DAYS can pass without it being mentioned but never an entire week.
Not since May 21, 1979 has Murdo MacLeod had to wait long before someone has asked him about his thunderbolt shot 30 yards from goal, actually over the years that has gone up to about a quarter of a mile, which flew past Rangers goalkeeper Peter McCloy into the top corner of the net to seal a 4-2 win for Celtic and the league title all in the one millisecond.
“The club’s greatest night since Lisbon,” enthused chairman Desmond White at the time and in 2002 this goal was voted the greatest ever scored by a Celtic player in an Old Firm game.
A draw would have done Rangers that night as they had two games in hand to make up what had been a three point gap before the match, Celtic had Johnny Doyle sent off just after half-time but then ten men won the league, a fact which was quickly transformed into a song.
As Scottish football looks ahead to these two coming together once more on league business, it took little nudging to get MacLeod to reminisce about that.
“It's a great memory, when you look back, most Old Firm players will always have a favourite Old Firm match,” said the former midfielder who spent nine years at Celtic during which time he won every domestic honour.
“I get asked about it all the time. Just people telling me they were there and how special it was.
“Being 20 years old and scoring the winner with the last kick of the ball is very special. When that happens you just think 'I love these Old Firm games'. I've love them to this day. You miss being involved in them. Aberdeen were a strong side at that time, they were more challengers to us than Rangers. But the Old Firm game was still the big game.
"We've all missed them the last four years. You watch them and you're jealous you're not part of them. They're special matches.”
MacLeod ‘only’ scored six times against Rangers but they were all pretty good. That goal in 1979, another typical long-range effort in the 1982 League Cup Final and a late equaliser in a famous 4-4 at Ibrox which gained a vital point in helping Celtic to a last-day league title triumph in 1986.
No wonder supporters can’t help but bother the man who gave them such fantastic memories.
“I’ve had that all down the years – not just about that game but even normal league matches,” said MacLeod. “When you score a winner in a Cup Final, to win the league or (as coach) to stop 10-in-a-row, it’s fantastic that people still come up to you just to say ‘I was there’.
“That’s the thing about every football fan. They always want to be supporting their team on a day that was special to the football club. Old Firm games are always special.”
His old club are favourites. The theory put forward by many is Celtic will win and probably by a few goals. MacLeod does not see it this way.
He said: “Whoever turns up on Saturday will win it. It doesn't matter how well you think you're going to play, it'll come down to who plays best. It's amazing over all the years some big-name players have played in Old Firm games and not performed. It just comes down to who handles it the best.
“There's a bit more pressure because it's the first match but when you look at the players, a lot of them will be turning up not knowing what to expect. The game hasn't been there for four years so how do you handle it? You just turn up and play.”
There are many who insist this fixture has not been missed and while that will be true for some, most supporters are glad it’s back, as are the players, managers, television companies and most definitely the sponsors.
Every piece about this game attracts comments about Rangers being a new club. Fair enough, but try telling Leigh Griffiths if he scores on Saturday that he can’t class them as Old Firm goals,
“People talk about the Old Firm and their highlights because anything that happens on the pitch becomes a highlight for the rest of your life,” said MacLeod. "You can do the same against Aberdeen, Dundee United, Hearts or Hibs – do really well, score a great goal – but they always talk about things that happen in Old Firm games.
“That’s the memories for all the fans. They want every one of their players to go out and work really hard, be aggressive, do their bit for the team and hopefully see the bonus of goals. This game is going to be a bit different because even the players from outside Scotland turning up to play in it have no league games over the past four years to look back on.”
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