While Celtic and the Rangers are very much in the middle of an intense race for the Premiership, a lot of the recent headlines have been dominated by the news of the clubs playing a friendly away in Australia in November of this year. Naturally, the decision has raised the eyebrows of both sets of fans and been a controversial one to say the least. But then, it is not hard to see the positive sides of it as well.
The tour is going to provide a massive cash boost to both Celtic and the Rangers. And that is important at a time like this, when Scottish clubs are struggling to keep up with those in the top five leagues in Europe.
And with the World Cup being played in the middle of the season, it might be a good opportunity for some of the players to stay fit as well.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst has broken silence surrounding the controversial Celtic friendly in Australia. As reported by The Scottish Sun, he said on Rangers’ official Twitter:
"“I am delighted to have the opportunity to take Rangers to Sydney next November.“I know from my previous spell at the club as a player that we have supporters based all around the world, with Australia a particular hotbed for Rangers fans.“This is a terrific opportunity for us to go and see them in person, as well as get some valuable game time for the players who won’t be at the World Cup against a good challenge in Western Sydney Wanderers and also the Old Firm match.”"
Celtic and Rangers are set to play a friendly in Australia later this year
Celtic have always had a lot of supporters in Australia but it is safe to say that the arrival of Ange Postecoglou as the club’s manager in the summer has had a huge impact on this friendly taking place Down Under.
Postecoglou is the most successful manager in the history of Australia, both at the club level and the international level. And thus, his move to Celtic has only helped in giving the popularity of the club and the Scottish game as a whole, a boost.
It will be very interesting to see how this game will look later this year, with both clubs expected to have a few important players involved in the World Cup.