in the second tier continental competition. Gers’ long standing rivalry with Glasgow Celtic , notably called Old Firm, has been famous for years, mainly due to its political, social, historical even religious roots.
History
Rangers was founded in March 1872. They reached the first ever final in Scottish Cup 1877 but failed to win it after rejecting the replay in the final. In 1891, they won their first league title in their first season joining Scottish League. However, it took a while for them to clinch their first Scottish Cup title in 1894 by crushing their classic contender, Celtic 3-1, after their first meeting six years earlier. Afterwards, both sides were involved in a tight rivalry in the domestic competitions, to win the league in turn for many years and decades until the financial crisis hit the club leading to being relegated to the lowest division in 2012/13 season. It took them four years to bounce back to the top flight in 2016/17 season. Their long wait to tackle Celtic’s tenth consecutive league titles ended as they won their top tier trophy in 2020/21 season under Steven Gerrard.
Stadium
Rangers’ home turf is Ibrox Stadium which is situated on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area, Glasgow. It can hold over 50,000 people and on certain occasions become the host of Scotland national team in 1990s when Hampden Park was refurbished. It was built in 1899 and damaged on fire and due to the riots during the Old Firm clash in 1902 and 1971. Ibrox has been renovated three times with the last one was in early 1990s.
Notable Seasons
Gers’ most notable season spread in different eras. The first one was in 1890/91 when they first won the league title. The next one was in 1893/94 when Rangers clinched their first Scottish Cup. Their first season to win domestic treble was in 1948/49. However, their most distinguished one was in UEFA Winners Cup 1971/72 when they won their first and only European silverware so far. The club beat Dynamo Moscow 3-2 at Camp Nou. In the other three seasons, 1961, 1967 and 2008, they also reached the final but lost in the summit. The most recent noteworthy season was when Steven Gerrard’s side ended The Bhoys’ domination in 2020/21 season by toppling them for the first time since their return to the top flight in 2017 after the insolvency.