Legends reunite for Masters Football
By Jack Cranmer
Still got it?: The legends are back for the annual indoor football tournament
The Scottish Masters football tournament returns for its annual iteration tonight, 14 November.
Legends from Scottish sides Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee United and Rangers face off in the traditional six-aside indoor arena tournament for the Masters Cup.
This year’s tournament will be held in Aberdeen’s P&J Live arena for the first time and will be shown live on BBC Scotland from 7:15pm tonight under the Sportscene umbrella during this international break free of club action.
Sky Sports held a wildly popular version of the tournament from 2000 until 2011 featuring a mix of Scottish and English sides competing against one another.
The concept was reintroduced by online streaming service 360 Sports TV in 2022, with Rangers and Celtic competing with English sides Liverpool and Manchester United. The Anfield side came out on top that year with their English counterparts claiming the runners-up place, with the Glasgow duo propping up the 4-team table.
The Scottish version was held for the first time in 2023 with the Glasgow duo returning to compete with Edinburgh giants Hearts and Hibernian.
Celtic were winners mainly due to former striker Gary Hooper’s performance in which the Englishman grabbed the competitions golden boot.
The full sides are yet to be fully announced but we do know that captaining Aberdeen will be Russell Anderson, Celtic will be skippered by Stiliyan Petrov, Dundee United by Willo Flood and Rangers by Barry Ferguson, who captained both his club and Scotland during his playing career.
More players have also been announced including a surprise late inclusion of former England striker Jermain Defoe in the Rangers side. Many more legends will grace the pitch once more for all four sides involved.
The eldest player involved in the tournament is Aberdeen’s Eoin Jess at 53, with the youngest being last year's top scorer, Gary Hooper at just 36.
The full squads announced so far are as follows:
Aberdeen – Joe Lewis (GK), Russell Anderson (C), Kevin McNaughton, Derek Young, Jonny Hayes, Gavin Rae, Eoin Jess and Lee Miller.
Celtic – Michael McGovern (GK), Stiliyan Petrov (C), Darren O’Dea, Joe Ledley, Scott Brown, Simon Donnelly and Gary Hooper.
Dundee United – Paul Gallacher (GK), Willo Flood (C), Garry Kenneth, Mark Wilson, John Rankin, Craig Conway, Danny Swanson and Jon Daly.
Rangers – Roy Carroll (GK), Barry Ferguson (C), Lee McCulloch, Graham Dorrans, Pedro Mendes, Nacho Novo, Kris Boyd and Jermain Defoe.
Can Celtic match their current first team and retain their Master’s title or will they be usurped by the chasing trio; we will find out tonight which side still has the ability to do the talking on the pitch.