“I felt like a superstar” – Dutchman on his Celtic adventure and Rangers ‘pure hatred’

Regi Blinker, a former Celtic winger, admitted he “felt like a superstar” at the club and insisted it was ‘pure hatred’ when it came to the rivalry with Rangers.

The former Hoops player spoke to Algemeen Dagblad before of Celtic’s Champions League encounter with Feyenoord on Tuesday, which included a look back at his time at Celtic Park and, of course, the fights with Rangers.

After joining Celtic from Sheffield Wednesday in 1997, the Dutchman spent three seasons with the club, which meant lots of travels to Ibrox.

While still a fierce derby, to say the least, and demonstrated by the 15 fouls apiece and hostile atmosphere at Ibrox in Celtic’s recent 1-0 win over Michael Beale’s side, back in the 90’s it was a different matter altogether.

The Scottish giants’ hatred of each other was well established and often borne out on the pitch, with the Old Firm derby widely accepted as one of the fiercest derbies in world football.

That’s not quite the case today, of course, with that recent clash only seeing one yellow a piece for Rangers Todd Cantwell and Celtic’s Liam Scales respectively.

That wasn’t the case in Blinker’s day, with him admitting it was ‘pure hatred’ between the two sides when they met.

“After Sheffield I went to Celtic, because Wim Jansen had become manager there,” he said.

“There in Glasgow, football was so alive, it was truly unimaginable. With all the trimmings, eh. Paparazzi on the street to spot players.

“The idolization of the players by the fans – and there are quite a few at Celtic – was unique. Yes, I felt like a superstar there sometimes.

“But you can’t understand anyone at Celtic Park. As a player you don’t know what you will experience when you come out of the tunnel.

“I played an Old Firm against Glasgow Rangers there and then you really encountered a hurricane of noise. The sheer hatred you feel from Rangers fans for wearing the wrong shirt. And the support of Celtic’s supporters, who demand that you get into it from the first to the last minute.”