Rangers icon recalls Celtic player he 'just did not like' and team-mate who scolded him for dressing room yawn

Peter Lovenkrands opens up on his time at Ibrox and why Old Firm rivalry is “biggest you will get”

Peter Lovenkrands is in no doubt that the Old Firm rivalry between Celtic and Rangers is the most intense in the world having experienced it first-hand across a six-year spell at Ibrox.

The Danish winger was signed from Akademisk Boldklub for £1.3 million in June 2000 and went on to play 182 games for Rangers, winning six honours including two Scottish Premier League titles, before departing for Schalke. He scored 54 goals for the club, including a last-minute winner against Celtic in the 2002 Scottish Cup Final.

His move to Glasgow came just two weeks after his brother, Tommy Lovenkrands, signed for St Johnstone – "a big factor on why I went there," the now 44-year-old recalled in an exclusive interview with Ladbrokes Fanzone.

Rangers hero Peter Lovenkrands (middle) celebrates scoring a last-gasp winner against Celtic in the 2002 Scottish Cup final at Hampden.

Another reason was the fact he had idolised the Ibrox club throughout his childhood. "I was actually a Rangers fan growing up," he said. "My mum and dad use to fly over to watch Brian Laudrup and Paul Gascoigne. Laudrup was one of my heroes, so I always followed them. My dad used to always say, 'I want you to play for Rangers.' I would tell him I wanted to play in La Liga, but I ended up playing there for six years. But as a family, we were Rangers fans.

"I have so many highlights from my time at Rangers. One was being able to be play my first Champions League game against Galatasaray. Standing on the line and hearing the Champions League music gives me goosebumps even now, thinking about it. As a young boy growing up it was the dream and it came true. Scoring my first Champions League goal against Stuttgart was also one of my biggest moments as a player. I scored the winner at Ibrox and that was crazy. The cup final against Celtic is another. I scored the winner in the 92nd minute; it finished 3-2. Still to this day, it is the biggest thing everybody speaks about. That one goal is what fans talk to me about because it was against Celtic."

Lovenkrands' success at Rangers, particularly in the derby fixtures, ensured he was noticed by both supporters of both clubs whenever he was out and about in Glasgow, with mixed reactions depending on the allegiance.

"Celtic fans did not like me and I understand it," he said. "It’s such a big rivalry, the biggest you will ever get, and unless you experience it, you will never understand. Schalke and Dortmund fans think their rivalry is big, but it is nowhere near the Celtic/Rangers rivalry. In my second season there, I scored seven goals but five of them were against Celtic. So after that year, it all took a big turn for me. I went from being able to walk down the streets no problem, to everyone looking for autographs and photos. The negative side then was the shouting and what not on the street from Celtic fans, but that is part and parcel of it. I had good friends around me who helped me in terms of telling me what not to do, places to go, and so on.

"It is the most amazing derby to be part of and to be fair, people now won’t understand what it was like; back then it was crazy because the away fans were allowed over 8000 and the noise at those games was just incredible. Now, there’s no away fans so it’s not the same. I feel for the players and fans because they don’t get the actual Old Firm experience. The atmosphere was insane. It has been ruined a bit now the way it is."

Lovenkrands recalled how he once received a scolding from former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson for yawning in the changing room ahead of a match against Celtic.

"Going into those matches you would sometimes feel tired because we would be woken up by fire alarms in the hotel that the fans set off. I remember in that cup final where I scored, I sat in the changing room before the game, yawning and Barry Ferguson, the captain, said to me, 'What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you yawning?!', but it was something I did when I was nervous. He said fair enough and then I went out and scored. If I was nervous, I would just yawn! Once I was on the pitch I loved it though. I hated the build-up, I don’t like the warm-up bit, I just wanted the whistle to go. The noise spurred me on."

Old Firm matches are always fiercely contested and Lovenkrands admitted there were players on the opposition side that he just did not get along with.

"My biggest rival at Celtic was Alan Thompson, and probably Chris Sutton. Mostly Alan Thompson. I don’t know how it started, but for some reason we just did not like each other on the pitch. It was crazy. Every time we could get a wee dig at each other, we did. Although he was on the research team at Newcastle when I got there, so we had a chat about it and he then came to Birmingham as well. So I actually ended up knowing him for a few years afterwards and we sort of laughed about it. I have nothing against him now. Henrik Larsson was a big rival of mine, and also he’s Swedish and I’m Danish so that was another reason to clash. He was the nicest guy, and on the pitch he was so good. I didn’t like him during my time at Rangers."