Celtic face Old Firm rivals Rangers in the Viaplay Cup final at Hampden Park this weekend as they look to clinch back-to-back triumphs in the competition.
Last season’s 2-1 victory over Hibernian at the national stadium marked the first trophy of the Ange Postecoglou era, but the Hoops record in the tournament doesn’t read as well as many fans would expect. Infact, it is the least successful of the domestic trophies up for grabs as far the Parkhead club are concerned.
Celtic have a success rate of just 26% in the Scottish League Cup (20 wins out of 76 appearances) compared to a 32% success rate in the Scottish Cup ahead of Sunday’s encounter.
A 7-1 triumph over Rangers in October 1957 remains the second most famous result in the club’s history - behind the 1967 European Cup Final against Inter Milan in Lisbon. Jock Stein’s side also won the trophy five times in a row during the mid-1960s.
The overall picture behind Celtic’s relative lack of success was they didn’t get to grips with the competiton until more than 20 years after League Cup was founded in 1946. They appeared in every final between 1964 and 1978, losing seven of them. A dreadful period followed whereby the Glasgow giants went 15 seasons without getting their hands on the trophy, including a humiliating penalty shoot-out defeat to Raith Rovers in season 1994/95.
However, the club’s fortunes began to change around the late 1990s, winning on 11 of their previous 14 League Cup final appearances, including four in a row from Brendan Rodgers “Invincibles” side.
Here, we take a look back at the previous TEN Scottish League Cup finals involving Celtic...
1. Dunfermline Athletic 0-3 Celtic - Season 2005/06
The Celtic team all wore the number 7 on their shorts in memory of club legend Jimmy Johnstone, who had died a week earlier. Maciej Zurawski, Shaun Maloney and Dion Dublin were on target.
2. Celtic 2-0 Rangers - Season 2008/09
The Hoops beat their Old Firm rivals after extra-time after Darren O’Dea’s header and Aiden McGready’s spot-kick clinched the trophy. Rangers had defender Kirk Broadfoot sent off for conceding the penalty.
3. Celtic 1-2 Rangers - Season 2010/11
It was Rangers time to turn the tables in March 2011 after extra-time. Steven Davis’ opener was cancelled out by Joe Ledley in the first-half. Croatian striker Nikica Jelavić fired home the match-winner after 98 minutes.
4. Celtic 0-1 Kilmarnock - Season 2011/12
The Ayrshire club defied the odds to spring a massive shock in just their sixth League Cup final appearance. Goalkeeper Cammy Bell made a number of top saves before substitute Dieter Van Tornhout headed home at the back post with six minutes left.