There used to be a famous punk band in Glasgow who wrote a song called "Why Rangers never use Catholic players". The answer of the Rangers Club is quite sincere: "We have our own traditions, and traditions cannot be abandoned."
Nick Peel clearly remembers Johnston. Pierre himself is currently the general manager in charge of market development of Rangers Club, which is a prominent seat on the board of directors of hereditary rangers.
Maybe it's because he is only 37 years old, maybe it's because he studied for a doctorate in business in the United States. Nick doesn't fully agree that the confrontation between fans of "time-honored brand" is related to their strong religious inclination, and the strange behavior of some fans is even more difficult for him to understand.
"I remember that many fans had this attitude at that time," Nick recalled. "Suppose Johnston scored a goal in the game and Rangers 1-0 led, many fans will think that the goal doesn't count and the game is still 0-0. In order to cheer for Johnston at home, almost every game will be fought for. Strangely, if the home fans don't boo him, Johnston's performance will be even worse. " Johnston has never been a real "wanderer".
As soon as Johnston left, another ranger became involved in religious suspicion: striker mark hartley. Hartley has long been a famous power forward in England. He has played for AC Milan and Monaco coached by Wenger. Before joining Rangers, he rested in Monaco for two seasons. There were many rumors in Glasgow at that time that he was actually a Catholic. Therefore, when the rangers compete, many fans will cheer: "Forward, Top Ten Warriors of the Queen!" " -They don't need "Eleven Warriors!" Because they still reject or doubt Hartley's religious background. At the same time, from this slogan, we can also see the difference between the political positions of the two major religious factions: Protestants are mostly Scottish natives, who identify themselves as "British" and are loyal to the Queen and the British Empire; Catholics are mostly immigrants from Ireland and southern Europe. They are only loyal to the Pope, have vague concepts about the country and the Queen, and even have anti-Queen and anti-British feelings when the hostile relationship with Protestants intensifies.
Travo Francis, a famous tramp star, was suspected before, because there were rumors that Francis sent his children to a Catholic school, and Mark Fa Erkao was not trusted by fans. He claims to be a Protestant, but he has a weird Catholic habit of crossing his chest. Terry butcher, a famous defender of the English national team in the 1990 World Cup, was also suspected when playing for Rangers. Finally, Butcher held a famous press conference to publicly clarify the facts and show that he was not a Catholic.
Hartley has a better fate than Johnston. At least no one can be sure that he is a Catholic, but as long as Hartley doesn't seize the chance to score in the game, someone will say, "Well, he is Finnish after all!" " The finnian organization is a famous anti-British ruling organization in Ireland in the middle of19th century, and Ireland is a traditional Roman Catholic country. Assuming Hartley doesn't score in three or four consecutive games, many homeless fans will think that "this is the nature of Catholics." All these speculations about Hartley's Catholic background are only because some people "think" Hartley's wife is Catholic.
A German sociologist named marcos weber has carefully observed the differences between the habits and social norms of Protestants and Catholics. He found that in Glasgow, where Protestants and Catholics live together, Protestants tend to be richer. This phenomenon can also be found in Edinburgh and other English cities, such as Liverpool, where Protestants and Catholics live together, but now homeless fans emphasize that they are as poor as Celtic fans.
Judging from the club's economic situation, Wanderers have always been a club of rich people, and the market operation and business operation are relatively good. The Celts have never been as rich as their rivals. In all the "old-fashioned" games, you can hear Rangers fans singing "You poor people".
Celtic Club is controlled by Kelly and White. Their club management policy is more relaxed and casual, and the money they earn is naturally not as good as that of rangers. Therefore, Nick Peel, the commercial director of Rangers, will say in a semi-teasing tone: "Personally, I think that from the perspective of commercial expansion, the Celtics have huge room for development-because they are still blank in many places."
Another homeless fan named Colin Glass, who lives in the United States, is also puzzled by the religious color of homeless people. "I didn't become a ranger fan for religious reasons," Glass said. "I just like the color of the ranger jersey and naturally support the ranger. However, under the hype of the media, the wanderer has become a full-fledged religious club. Do you know the story when Johnston joined Rangers? According to Scottish newspapers, thousands of homeless fans have returned season tickets to the club. Actually, I lived right next to the Ibrox stadium. I know the truth. Only one season ticket was returned to the club! "
From the perspective of Scottish social tradition and football history, Rangers have always been a strong team; In Scotland, especially in West Scotland, the media are biased against Celtic. Like Northern Ireland, Catholicism is a discriminated religion.
"But Catholics always remember that they are discriminated against," Nick Peel told me with some indignation. "I admit that there is discrimination against Catholics in this society, but the degree of discrimination in Scottish media is not high. Catholics do have to suffer some losses in employment in Scotland, but they have formed a collective consciousness, constantly emphasizing that they are vulnerable groups and always demanding social respect. In a football match, even if the referee's penalty is completely fair, Celtic fans will continue to make trouble as long as the penalty result is unfavorable to them. I believe you walk into a Catholic church every Sunday, and the priest is teaching his followers to resist social discrimination. A former social phenomenon, if repeatedly emphasized for a long time, can only result in exaggerated reality and only bring deformed consequences. "
At least in terms of employment, the life of Catholics in Glasgow is not satisfactory. In the stock exchange market in Glasgow, there are * * * masonic gestures everywhere, but there are no Catholic brokers. The police headquarters in Glasgow is completely controlled by Protestants. Even at the 200 1 Glasgow police high-level meeting, there was such a joke. According to the Daily Mirror, barry ferguson, a senior inspector in Glasgow at that time, said: "I have been promoting two Catholic patrolmen, and later found that one of them is not bad!"
If a man named Patrick O'Leary wants to get a white-collar job in Glasgow, he will certainly encounter much more hardships than others, because "Patrick O 'Leary" is a standard Irish Catholic name. O 'Leary, a famous former Leeds United marshal and now manager of Villa, is from Ireland. Judging from his name, he is a Catholic. Names like Bridget Theresa, because of their strong Catholic connotation, are bound to attract the attention of Protestants in Glasgow.
Even though people from both religious backgrounds speak Scottish English with Glasgow accent, there are still differences in pronunciation between Catholics and Protestants. Like "stairs"? Protestants pronounce the word stairs with a standard Scottish accent: steer, while Catholics must have an Irish accent -staier. One difference in pronunciation between American English and British English today is that American English is flatter and more curled than uvula. These reasons are all due to the English pronunciation habits brought from Ireland by a large number of Irish immigrants such as the Kennedy family in the early days of the founding of the United States.
If Catholics really want to complain about the fact that they are discriminated against, they can only hate Martin Luther, who initiated the religious reform movement in the Germanic region of continental Europe more than 400 years ago. It was Martin Luther who used modern media to subvert the spiritual rule of the Pope in Europe. However, in Glasgow, the political power of Catholics is still quite strong. For example, the Labour Party in Glasgow is entirely Catholic.
What kind of game is the "time-honored" derby?
"The worst club football match in the world." Almost every Celtic fan will tell you that. But what do the players who really participate in this kind of competition feel? Swedish striker Larsson will say: "This is the most exciting game in the world. Football players are fighters, and there is no competition that needs fighter spirit more than the derby between Celtic and Rangers. "
There is a famous dentist in Glasgow, whose name is Jim Craig. He used to be the right back of the Celtics. When he played for the Celtics in the 1960s, he made an own goal in an "old-fashioned" derby, and he is still the object of ridicule by homeless fans. Butscher the butcher had a similar experience in Celtic. After Butscher headed home in the Old Derby, Craig specially called the butcher: "Thank you for letting Celtic fans talk about me again, but I am a better Celtic than you."
No Glasgow people want the "time-honored brand" derby to be milder and more leisurely. It has become an inseparable part of every Glasgow person's life to have four opportunities to walk into the stadium that he likes or hates and vent his endless anger against his century-old enemy. In the 1970s, because football violence was too violent, there was an "old-fashioned" game in which tickets were not for sale. As a result, the fans of both sides stood outside the stadium and roared at each other. Many players in the two major clubs have become kings or bandits because of their performance in the "time-honored" derby.
Swedish striker Larsson will undoubtedly become a legend of Celtic. As a foreigner, his loyalty to Celtic fans is deeply moving. In the summer of 200 1, Larsson spent a short holiday in Ulster, Ireland. Suddenly, he received an urgent notice from the club, hoping that he would visit a local Celtic fan, who was terminally ill and dying. Larson bought some small gifts to see football fans. Two months after the start of the new season, he met the patient's son in Glasgow. The son told Larsen that his father's life "lasted for five weeks" because of his visit. During these five weeks, his dying father couldn't forget a Celtic player visiting him.
"Professional players complain every day, perhaps because of the tension with the head coach, perhaps because of physical injuries, perhaps because they can't play the main force, but imagine this dying Celtic fan, I can always feel that football is a great sport, a sport that Scots can never abandon." Larson said.
The greatest Celtic team in history is 1967 "Lions of Lisbon" led by famous coach Stan. At that time, Celtic defeated Inter Milan, the famous coach Herrera, 2-/Kloc-0 in the European Cup final in Lisbon, becoming the first British team to win the European Cup. Three years later, Celtic reached the final of the Champions League again, but this time they lost to Feyenoord of the Netherlands.
Stan is regarded as a man who has raised the social status of Scottish Catholics. He also served as the head coach of the Scottish national team and was Ferguson's mentor.
Since Celts ruled Europe for more than 30 years, Glasgow's social system has undergone many changes, and more and more Catholic lawyers and doctors have appeared. It is hard to imagine that a former Celtic player like Craig can become a famous dentist in Glasgow by going to college after retirement. After Rangers dominated the Scottish League in the 1990s, the Celtics gradually regained their vitality. In the summer of 2003, they reached the UEFA Cup final and eliminated two Premier League teams, Blackburn and Liverpool, which is considered as a symbol of the revival of Scottish football. Many onlookers also believe that the progress of vagrants and Celts is the result of the gradual easing of the feud of "old brands" and the dilution of the influence of religion on football by public opinion. However, only Glasgow people know that the huge gap will always exist, and they are savoring the strange influence of religion on football every day. They have an indelible hatred for each other, which is a strange bond that binds them together.
The "historic Derby" divides Scots and Irish people all over the world into two factions, whether they are Irish descendants in the United States, Scottish immigrants in South Africa or Irish people in Australia, without exception. In Ireland, as long as Catholics are almost Celtic fans, Manchester United captain roy keane said to me in September 2003:
"My father and two brothers are both Manchester United fans, but they are also Celtic fans. I love Manchester United because of its greatness on the football field, but I support Celtic because we are Catholics. My father instilled in me the concept of Glasgow Celtic since I was a child. There is no reason to support the Celtics. For my family, supporting Celtic is God's mission, and supporting Manchester United has many secular reasons. "
1in the autumn of 997, when Keane recovered from a torn cruciate ligament, he wore a baseball cap and went to Glasgow with some friends to watch a Celtic game. But his disguise was immediately discovered, and Keane remembered that a Scottish buddy said to him at that time:
"Hey, aren't you Keane?"
Keane thinks he is in trouble.
Unexpectedly, the fan was stunned and then asked, "Fool, when did you join the best club in the world?"
Keane's friend smiled: "He is playing for the best club in the world."
Celtic fans are also happy: "No, I mean Celtic! The best club in the world! "
Keane later recorded this interesting conversation in his controversial autobiography; He knows that for Celtic fans and Irish fans, the greatest pride in life is to wear Celtic jerseys against Rangers.
The most representative of this "historic building complex" is Oster. This is just a small town. Mayor Brewster is a wanderer fan with an obvious scar under his left eye. "This is my memory of Glasgow," Brewster said with a smile. "We are a mixed area of Ranger fans and Celtic fans, and the hostility is more serious than Glasgow. Therefore, every few months, if we can go to Glasgow and vent all our anger within 90 minutes of watching the ball on the spot, it is really a great enjoyment of life. "
In Brewster's view, Glasgow's "long history" rival fans are relatively quiet. In Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, Ranger fans and Celtic fans have been able to live in peace, but their survival principle is: "Don't say anything, don't speak." Because once you open your mouth, it will be a disaster and may even lead to an accident. Belfast people, perhaps because they have lived in the horrible shadow of religious conflicts for a long time, have become extremely cautious and will not express any clear views on religious issues and political concepts under any circumstances, so the "old-fashioned" football field in Scotland has become their only choice to vent their emotions.
There used to be a Celtic team in Belfast, which was founded in 189 1, almost a Celtic team in Glasgow. The match between this team and the Protestant team is always full of violence. 1949, in a game of Belfast Celtics, several fans rushed into the stadium and broke the legs of an opponent Protestant player, so Belfast Celtics were suspended, and the club that once ruled Northern Ireland football for nearly 20 years disappeared.