Pierre van Hooijdonk recalls shocking incidents at Celtic

Pierre van Hooijdonk spent three seasons playing for Celtic during the 90’s. Now in a recent interview, the former Dutch international has shed light on some shocking incidents that took place during his stay in Glasgow and how dangerous it was to play for the club.

It is safe to say that there are not many things that Pierre van Hooijdonk has not witnessed during his 18-year professional football career that saw him play for 8 different clubs and in 5 different countries. But when it comes to the danger of playing professionally for a club, there is no doubt in the Dutchman’s mind that Celtic and Rangers share the most fierce rivalry in world football.

Despite having spent two seasons in Turkey playing for Fenerbahce, who share one of the most celebrated rivalries in football with Galatasaray, van Hooijdonk is adamant that the rivalry between the two Glasgow sides is much more fiercer. And in order to back up his claims, he has revealed some incidents that took place during his stay at Celtic that made him feel unsafe in Glasgow.

In his prime, van Hooijdonk was a world-class goalscorer. He scored 56 goals in just 92 appearances for the Hoops. And during his career he managed to cross the coveted 20-goal-season mark considered to be the sign of a great striker on 11 different occasions, just further proof of how lethal he was in front of goal during his heydays.

As a result, it is no surprise that the Netherlands international would be targeted off the pitch by rival fans. While talking of his time playing for Celtic, van Hooijdonk revealed how he was once spat on by a Rangers fan at a traffic light.

Speaking to the Guardian, van Hooijdonk said:

"“I got some trouble from Rangers fans; once at some traffic lights a boy opened my car door and spat at me. It sucked the energy out of me.“I was single for six months there but didn’t go out because I had to be careful. If I went to a concert, I would take a taxi and crouch down in the back seat as we went past the pubs.“Even when I was playing for Fenerbahce with the Galatasaray fans or for Benfica with the Porto fans, the danger was never as bad.”"

Those familiar with Scottish football will not be shocked at all with the Dutch striker’s story. Just last month following Celtic’s 2-0 win over Rangers at Ibrox, Scott Brown was mocked by a Rangers fan about his sister’s death while Jonny Hayes was hit with a missile during celebrations. The dangers of playing for the two Glasgow sides is very real and every player who has ever walked on to a pitch to play in the Old Firm derby will tell you so.