EFT WINGER
Decades, but who’s our man out wide for the Premier XI?
player, both going forward and defensively. I can remember him taking Mick Mills apart. Not many people were able to do that. He was two footed, the whole lot. He should have had a lot more caps (Weir made just six appearances for the national team) than he did.”
Giovanni van Bronckhorst Clubs
Titles
Titles
Rangers (1998 to 2001)
Two (1999 and 2000).
THE versatile Dutch defendercum-midfielder (below) won the Premier League and FA Cup during his time with Arsenal, triumphed in La Liga and the Champions League when he was at Barcelona, represented the Netherlands on 104 occasions and captained his country in the 2010 World Cup final.
His time at Rangers was rather good as well. He played at left-back latterly in his accomplished career and also featured there at Ibrox on occasion. But he was, with his compatriot Arthur Numan joining him in Glasgow, primarily used as a left-sided midfielder in Scotland. He was integral to the style of play that Dick Advocaat introduced.
In his debut season after joining from Feyenoord in a £5.5m transfer in 1998, Van Bronckhorst played in 53 games in all competitions and scored 10 goals as Rangers completed a domestic treble. The following season he helped the Govan club overcome Parma to qualify for the Champions League and win the Premier League and Scottish Cup double.
It was almost inevitable that such a quality footballer would move on to play at a higher level and he duly departed for Highbury for an £8m fee in 2001. But he is still held in the highest regard at his former club. With very good reason.
Davie Cooper Clubs
Rangers (1977 to 1989) and Motherwell (1989 to 1993) Three (1978, 1987 and 1989).
PICKING the top five leftsided midfielders for the Greatest Premier XI was a tricky business. Leaving Jorg Albertz, Shaun Maloney and Neil McCann out has doubtless mystified many readers. But selecting one man for the starting line-up was a no brainer. It had to be Davie Cooper.
The former Clydebank player made an immediate impact after joining Rangers in a £100,000 transfer aged 21 in 1978. He played in 57 of the Ibrox club’s 58 games as they won the Premier Division, League Cup and Scottish Cup. The next term they retained both cups.
But the following years were difficult for Rangers. There was a lack of investment in the squad and Aberdeen, Celtic and Dundee United dominated.
Cooper was very much a light in the darkness in those desperate days. He certainly had slumps in form, spells when he looked disinterested. He was dubbed the Moody Blue. When he fancied it, though, he was irresistible.
He had extraordinary close control, a wand of a left foot and both set up and scored goals. His outrageous individual effort in the Drybrough Cup final win over Celtic in 1979 was later voted Rangers’ greatest goal. But there were many more.
He was revitalised when Graeme Souness took over as manager in 1986 and won two more Scottish titles in 1987 and 1989 before moving on to Motherwell.
Cooper only won 22 caps for Scotland, but he excelled at international level. “I worked with Davie at Mexico ’86,” said former manager Craig Brown. “When he came on against Uruguay in the vital last game he was excellent. If he had been on from the beginning we might have gone through.”
Dutch great Rudd Gullit played against Super Cooper, who tragically passed away aged just 39 in 1995, when he was at Feyenoord and was taken aback. He named him alongside Diego Maradona and Johan Cruyff in his all-time XI. He deserves his place, then, in our own dream team.
UNLUCKY TO MISS OUT
Jorg Albertz, Tommy Burns, Shaun Maloney, Neil McCann, Alan Thompson.
TOMORROW Striker