The European finals

Fiorentina 4 Rangers 1

European Cup-Winners’ Cup, 1961 After losing to Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1960 European Cup semi-finals, Rangers only had another 12 months to wait before they made their first European final. The European Cup-Winners’ Cup was a two-legged affair but Scot Symon’s men were up against it after Luigi Milan struck a double for Fiorentina in the first game at Ibrox, either side of Eric Caldow’s missed penalty. Milan put the Italians further ahead when he netted 13 minutes into the second leg. Alex Scott gave Rangers a glimmer of hope when he pulled one back, but Kurt Hamrin sealed a comprehensive aggregate victory for the men from Florence.

Bayern Munich 1 Rangers 0

European Cup-Winners’ Cup, 1967

Just a week after city rivals Celtic became European champions, Rangers had a chance to make it a Glasgow double when they faced Bayern Munich in Nuremberg in the European Cup-Winners’ Cup. The final finished 0–0 over 90 minutes after Roger Hynd – a centre-half playing up front – had a goal disallowed for Symon’s team. Franz Roth scored the decisive goal 19 minutes into extra time to land Bayern their first European trophy.

Rangers 3 Dynamo Moscow 2

European Cup-Winners’ Cup, 1972 Rangers defeated Bayern in the semifinals five years later to set up a showdown with Dynamo Moscow at Barcelona’s Nou Camp. Willie Waddell’s side were three up within 50 minutes after a goal from Colin Stein and a double from Willie Johnston. The Russians hit back with two goals in the last half hour but were unable to deny Rangers their only major European triumph. The Rangers support celebrated by invading the pitch, leading to clashes with Spanish police, with Dynamo demanding a replay because it took place before the final whistle. Rangers kept the trophy that John Greig received in a room inside the stadium, but they served a one-year European ban.

Zenit St Petersburg 2 Rangers 0 UEFA Cup, 2008

Rangers battled their way to the UEFA Cup final at the City of Manchester Stadium after dropping down from the Champions League. Walter Smith’s side only scored five goals in eight knockout matches but it was enough to see off Panathinaikos, Werder Bremen, Sporting Lisbon and Fiorentina. The Ibrox men had faced a testing fixture list and the final proved a bridge too far. They held out for 72 minutes before Igor Denisov put Zenit – managed by former Rangers boss Dick Advocaat – ahead with Konstantin Zyryanov scoring in stoppage time. The game was overshadowed by violence and vandalism in the city, where 200,000 Rangers fans had gathered.