A FOOTBALL FAIRYTALE
I want my boys to be telling terrific stories of their famous Euro triumph in 20 or 30 years time just like heroes of 1972
THE Rangers squad have had no shortage of reminders this week about just what’s at stake in Seville tomorrow night.
Everywhere they turn in the panel-lined corridors of Ibrox, there are images depicting the greatest night in Rangers’ 150 years of history.
And as they stride through those old passageways, they may even bump into the man who had the honour of leading the Light Blues out at the Nou Camp as Willie Waddell’s team claimed European Cup Winners’ Cup glory.
John Greig is still very much part of the furniture at Ibrox 50 years on from that famous win over Moscow Dynamo.
He’s always available with a word of wisdom for today’s team or maybe a gentle put down for those young scamps getting too big for their boots.
But it’s those living links to the past which Gio van Bronckhorst reckons have ensured his modern-day side have a firm sense of what they stand to achieve if they can match those historic feats of 1972 tomorrow.
If they can, it might just be James Tavernier’s turn to bump into the class of 2072 and regale them with old tales of Europa League glory.
The Gers gaffer said: “John is telling that story about 1972 every day! No, it’s good to have.
“I love having John Greig around because he is a true legend.
“In my first years as a player here, we had a really good head of communications!
“It was really nice to have him around.
“But I think it’s also very important for the players to hear those stories, of the influence and experience they had and what it meant to them. That’s very important because this club is all about history.
“I also told my players that we have two big finals and the one in Seville will give them a chance to be in the history books of this club. “Then the stories they will tell in 10, 20 or 30 years will be the same stories that all the players from ’72 tell to mine.” To be fair to the Dutchman, he has some stories to tell himself. A Champions League winner with Barcelona in 2006, a World Cup finalist with Holland four years later. He knows what the big occasions are all about – and he has learned a thing or two from the coaches who guided him there. “I was privileged to train under some really good coaches,” the Dutchman said. “The Champions League Final I played with Barcelona in 2006, we had Frank Rijkaard as coach. “As a character and the way I work, I think I’m closest to his manners and the way he approaches games. “I always had a good feeling with him because he used the strength of the team. He always made us feel we were special and able to achieve great things. We had a really good relationship.
“Louis van Gaal was another coach I had with the Dutch team. As a coach in general, he is one of the best.
“And Dick Advocaat was a coach I had with both Rangers and the Dutch team. You learn from every coach and I’m still learning.
“As a player, I was still learning at 34 or 35 and as a coach you never stop learning, improving yourself and getting new ideas. So it’s an ongoing process. I’m really enjoying it at the moment.”
For Rangers to make the most of their big opportunity in Spain, they will have to topple their third German opponent of this remarkable run.
But van Bronckhorst has every faith his team can do to Eintracht Frankfurt what they have already done to Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig.
He said: “It’s a Bundesliga team and a very strong team, well organised and very fast in transitions. We also saw that when we played against Leipzig.
“They have had great results, the results they had in Europe will also give them confidence – beating Barcelona and West Ham is a great achievement for them as well.
“But they have different players to the ones we played. Individually they have different strengths but we are watching all the games they have played so far and in the end we will make a plan to try to be victorious.
“Of course if you play against a really strong opponent – Dortmund at that time were favourites to win the Europa League – and you give a performance like that, it’s good for confidence and your belief in your strength as a team.
“We stayed really humble, respected the opponent and made sure we did everything we could to win against every team we played. That’s one of the strengths of this team.
“Frankfurt will be the same. We won’t change our approach. We won’t change anything in addressing all the tactics. The preparations will be the same.
“We have one more game to play. If we win it, we are the champions. That will be a dream for all of us.”
Frankfurt have splashed out almost £65million on players in three years.
Rangers’ entire squad, in contrast, was put together at a cost of just £17m.
Van Bronckhorst added: “It would be a huge achievement and it’s the beauty of football because it doesn’t matter how much you spend or what your players are worth, in the end you have the chance to win against a team in 90 minutes.
“You can play against a team with much bigger budgets and better players but we have won those games.
“I think it is a huge achievement for us and it shows everything is possible in football once you work hard for it. You have to believe.”
We’ve one more game to play and if we win, we are the champions. That is the dream.