Vanja Dragojevic Prepares for Glasgow's Intense Old Firm Derby

Vanja Dragojevic has already felt the heat of Belgrade’s ‘Eternal Derby’. Now he is counting down to something he has been told is even more intense.

The 20-year-old Rangers midfielder is relishing the prospect of facing Celtic in what he calls “maybe the biggest derby on earth” when the sides collide in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final at Ibrox next month.

Dragojevic fired in his first goal for the club in Sunday’s League Cup win over St Mirren, a strike that sealed Rangers’ place in the last eight and set up the Glasgow showdown. The reward could hardly be bigger.

“We're really happy that [the Celtic cup tie] will happen,” he said, still riding the high of that first goal in blue.

For a player who has already sampled one of world football’s most hostile fixtures with Partizan, the comparison is not thrown around lightly. He has played in three or four Belgrade derbies, felt the noise, the tension, the sense that the match spills far beyond the white lines.

“I played in three or four Belgrade derbies. It was really hard and fired up,” he said. “In Serbia, it's not just about the football. It's really about much more than this. But I like this.”

Yet those who know Glasgow have told him that the Old Firm exists on its own scale.

“When I spoke with lots of players before I came here, everyone said this is maybe the biggest derby on earth. And maybe the craziest one – in a positive way. So I'm really happy that I have the privilege to be part of it and maybe play in it.”

For now, he is trying to keep a lid on the excitement. Rangers have a game on Thursday, and the staff have drilled into the squad that nothing comes before the next 90 minutes.

“It's too far away to think about because we have a game on Thursday, we will focus on that,” he stressed.

Off the pitch, Dragojevic sounds every bit as settled as he looks on it. The move to Scotland has felt natural, almost easy, and he is visibly at ease when he talks about his new surroundings.

“I enjoy it here. This is a great country, with great people. I'm surprised how warm the people are here,” he said. “When I came to the club it was so easy to adapt. Everyone in the city is so nice. I'm feeling really happy here. I'm looking forward to doing everything I can for this club.”

A first goal, a cup quarter-final, and the promise of an Old Firm baptism under the Ibrox lights. For a 20-year-old already shaped by one ferocious rivalry, the next derby on his horizon could define the early chapters of his Rangers story.