THEY were team mates when they were young and rising through the ranks.
But years later they would end up on opposing sides of not one but TWO of British football‘s greatest rivalries.
Mark Walters, a fan favourite at Rangers, is one of them[/caption]
Rangers legend Mark Walters took a step back in time this week as he shared an old photograph from his youth days at Aston Villa.
The black and white snap saw Walters surrounded by his team mates, all of whom were holding individual trophies and another player, presumably the captain at the time, clutching a cup.
Walters posted the picture on his Twitter (X) account and fans were stunned to notice that one of those posing alongside Walters was a future Celtic icon.
The ex-Rangers and Liverpool winger captioned the post: “Where my professional football career started, can you name anyone?”
Punters were quick to notice some recognisable Aston Villa faces, with the names of Paul Birch, David Norton and Tony Rees all mentioned, each of whom started their careers at Villa.
But it was the sight of Brian McClair that caught the eye.
McClair, who gained the nickname ‘Choccy’ during his career as rhyming slang from chocolate eclair, was spotted off to the side of Walters.
While the pair just missed each other a few years later as McClair left Celtic a few months before Walter joined Rangers, they would meet again back in England soon enough.
McClair became a cult hero at Manchester United and Walters returned to English football with Liverpool in 1991, setting the pair up as rivals for the next few seasons in the Premier League.
Upon further investigation, the photo Walters posted looks to be from after the Southern Junior Floodlit Cup final against West Ham United from April 1981.
The Villa youth team at that time was one of the most successful, having won the FA Youth Cup and the South Junior Floodlit Cup the year before.
And of course, the 1980-81 season was the last time Aston Villa won a top flight league title.
They finished four points clear of Ipswich Town, with reigning champions Liverpool down in fifth that season, behind Arsenal in third and West Brom in fourth.
The following year Villa would go on to record perhaps their greatest ever triumph by lifting the European Cup, beating Bayern Munich 1-0 in Rotterdam.
McClair left Villa after signing as a schoolboy and didn’t make a single first team appearance, coming back up to Scotland to sign for Motherwell in 1981.
Walters remained at his hometown club after graduating from the youth system and would make almost 250 appearances before signing for Gers on New Year‘s Eve in 1987, five months after McClair had departed Glasgow for Old Trafford.
McClair in action for Celtic[/caption]
Walters later played in classic matches against McClair and United for Liverpool[/caption]
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