The Aberdeen–Rangers rivalry refers to football matches and related activity involving the Scottish football clubs Aberdeen and Rangers.
Unlike Rangers' Old Firm rivalry with Glasgow neighbours Celtic dating back to the 1900s, the feud with Aberdeen is a comparatively modern phenomenon which developed from the 1970s on a competitive sporting basis but escalated into hostility on the pitch and in the stands, with the animosity continuing into the 21st century.
The rivalry was at its peak during the 1980s and early 1990s when Aberdeen became a force in Scottish football. The two clubs battled for the national championship and met in several cup finals,[9] with various incidents occurring on and off the field. The intensity diminished from the late 1990s as the fortunes of the clubs diverged, with Rangers dominant and Aberdeen unable to match them, as had been the case for much of their history, although the behaviour of players and supporters on occasion showed there remained some animosity between the clubs.
In mid-2012, Rangers ceased to be a member of the top division of Scottish football due to serious financial issues, and in their absence Aberdeen emerged as the main challengers to Celtic. When Rangers returned in 2016, they and Aberdeen were again on a more equal footing with the matches between them being of great significance to their league fate; the clubs' fortunes gradually diverged until the 2020–21 Scottish Premiership season, when Rangers won the title for the first time in a decade[10] with an unbeaten campaign including four wins over Aberdeen, who accumulated barely half as many points and finished fourth.
Aberdeen and Glasgow are on opposite sides of Scotland, 150 miles apart.
Since the introduction of nationwide football in Scotland, the relationship between Rangers and Aberdeen had been unremarkable. In addition to being based in cities of different size and character 150 miles apart[11] on opposite sides of Scotland, their stature did not bear comparison; Rangers, backed by a huge fan base, were dominant in the domestic game along with their rivals Celtic almost from the inception of the Scottish Football League in the 1890s, with the rivalry between the Glasgow clubs, which became known as the Old Firm fuelled by elements involving religion, national identity and ethnic background,[12][13][14][15] while Aberdeen (who joined the league in 1905) were only one of several smaller clubs across the country who occasionally enjoyed good league runs or reached cup finals.[16]The Reds had secured just one national title by 1975 compared to 36 for Rangers, with two Scottish Cup wins to Rangers' 20 and one League Cup to Rangers' seven.[17][18]
The established situation changed somewhat in the late 1970s when Aberdeen began to offer a major challenge to the Old Firm[26] under managers Ally MacLeod, Billy McNeill and then most significantly Alex Ferguson.[27][28] At the same time, the introduction of the new Premier Division format – a smaller number of clubs playing one another four times[26] – provided double the number of direct confrontations as before.[29]
1970s battles
An early indication of Aberdeen's improvement was their victory in the 1976–77 Scottish League Cup[30] under Ally MacLeod (who was soon to become Scotland coach)[31] after earlier beating Rangers 5–1 in the semi-final.[32][33][34][35] They had also won a Scottish Cup tie at Ibrox for the first time ever in March 1975,[36] but went no further in that competition, whereas Rangers recovered to finish as league champions in the league title in the last season of the old format, signalling an end to Celtic's decade of dominance, and in 1975–76 lifted all the domestic trophies in a treble, the third in their history.[26]
In 1977–78, new manager Billy McNeill led Aberdeen to runners–up spot (two points behind Rangers) in the Premier Division,[37] and to the final of the Scottish Cup where they lost 2–1 to Rangers,[38] contributing to another treble for the Light Blues.[26] This strong performance under McNeill contributed to the former Celtic captain being recruited by his old club during summer 1978, leaving Aberdeen searching for a new manager once again.[39] McNeill's replacement, Alex Ferguson, was a boyhood Rangers fan from Govan[28] who had played for the club for two years in the 1960s before being shown the door abruptly after a poor performance in the 1969 Scottish Cup final.[40][41][42][43] Like McNeill, Ferguson came with a growing reputation; however, he had also been fired from his previous role at St Mirren for misconduct.[44]
At the same point, Rangers manager Jock Wallace, who had been at the helm for six years and led his side to both of those treble wins, resigned unexpectedly after serious disputes with the previous boss Willie Waddell who had become the club's general manager.[45][46] Rangers turned to their retiring team captain, John Greig, to take the reins in his first managerial role.[45][46]
Aberdeen's rise
The clubs met in the 1978–79 Scottish League Cup final which Rangers won, scoring the winner in the last minute after Aberdeen had earlier been controversially reduced to 10 men;[47][48]Doug Rougvie was sent off after a clash with Derek Johnstone – Alex Ferguson backed Rougvie's version of events that Johnstone had used simulation to have him dismissed.[49] Ferguson felt a sense of injustice at the outcome in what was his first major final as a manager, and from that point on he instilled a siege mentality in his players,[50][28] many of whom were from the Glasgow area including defensive stalwarts Willie Miller[51] and Alex McLeish.[52][53] He stated publicly that Aberdeen were unfairly treated compared to the big Glasgow clubs[28][47] while also deflecting attention and pressure onto opponents (a trick learned during his time as a Rangers player from Celtic manager Jock Stein)[43] and onto himself prior to big matches.[54] Ferguson was particularly determined to conquer his old club.[41][28]
Alex Ferguson played for Rangers and managed Aberdeen.
Ferguson's Aberdeen were then beginning an unprecedented spell of success,[62] with two further league titles and three consecutive Scottish Cups among the trophies won,[17] including victories over Rangers in the finals of 1982 (4–1)[63][64] – a week after a 4–0 victory in their final league meeting, a futile effort to snatch the title from Celtic on goal difference[65][66] – and 1983 (1–0).[67] In a post-match television interview following the latter fixture, played just ten days after Aberdeen had defeated Real Madrid to win the European Cup Winners' Cup,[53] Ferguson publicly lambasted his players for their level of performance and continued in the same manner back in the dressing room, such were the high standards he demanded against Rangers – he later apologised. He also admitted that his main reason for wanting his team to beat Rangers more comprehensively was his sense of vengeance for the treatment he received at Ibrox over his marriage to his Catholic wife, Cathy, regarding the final as a chance to "put the knife in them.".[43][68][69]
By contrast, Rangers were struggling financially[70] and endured one of the worst runs in their history under managers John Greig and the returning Jock Wallace (having tried unsuccessfully to tempt Ferguson back to Ibrox).[59][42][28] They failed to win the league from 1978 until 1987,[71] finished below Aberdeen for seven successive seasons,[42] and collected only four domestic cups from sixteen available in the period. One achievement of Wallace's second spell was utilising the talents of Ally McCoist more effectively than Greig had done,[45] and the striker would go on to become the club's all-time top goalscorer (including 14 in matches against Aberdeen).[72][7]
At that time the previously quiet city of Aberdeen was also experiencing an economic boom relating to North Sea oil whereas most of the traditional industries in the city of Glasgow were in terminal decline, so they were no longer the poor relation in the distant north. Additionally, the rise of hooliganism in that era involved clashes between Rangers' Inter City Firm and Aberdeen's Soccer Casuals[73] with both mobs ready to travel across the country in their hundreds, intent on causing trouble in the other's territory. On-field events increased the tensions, such as Rangers' Willie Johnston's stamp on John McMaster's neck in 1980 requiring mouth-to-mouth resuscitation,[74][75][49][76][77] a particularly violent match at Ibrox in 1985[63][78] which also involved fans invading the pitch, and various other clashes featuring multiple red cards.[49][27][75] All these factors contributed to a fiery atmosphere among players and fans whenever the clubs met.
Rangers revival
Aberdeen's Pittodrie Stadium viewed from the away supporters' section (2006)
A turning point was in 1986–87, when Alex Ferguson left Aberdeen to join Manchester United and Graeme Souness became Rangers manager[71] with new financial backing from David Holmes and then David Murray.[71][79] The Glasgow club began entice several top English players to move north due to Souness's connections and with the incentives of big wages and the prospect of European football (English clubs were banned following the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985).[71][79] Rangers finally regained the league championship – clinching the 1986–87 title with a draw at Pittodrie, followed by a pitch invasion by their celebrating fans[77][80][81] – while Aberdeen failed to win a cup or finish in the top two places for the first time in eight years. This was the start of a sustained period of great success for Rangers,[82][79] though Aberdeen would remain a significant opponent during the next decade.
Relations between the clubs reached a new low in 1988 following Neil Simpson's brutal challenge on Ian Durrant (at the time regarded as one of Scotland's biggest emerging talents) which almost ended his career, caused him to miss almost three years of football and forced him to adjust his playing style to compensate for his damaged knee ligaments.[80][83][84][85][86] That incident took place during a league match a few weeks before the second of three hard-fought Scottish League Cup finals between them.[87][88][89][90][9] Some Aberdeen fans took to singing distasteful songs about Durrant's injury (as well as the 1971 Ibrox disaster) which in turn led to insulting comments from Rangers players in books and in the club's match programme, promoting an official apology.[91][92][83] Aberdeen supporters also grew irritated with the increasing gulf in wealth between the clubs, with Rangers able to acquire their players (Davie Dodds and[93]Robertson[94] and later Wright[95] and Snelders)[84] seemingly at will. Away from football, the city of Glasgow also experienced an economic recovery while Aberdeen suffered the effects of an oil recession.[96]
Blue dominance
With Celtic in a period of turmoil and unable to compete with their old enemy, Aberdeen tried in vain to match Rangers as they became ever more dominant.[79][97][90] In five out of six title-winning seasons for Graeme Souness and Walter Smith's sides between 1989 and 1994,[18] Aberdeen finished runners-up, with the closest finish occurring in 1990–91 when Mark Hateley scored twice in a winner-takes-all clash at Ibrox Stadium on the final day to win the title by two points – as well as a missed opportunity for Aberdeen at the time, in retrospect it was something of a pivotal event for Scottish football as the Gers became increasingly dominant in the following years, while no teams outwith Rangers and Celtic have come as close to winning the title since.[98][99] Aberdeen, managed at that time by Alex Smith, were victorious on their next visit to Glasgow in September 1991 but would not win at Ibrox again for 26 years.[100][101][102]
Rangers eliminated Aberdeen from the early stage of knockout competitions twice in quick succession (1990–91 Scottish League Cup, 1991–92 Scottish Cup) on their way to winning them, and both the 1992 Scottish League Cup final and the 1993 Scottish Cup final finished Rangers 2, Aberdeen 1.[103][104][105][106][9] Aberdeen supporters' frustration at the situation occasionally manifested as acts of violence, with Ally McCoist having a golf ball impregnated with nails thrown at him during a fixture at Pittodrie in 1993, and Mark Hateley being assaulted as he left Aberdeen's stadium following a match the following year.[83][49] For their part, Rangers fans attacked a car containing Willie Miller's family as it was driven up to the stadium for the 1993 Scottish Cup final, having observed the Aberdeen badge on its windscreen.[106]
The only interruption to the Glasgow club's dominance,[97] and the final season of any real competitive significance to the rivalry in that era, was in 1995–96 when Aberdeen won the League Cup after eliminating Rangers in the semi-final (it would be their last trophy for 19 years);[107] however that same season Rangers clinched the League for the eighth year running with a home win over third-placed Aberdeen, with Paul Gascoigne scoring a hat-trick.[108]
In the late 1990s Celtic re-emerged as Rangers' principal sporting rival while Aberdeen collapsed as a force,[109][110][111]finishing near the foot of the table far more often than towards the top. Outwith the matches themselves, an Aberdeen supporter disgraced himself in April 1999 when he ran from the away fans' section at Ibrox to assault comedian Andy Cameron who was performing a routine on the pitch prior to kick-off – he was banned by the club and fined at court.[112]
The most recent showpiece event between the clubs was the 2000 Scottish Cup final which Rangers won 4–0, but that effectively ceased to be a contest in the opening minutes when Aberdeen (bottom of the league so expected to lose to champions Rangers in any event) had to deploy striker Robbie Winters in goal when Jim Leighton was injured with no substitute keeper on the bench.[113] One of the goalscorers was former Dons striker Billy Dodds who had been a makeweight in the transfer of Winters but rediscovered his form at Dundee United and was quickly signed by Rangers.[114]
21st century
Crowd disorder and player indiscipline kept the hostile spirit of the rivalry alive in the early 21st century, with various instances of minute silences being disrupted,[75] red cards being shown to players, missiles being thrown inside the stadia (including seats)[75][115][83] and the continued presence of the respective 'casual' hooligan firms.[116][117][118][119][120]
Two specific incidents of note were Fernando Ricksen's ban on video evidence after a kung-fu kick on Darren Young was missed by the referee during a 2000–01 fixture,[121][122][123][85] and riot police being deployed at Pittodrie in January 2002 with home fans having run onto the pitch to confront away supporters who had thrown coins at Winters.[85][80][77][83] Former Dons hero Alex McLeish had just become Rangers boss,[124] and was initially applauded onto the field by Aberdeen followers before events took an unpleasant turn.[75] In the aftermath of that disturbance, which took place during a live television broadcast across the UK, the authorities decided that matches between the clubs would no longer take place on weekend evenings to minimise the chance of spectators engaging in disorder having spent the whole day drinking alcohol;[75] a similar decision had been made on Old Firm games a few years prior.[125][126]
Alex McLeish played for Aberdeen and managed Rangers
In 2012 Rangers' holding-company were liquidated and the new company that bought the team, the business and assets from the administrators did not achieve the transfer of Rangers' league place – Aberdeen plus all other SPL clubs except Kilmarnock voted against it.[130] Rangers were accepted into the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system which meant that no matches were played between the rivals for four years. In the interim Aberdeen won the 2013–14 Scottish League Cup.[131]
Rangers return
Rangers returned to the Scottish Premiership for the 2016–17 season. In the build-up to their first meeting of the season at Pittodrie, Rangers' manager Mark Warburton described Aberdeen fans' hatred towards his club as "Quite sad".[132][133] On the day of the match, the Rangers team bus was found to have been vandalised, with offensive references to the Ibrox Disaster and Ian Durrant.[134][135] Banners were also observed in the city claiming that Rangers followers "Let your club die", referencing their commercial liquidation four years earlier.[134] In the aftermath of their second meeting in Aberdeen during April 2017, several arrests were made.[136]
Before their final match of that season, Warburton's successor Pedro Caixinha chose to comment on his opponents, suggesting that they may need to rebuild after finishing as runners-up for three successive seasons;[137] the Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes, a former Gers player, responded that Rangers should be embarrassed to rank below his team due to the disparity in their financial resources.[138] Aberdeen won that match to finally break a 43-game winless streak at Ibrox, and finished ahead of Rangers for the first time since 1986 (excepting Rangers' years in lower divisions).[100][101] They also reached the season's two cup finals, losing both to Celtic (who had beaten Rangers in the semi-final of each).[139][140][105]
The two clubs were closely matched during the 2017–18 season, battling for second place for much of the campaign after failing to keep pace with eventual champions Celtic. Neither could build a lasting lead over the other, with Rangers' general inconsistency negating their nine-point superiority from the meetings with Aberdeen.[141][142][143][144] The matter was not settled until the final matchday of the season, when Rangers quickly fell 3–0 behind away to Hibernian (for whom a six-goal victory would snatch third position from the opponents) then scored five without reply, only to be pegged back in the final minutes for a dramatic 5–5 finish.[145][146] However that outcome mattered little after Aberdeen won 1–0 at Celtic Park (the first Scottish team to win there since 2015,[147] having lost all of their previous 25 league visits),[148][149] meaning Rangers could not catch the Dons regardless of their own result. By then, the Gers had already arranged for Steven Gerrard to become their next manager.[150]
Rangers and Aberdeen were drawn to meet in the semi-final of the 2018–19 Scottish League Cup on 28 October 2018 at Hampden Park,[35] their first meeting outwith the league in 14 years and the first at a neutral venue since 2000. The build-up was dominated by administrative disputes surrounding the scheduling and venue (that fixture and the other semi-final between Celtic and Heart of Midlothian were initially both planned for the same stadium on the same day)[151][152] and then ratios of tickets available to each club.[153][154] Aberdeen won the match 1–0 to progress to the final,[155] with the only goal scored by midfielder Lewis Ferguson whose father Derek and uncle Barry were both former Rangers players in the same position.[156] Aberdeen won by the same scoreline in the next league meeting at Ibrox to end a brief spell for Rangers at the top of the table, with both teams having a player sent off.[157] Rangers won 4–2 at Pittodrie in February 2019, Gerrard's first win over McInnes at the fourth attempt; Alfredo Morelos scored twice but was then shown a red card (as he had been in the two previous league clashes that season) along with Scott McKenna, scorer of Aberdeen's winner in Glasgow.[158] In early March, with the clubs having not played in a cup for so long, they were drawn together in a second such meeting in the same season, in the quarter-final of the 2018–19 Scottish Cup at Pittodrie. That match finished 1–1,[159] requiring a replay and the winners knowing they would face Celtic;[160] Aberdeen progressed with a 2–0 victory at Ibrox,[161][162] their first Scottish Cup win at that venue since 1975.[36] With another league meeting to come, this meant there would be seven fixtures between them in 2018–19 – only the third season ever to feature so many matches, and the first instance since 1979–80.[5] That seventh meeting at the end of April 2019 was won 2–0 by Rangers to confirm runners-up spot in the Premiership, and with Celtic having won the Scottish Cup semi-final convincingly and secured the title by a large margin, both Rangers and Aberdeen were left without a major trophy for another year, but with the Glasgow club finishing higher for the first time since 2012.[163]
The indications that Rangers had once again become significantly more powerful than Aberdeen were reinforced when they won 5–0 in their first meeting of the 2019–20 season at Ibrox, the widest winning margin in 15 years.[164] Rangers also took a two-goal lead in the next match at Pittodrie, but this time Aberdeen fought back for a 2–2 draw,[165] a result that, along with the following fixture at Ibrox three months later which ended goalless,[166] negatively impacted the Glasgow club's title challenge in which few points were being dropped by either Rangers or eventual champions Celtic. The following season Rangers made no such mistakes, beating Aberdeen three times[167] as part of a 32-match unbeaten run which saw them confirmed as title winners in early March 2021, a first major trophy in a decade;[10] at that point Aberdeen had 39 fewer points and were in a battle to finish third. While Gerrard had proven his coaching abilities, McInnes was dismissed a day later, a decision not directly relating to Rangers' win but a gradual decline from the standards his team had set a few years earlier.[168] Rangers went on to complete an unbeaten league season (dropping only 12 points across the 38 fixtures), confirmed with a 4–0 win over Aberdeen on the final day; the Dons finished fourth.[169]
The 2022–23 Scottish League Cup semi-final between the clubs was a close affair, Rangers coming from behind to win 2–1 after extra time at Hampden (their equaliser coming from Ryan Jack and the winner set up by Scott Wright, both former Aberdeen men).[170] Towards the end of the league campaign, Aberdeen (now managed by former Rangers youth player Barry Robson) won 2–0 at Pittodrie, a result which helped them to secure 3rd place in the Premiership while denting Rangers' faint hopes of catching Celtic for the title.[171] 18 arrests were later made in relation to disorder surrounding the match,[172] and Rangers issued a statement condemning the abusive chanting by some home supporters.[173] The last meeting of the season was a 1–0 win at Ibrox for Rangers, who finished runners-up seven points behind their local rivals but 35 ahead of Aberdeen.
At the start of the 2023–24 season, a rare win for Aberdeen at Ibrox (3–1, with Scott Wright sent off against his old club) was followed immediately by Rangers sacking manager Michael Beale, that defeat having followed several other poor results.[174][175] The Scottish League Cup final at the end of the calendar year brought the clubs together in a final for the first time in 23 years, and the first in that competition for 31 years.[9] In a match hampered by poor weather and numerous fouls, Aberdeen offered very little offensively but Philippe Clement's Rangers struggled to make the breakthrough until captain James Tavernier scored the only goal to bring the trophy back to Ibrox for the first time in 12 years and extend their record total of League Cups to 28; Aberdeen again failed to add to victories in the same competition in 1995 and 2014, those being their only trophies since 1990.[176] It was defender Tavernier's 14th goal in the fixture,[177] tying him with Ally McCoist and Derek Johnstone as the all-time top scorer.[7]
The majority of Aberdeen supporters consider Rangers to be their main rival (some sing proudly "We hate Rangers more than you [do]" towards Celtic counterparts),[85] with no other professional clubs nearby and the closest opponents Dundee United and Inverness CT usually focusing on their own local grudges (Dundee derby and Highland derby respectively). Aberdeen's 'New Firm' battles with Dundee United became a redundant concept when both clubs faded almost entirely from prominence in Scottish football after the early 1990s.[178][179]
Rangers managers Walter Smith[180] and Steven Gerrard,[181] and captain Richard Gough,[49][83] have been among those who have expressed a belief that the Aberdeen players raise their performance in the Rangers fixtures while making insufficient effort in other matches.[49][76][182] Aberdeen were beaten heavily by Celtic on several occasions between 1999 and 2010 (including a 9–0, two 7–0s and two 6–0s)[183] but avoided any truly embarrassing results against Rangers with most scorelines fairly close, even in seasons where Rangers had a much stronger team – albeit 5–0 wins were recorded in 2000, 2004 and 2019.[184] Conversely, an observation has been made that in their own weaker spells, Rangers players seem to find extra reserves to ensure they get a good result against Aberdeen.[76]
Rangers fans' main focus of enmity has always been Celtic, and they often seek to downplay the significance of the Aberdeen games by dismissing them as an irrelevant opponent, but many supporters maintain a distrust of the Dons due to the incidents of the past and are only too willing to reciprocate any animosity shown towards them.[185]
Although Aberdeen's years of weak performances led to less significance being placed on their meetings in terms of league position (with a match report on the Rangers website in 2002 describing the beaten Aberdeen team as "A pathetic shadow of the side they used to be"),[186] the fixture remains one of the highlights of the Scottish football calendar.[187][188] The struggle for Rangers to regain their dominant position in the Scottish game following their financial collapse, with Aberdeen having become the most credible challenger to Celtic in their absence (finishing second for the two prior seasons),[80] added a renewed competitive edge to the encounters upon the return of the Glasgow club to the top division.[189][190][191]
Following the July 2017 UK Supreme Court ruling that Rangers' use of £47 million-worth of EBT payments to employees over nine years[192] were undeclared taxable earnings,[193][194] Aberdeen supporters made clear their desire for the Glasgow club to be punished with the removal of honours won during the period[195] although it would have no direct benefit to their club. After the Scottish Football Association and the Scottish Professional Football League declared that no new review of the circumstances would be forthcoming,[196][197] the chairman Stewart Milne expressed his desire for the matter to be put to rest.[198]
The animosity between the supporters, particularly by Aberdeen's towards Rangers, was still evident in 2023: a fixture at Pittodrie with little direct importance (more than 20 points separated the teams in the league table) was marked by offensive chanting, missiles being thrown at opposing fans and windows of coaches being smashed; 18 arrests were made in the subsequent investigation.[173][172]
Personnel with both clubs
A number of players have played for both clubs during the acknowledged years of their rivalry, although direct transfers are fairly rare.[94] An unusual deal between the clubs was the exchange/loan move of Ricky Foster and Andrius Velicka in 2010[199] – striker Velicka hardly featured for the Dons and was released, but full-back Foster (who had been almost ever-present in his previous four seasons at Aberdeen) played regularly for the Gers, including in the Champions League, and won a SPL winner's medal. On returning to Pittodrie he was made captain, which was not well received by some fans.[200]
In 2011, based on his own experiences two decades earlier, David Robertson advised Sone Aluko to expect a hostile reaction from fans when he signed for Rangers a short time after leaving Aberdeen.[94] As it transpired, Aluko played in just one fixture between the clubs (at Ibrox) which passed without major incident for the player[201] before he returned to England after the financial collapse of Rangers.[202]
In summer 2017, Aberdeen captain Ryan Jack allowed his contract to expire and left on a free transfer, signing for Rangers a few days later; he was immediately targeted for abuse online by supporters of his former club.[203] In November of the same year, before he had played for Rangers at Pittodrie, Jack was selected to make his full Scotland debut in a friendly which happened to take place in Aberdeen. In the opening stages of the match he was jeered and booed whenever he touched the ball by some of the crowd; other fans responded to this by cheering and applauding him.[204] When Rangers did visit Aberdeen, Jack was sent off for a bad tackle, although his team won the match.[142]
Derek McInnes
Former Rangers midfielder Derek McInnes became manager of Aberdeen in 2013. His connection with his previous club led him being linked to a move to Ibrox whenever a change in leadership would occur,[205][206][207] but the Pittodrie chairman Stewart Milne expressed his reluctance to allow any approach.[208] McInnes, who stated on several occasions that he was happy at Aberdeen,[209][210] was also offered advice from Alex Ferguson on dealing with cup finals.[211]
In early December 2017, the two clubs played in the league twice in four days, with Rangers (led by caretaker managerGraeme Murty) winning home and away to close a six-point deficit and overtake Aberdeen in the standings.[141][142][212] The matches took place amidst constant media attention as to whether McInnes was about to become the Rangers boss. McInnes did not make excuses that the ongoing speculation impacted Aberdeen's preparation for those important fixtures, or that it was behind their general form (which had suffered a downturn after Rangers dismissed Pedro Caixinha), but he did express his irritation that the matter had dragged on for so long.[213] On 5 December, Rangers did make a formal approach to speak with McInnes, but this was refused by Milne, and after internal discussions it was announced that he would remain with Aberdeen.[214][212] McInnes was dismissed by Aberdeen on 8 March 2021,[168] a day after Rangers were confirmed as Scottish champions for the first time in a decade under manager Steven Gerrard, appointed six months after the Glasgow club approached McInnes.[10]
Clear distinctions can be made between the decades of the rivalry: the 1970s/1980s when Aberdeen were the stronger team; the 1980s/1990s when Rangers became dominant but Aberdeen offered a challenge; the 1990s/2000s when Rangers were almost unbeatable; the 2000s/2010s (up to 2012) when that trend continued but fewer games were played, and the period from 2016 when matches resumed after a four-year hiatus.
There are three reasons for the reduction in matches: league reconstruction;[a] Rangers' years in the lower leagues after being liquidated; and the two clubs never being paired in a cup tie between 2004 and 2018.[b] There were eight occasions when a potential cup final between the sides narrowly failed to materialise despite both reaching the semi-finals, with the draw always keeping them apart and either one[c] or both[d] falling at that stage. That sequence ended in 2018–19, when they were drawn together in both cups.
^The Scottish Premier League introduced a late-season split in the fixtures based on league position, and Aberdeen failed to reach the top half several times.
^In the same period, Aberdeen drew Celtic six times in cup ties[250] and Rangers drew Dundee United six times.[251]
^Tallies up to 1975: 158 matches played, 30 Aberdeen wins, 44 draws, 84 Rangers wins, 179 Aberdeen goals, 305 Rangers goals. Applies to the Scottish League, Scottish Cup and League Cup only.[263][264]
Trophy table
The comparative totals of domestic trophies won by the two clubs (and runners-up) in each decade of the rivalry are shown below.[265][266][a][b]
^Tallies up to 1975: Aberdeen 1 League title, 5 times runners-up, 3 major cup wins, 6 finalists; Rangers 35 League titles, 20 times runners-up, 27 major cup wins, 14 finalists. Does not include minor trophies, wartime competitions or European football (Rangers won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1972 and were finalists in 1961 and 1967).
Notable fixtures
All cup ties between the clubs since 1975 are listed below, in addition to some league fixtures which had some significant bearing on the clubs' end of season placing, or on the rivalry itself (Durrant/Simpson match in 1988, riot police match in 2002, Lafferty/Mulgrew match in 2009).
^Aberdeen's first win at Ibrox since 1991 (breaking a 43-match sequence);[100] Aberdeen finish above Rangers in the same division for first time since 1986
^First cup meeting since 2004, first at Hampden since 2000
.jpg)
