Scotland vs England always gets the juices flowing but, for many fans, one Battle of Britain 25 years ago tops the lot.
Rangers against Leeds in the re-branded Champions League put the title winners from north and south of the border in opposite corners with a place in the group stage the prize for the winner.
Like Europe’s premier club competition, which was in its second season, the English top flight was all new and with the Premier League in its infancy and the cash windfall yet to land, these two giants of the game squared up on a level playing field.
McCoist sealed the second leg with a memorable diving header at the back post
Lukic looks back at his goal to see McCoist’s header having beaten him and crossed the line
That Leeds midfield of Gary McAllister, David Batty, Gary Speed and Gordon Strachan, plus a certain Eric Cantona took to the field for the first leg at Ibrox on October 21.
For Rangers, Andy Goram marshalled an all-Scottish defence behind a deadly Ally McCoist-Mark Hateley strike partnership that plundered 62 goals the campaign before. McCoist’s 34 in the league landed a 43rd title.
The Home Internationals were long gone, it had been over 10 years since Scotland had beaten England in a competitive fixture, pride was at stake and this was about more than silencing noisy neighbours.
But in both legs – it was the hosts who were quietened early doors. The clubs had agreed that away fans wouldn’t be able to travel for safety and security reasons and UEFA restricted the standing area allowance, reducing the number of fans to be let in to the ground.
Mark Hateley rises above United’s Chris Whyte during the second leg at Elland Road
At Ibrox, the locals were still taking their seats when Strachan’s corner was cleared as far as fellow Scotsman McAllister, whose peach of a volley found the top corner.
Rangers, on the back of 12 straight wins, were on level terms when Leeds’ keeper John Lukic punched the ball into his own net and a classic poacher’s goal from McCoist gave the Scots an advantage to take down south a fortnight later.
They did what Leeds managed in Glasgow and bagged an early goal. It was a volley again, this time a Hateley screamer from McCoist’s flick and the pair swapped roles for the back-post diving header just shy of the hour mark that put the tie to bed.
Gary McAllister netted in the first leg for Leeds but they would lose both games 2-1
Dave McPherson takes the ball past McAllister during the clash at ibrox in November 1992
You could see just what it meant to McCoist as he fell to his knees on the verge of tears and fellow players came crashing in to celebrate, Dale Gordon almost bending him in half.
A late Cantona goal was little more than a consolation and Rangers made it through only to miss out on a place in the final, finishing second to group winners Marseille.
The men from the Mediterranean lifted the cup after beating Milan in the final but they were prevented from defending it the following year due to ban for match-fixing in the French league ahead of playing the Italian giants.
For Rangers, 25 years down the line but a million miles away from where they were in late 1992, it was a case of what might have been.