The 1997–98 season was the 101st season of competitive football in Scotland. Celtic won the Premier Division championship, preventing rivals Rangers from winning a record 10th successive championship.
Scottish Premier Division
Top scorers
Scottish League Division One
Table
Top scorers
Scottish League Division Two
Table
Top scorers
Scottish League Division Three
Table
Top scorers
Other honours
Cup honours CompetitionWinnerScoreRunner-upReportScottish Cup 1997–98Heart of Midlothian2 – 1RangersWikipedia articleLeague Cup 1997–98Celtic3 – 0Dundee UnitedWikipedia articleChallenge Cup 1997–98Falkirk1 – 0Queen of the SouthWikipedia articleYouth CupHeart of Midlothian2 – 0Dundee UnitedJunior CupArthurlie4 – 0Pollok
Individual honours
SPFA awards AwardWinnerClubPlayers' Player of the Year Jackie McNamara CelticYoung Player of the Year Gary Naysmith Heart of Midlothian
SFWA awards AwardWinnerClub Footballer of the Year Craig Burley Celtic Young Player of the Year Henrik Larsson Celtic Manager of the Year Wim Jansen Celtic
Scottish clubs in Europe
ClubCompetition(s)Final roundCoef.RangersUEFA Champions League UEFA Europa LeagueSecond qualifying round First round2.50KilmarnockUEFA Cup Winners' CupFirst round2.50CelticUEFA Europa LeagueFirst round5.00Dundee UnitedUEFA Europa LeagueSecond qualifying round2.50
Average coefficient – 3.125
Scotland national team
DateVenueOpponentsCompetitionScotland scorer(s)7 SeptemberPittodrie, Aberdeen (H)4–1WCQG4Kevin Gallacher (2), David Hopkin (2)11 OctoberCeltic Park, Glasgow (H)2–0WCQG4Kevin Gallacher, Gordon Durie12 NovemberStade Geoffroy-Guichard, St Etienne (A) France1–2FriendlyGordon Durie25 MarchIbrox Stadium, Glasgow (H) Denmark0–1Friendly22 AprilEaster Road, Edinburgh (H) Finland1–1FriendlyDarren Jackson23 MayGiants Stadium, East Rutherford NJ (A) Colombia2–2FriendlyJohn Collins, Craig Burley30 MayRFK Memorial Stadium, Washington DC (A) USA0–0Friendly10 JuneStade de France, Saint-Denis (N) Brazil1–2WCGAJohn Collins (pen.)16 JuneStade Lescure, Bordeaux (N) Norway1–1WCGACraig Burley23 JuneStade Geoffroy-Guichard, St Etienne (N) Morocco0–3WCGA
Key: (H) = Home match (A) = Away match WCQG4 = World Cup qualifying – Group 4 WCGA = World Cup – Group A
Notable events After the end of the season, the 10 Premier Division clubs formed a breakaway Scottish Premier League similar to the one formed in England six years earlier. Celtic won the Premier Division title after nine successive title wins by Rangers. Walter Smith resigned as manager of Rangers after seven years to be succeeded by Dutchman Dick Advocaat. Rangers lost the Scottish Cup final 2–1 to Hearts, leaving them without a major trophy for the first time since 1986. Paul Gascoigne left Rangers in March to return to England in a £3.4million move to Middlesbrough. Ally McCoist left Rangers after 15 years and more than 300 goals to sign for Kilmarnock on a free transfer. Goalkeeper Andy Goram left Rangers after seven years, having just walked out of the Scotland squad for the World Cup in France. Also leaving Rangers after seven years was Stuart McCall, who moved to England and signed for Bradford City. After signing from Perugia in a £3.5million deal at the start of the season, Italian striker Marco Negri had a dream start to his career at Rangers – scoring 23 goals in his first 10 league games. However, after playing 27 league games and scoring 32 goals, his season was ended by a serious eye injury off the field in March. Brian Laudrup ended his four-year spell with Rangers and signed for Chelsea at the end of the season.
Notes and references