FINAL BEYOND OUR WILDEST DREAMS
Arfield reflects on team’s European progress since Progres
IT is said that you should never meet your heroes. Scott Arfield now wants to join them at Ibrox. The names and the deeds of the Barcelona Bears have stood the test of time and remain as evocative and inspirational today as the season when they were crowned European Cup-Winners’ Cup champions with victory over Dynamo Moscow.
It was the proudest moment of John Greig’s career. It was a run that changed the life of Derek Parlane. Every member of the squad carries the memories with them and cherishes the medal that was earned.
Come this evening, the Bears might have to share their spot in the history books with another team. The moniker has yet to be set for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side but Arfield is in no doubt what Europa League victory would mean in Seville.
“We had the Player of the Year dinner, your man [Parlane] spoke, Bomber [John Brown] spoke, John Greig spoke,” Arfield said. “And they all reiterated what an unbelievable chance we’ve got, that was prior to the Leipzig game, the Monday before it.
“So we knew. We knew anyway but when you have John Greig telling you what it actually means it fully hits home. We are into the final but there is no point being in the final if you are not going to win it.
“Absolutely [this would take it to a new level]. We have two players here who were in the final in 2008, Davo [Steven Davis] and Greegsy [Allan McGregor]. They still talk about the number of fans and the occasion but the thing that irks them the most is that they walked away and never got that medal.
“As a team we have a chance to put that right and they have a second chance at it which I don’t think they would have thought was going to come. That’s what we’re looking forward to.”
Arfield has been with Rangers every step of their Europa League journey. His stay at Ibrox will continue regardless of the result against Eintracht Frankfurt after he signed a contract extension this month.
The midfielder has been an influential and inspirational figure throughout his time in Glasgow after returning north of the border ahead of Steven Gerrard’s first term as boss. The Premiership title that was won last season could now be topped with a European triumph.
“No,” Arfield said when asked if he could ever have dreamed of an occasion such as this. “You need to be honest with yourself. I don’t think so.
“The journey started four seasons ago against Shkupi and every time we’ve got better, going through the different stages of the competition. I think we have got better with different sorts of players coming in.
“We’ve got stronger mentally and technically as a team and it’s taken us to this stage so it is exciting, that’s for sure. That’s what we wanted to do. Everybody, especially myself, when you sign for this football club you want to bring those days back.
“When I signed it did seem a long way away but every year we have got better and the team has got stronger. Particularly this season we felt that when we took every tie in isolation we felt that we could go through. And that’s taken us to the final. Again it is one more win. One win away from a gold medal and that’s our full focus.”
That trip to Shkupi came a year after the most embarrassing, ignominious occasion in Rangers’ European history. For the survivors in the squad, that night in Luxembourg was a mental hurdle that had to be overcome.
Rangers banished those memories during Gerrard’s second term.
Those three seasons under his guidance were about progress rather than Progres and the Govan outfit now have a fixture befitting their standing and stature once again.
“I think we had to put that to bed and we did that when we played them again and beat them,” Arfield said. “When you sign you know what you are signing into.
“Of course we take a pride from the fact we have brought all of that back. Four years ago did we think we were going to get to the final? Probably not. But as the years go on and you see the players come in we certainly felt that we could beat anybody.”
THE shot at the silverware has been earned the hard way in recent months as an injury-depleted squad have somehow found it within themselves to conquer some of the biggest names on the continent. The win over Borussia Dortmund started the run and Red Star Belgrade and Braga followed before RB Leipzig were beaten on an unforgettable night at Ibrox.
Rangers have shown their character and their quality on the European stage as they have risen to the occasion and raised the bar. Now the levels must increase for one last all-or-nothing push against Bundesliga opposition once again.
Arfield said: “It’s actually better when you have no time to think about it because you just do what is natural to you, to give everything collectively and individually.
“If you do everything individually then collectively everyone is better anyway. That has been evident in the last three months in particular.
“After it [I’ll be able to take in the magnitude of the game]. Hopefully. I don’t really like to think about the magnitude of the games.
“Subconsciously you know about the magnitude of the games but I don’t think about anything to do with a game before it actually happens. And then you have maybe an hour after it to reflect if it is a monumental occasion. But I think before the game if you think about it you get nervous energy and burn yourself out in 20 minutes. As you get older you don’t let yourself do that.”
When I signed it did seem a long way away but every year the team has got stronger