Product Description
'There's not a team like the Glasgow Rangers.' Formed in 1872 on a public pitch on Glasgow Green, Rangers are today one of the most famous and best-supported clubs in world football. From their dominance of Scottish football at the turn of the 20th century, via the constant battles for supremacy over Celtic in the 1920s and 1930s, the impregnable 'Iron Curtain' defence of the 1940s and 1950s and the Jim Baxter-inspired side of the early 1960s, Rangers have always played with skill, passion and pride. Although domestically overshadowed by Jock Stein's Celtic in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the 'Light Blues' won their only European trophy - the European Cup Winners Cup - in a dramatic and controversial final in 1972 and won the 'treble' twice in that decade. Several lean years followed, but the arrival in 1986 of Graham Souness as manager, and his acquisition of top English players and the first Catholic to have signed for Rangers in modern times, sparked off a revolution at Ibrox and set the club on its way to equalising Celtic's record of nine league titles in a row. The 'nine-in-a-row' was sealed by manager Walter Smith in 1997, and Rangers' hegemony in Scottish football was confirmed by Smith's successor Dick Advocaat who triumphantly claimed five trophies out of six in his first two years in charge. A revitalised Celtic have, however, provided the Gers with stiff opposition in recent years and, 113 years after their first meeting, the perennial rivalry between the Glasgow giants continues. This book recounts the club's fascinating and romantic story. It includes the legendary players and managers, the great games and stirring confrontations, the memorable European nights and the characters and personalities who have helped shape Rangers' history. Illustrated throughout with evocative black and white and colour photographs, the book is a highly readable, nostalgic and informative history of the unique institution that is Rangers Football Club.
About the Author
Rab MacWilliam's books include The European Cup, also published by Aurum, Great Football Moments of the Century, the official histories of Spurs, Celtic, Aston Villa and Leeds, and The Sunday Times Illustrated History of Football. He lives in London.
