Henrik Larsson once said there was always one massive difference between Celtic vs Rangers and Barcelona vs Real Madrid games.
The former Swedish striker is one of the greatest Celtic players of all-time having lit up Parkhead with his skill and goalscoring exploits between 1997 and 2004.
‘The King of Kings’ as Celtic fans dubbed him, Larsson was a goal machine. He scored 242 goals for the Bhoys across 315 appearances, which places him third on the all-time Celtic scorers list.
He was also a constant menace for Rangers in Old Firm clashes, his most memorable moment against them of course THAT chip in Celtic’s 6-2 win in 2000.
All in all, Larsson scored 15 goals in 30 games against Rangers. 14 of those Old Firm derbies were wins for the Hoops and the Swede lost just 10.
Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Larsson said Old Firm is ‘bigger’ than El Clasico
Larsson left Celtic in 2004 for Spanish giants Barcelona as the forward went on to prove to the world that he was one of the best strikers of his generation.
He played in a number of El Clasico matches against Real Madrid, a derby considered one of the biggest and fiercest in the world.
But Larsson, speaking after his playing career, admitted that the Old Firm was levels above the El Clasico in one key area. And that made it the biggest derby on the planet.
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He said: “If you talk about the Old Firm, I think it is the biggest derby in the world. Nothing else even comes close to it.
“I’ve played ‘El Clasico’ in Barcelona against Real Madrid and it’s a nice game, but it doesn’t reach the same noise level as you get in Glasgow.
“It’s a big football city with two big football teams and there are always lots of feelings and emotions whenever the Old Firm games are played.”
Celtic vs Rangers games are VERY loud
Larsson’s ‘noise level’ claim can be backed up with a report that surfaced in 2018 after Celtic beat Rangers 4-0 in a Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.
As per The Guardian, sound experts Vanguardia were tasked with measuring the sound of the game in decibels, proving how deafening the occasions really are.
The game recorded a peak decibel level of 115, which was described as “incredible”. That is comparable with the roar of a lion from less than one metre away, or just shy of a jet engine taking off 25 metres away.
Photo by Marcos del Mazo/LightRocket via Getty Images
Photo by Marcos del Mazo/LightRocket via Getty Images
The sound level blew every single Premier League atmosphere out of the water. A study conducted in 2014 found Old Trafford to be the noisiest stadium in England with a peak decibel level of just 84.
Vanguardia’s Matt McIlroy said after the Old Firm semi-final in 2018: “The noise levels from the moment the players walked out on to the pitch were incredible and really shows the passion of the fans that those levels did not significantly change throughout the match.
“It’s also worth noting that these levels were registered trackside: imagine how loud it would have been in amongst the fans.”