10 Fascinating Facts About Scottish Football

When you think about Scotland, you might think of the accent, the humor, and the country’s beautiful landscapes. What a lot of people do not know is that the country also has a rich history when it comes to football. 

Scottish people were some of the first people ever to play football. So, there is much to learn about football from Scotland, but here we are with 10 interesting facts about Scottish football. 

10 Fascinating Facts About Scottish Football

1.       Oldest Football Trophy

The oldest football trophy we know of, the Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, also known as the Scottish Cup, was awarded to Queens Park FC. This trophy was awarded back in 1874 to Queens Park FC for defeating Clydesdale in the final for the first year of the Scottish Cup competition. Queens Park FC won with a score of 2-0. 

You can now see the trophy at the Scottish Football Museum located at Hampden Park in Glasgow and get more football club information. 

2. A Football Club That is the Most Successful

When you think about the most successful football club in the world, many clubs might cross your mind. You might start listing clubs with the most wins and trophies to show their success. Besides that, you might be biased and name your favorite football club the most successful one. 

However, the correct answer to that would be the Rangers FC. This club has a history of 146 years in football, having won an unprecedented number of 115 trophies. Not only that, but they also have 54 league titles.

3. The Fiercest Rivalry in Football

It is pretty natural to see rivalries between clubs when it comes to sports. This is more commonly seen in football clubs. For example, two of the most successful clubs came from Glasgow Rangers and the Celtics. So, these close neighboring clubs symbolize the rivalry that divides the city into two.

4. European Final Against Real Madrid

If we are talking about success, you could easily consider Real Madrid to be the master of it, even more so on the European stage. However, when you think back, can you recall which team was the last to beat them in a European Final? If you don’t, then you are in for a surprise!

A Scottish team called Aberdeen defeated Real Madrid back in 1983. They achieved victory with 2-1 and are the last team to beat Real in the European Finals. 

5. First British Team in a European Cup

The European Cup, now better known as the Champions League, was first held in 1955. UEFA invited teams to play based on the interest that the teams could generate. While Chelsea had received the invite, it was declined due to Alan Hardaker, then Football League Secretary. Then, the honor was given to a team based in Edinburgh called Hibernian, or the Hibs. 

6. European Cup Win

While Hibernians were the first British team that was able to play in the European Cup, they were not the first to win it. Eleven years after Hibs went and made their first appearance, another team came around to win the famous trophy. Yes! It was Celtic. By 1967 they had already gotten their hands on many trophies along with the European Cup. 

And there’s a fun fact about this Celtic team. All the players and the manager were born within a radius of 30 miles in Glasgow!

7. The Closest Rivals

We already talked about rivalry before, and we know how they can create this virtual split between an entire city. How close can two rival teams get based on their geographical locations?

For example, if you look at Manchester United and Manchester City, everyone knows their rivalry. And these two teams are just set apart by a mere 4.3 miles. So, looking at Everton and Liverpool is even crazier, considering they are just about a mile apart. However, if you think that’s close, you will find it amusing that the local rivals Dundee United and Dundee are just 328 yards apart! It makes you think about the unique rivalry they must have developed being so close.

8. The Amateurs Gone Professional

The SPFL, or the Scottish Professional Football League, is an organization that governs the League Football in Scotland. You would expect all its member clubs to be professional or semi-professional. It turns out that there is a big exception, and that is Queens Park FC.

They used to be a dominant force before professionalism came into play but now only have a couple of hundred fans who show up to their games. It’s unfortunate, but we cannot forget their initial influence on soccer. 

9. The Most Successful Manager

Many notable football managers came from Scotland. However, the most famous of them all was Sir Alex Ferguson. Looking into his career, this man has won an incredible amount of 49 major trophies. And interestingly enough, 38 of them were from Manchester United alone!

10. Complete Win Against Barcelona

We already talked about how a Scottish team was the last to have a win against Real Madrid in the European Cup. So, we have another that took complete victory against one of the most successful and prominent football clubs, Barcelona.

Dundee United has had four games against Barcelona and made sure to win all four of those matches with some remarkable match results. So, these are noteworthy histories you should know.

Conclusion

Scottish football has some very historical moments up its sleeve. For all the fans who love watching football and enjoy knowing more about it, we hope this list was able to teach you some new things about football! So, thank you for reading the article till the end. Take care, and never stop loving football!