I was about to join Souness at Rangers... then Kenny called me up
AS Ian Rush recovers from a recent spot of knee surgery in the Portuguese sunshine, there is really only one thing causing him to wince a little.
That, when he returns to the UK on Monday, it will be purely to prepare his Liverpool Legends side for their upcoming friendly with Rangers as manager rather than get ready to fulfil his sometime role of player on the Ibrox pitch, too.
For a time in his younger life, Rush had convinced himself that the iconic stadium on the south side of Glasgow would be his playground.
For a time in his younger life, he had told himself he could succeed in the role later filled by Maurice Johnston as the high-profile Roman Catholic signing that would confirm the presence of a modern revolution at Rangers beyond doubt.
It was an idea pitched by his old Liverpool team-mate Graeme Souness in a telephone call to his home in Turin in the summer of 1988.
The issue of Rush’s religion was addressed — and dealt with — early.
Bayern Munich and Manchester United had been in touch, too, in response to news Juventus were open to a sale, but Souness’ sheer force of will had persuaded the striker that Ibrox, for all the attendant baggage, was the best place to further his career.
Until Kenny Dalglish picked up the phone a matter of days later, that was, and offered a return from the unfamiliarity of Italian life to the safe haven of the Liverpool dressing room he had left behind just 12 months earlier.
The wear and tear of his 57 years may have dashed Rush’s hopes of making a first playing appearance in Govan more than three decades on, but simply soaking up the noise from the technical area next Saturday afternoon will be a special reminder of those days in which he had steeled himself, albeit briefly, to rewrite footballing and cultural history.
‘Normally, I play 15 or 20 minutes in the Legends games,’ said Rush. ‘I never played at Ibrox and I am gutted, really, because I have just had this op.
‘Managing there will still be great, though. So far, my only connection with Ibrox comes from when Souness tried to buy me and I’m really looking forward to coming.
‘Souey was a good mate and it was known I was leaving Juventus.
‘There were limits on foreign players then and I’d had a meeting with the club. Michael Laudrup was supposed to be going to PSV, I think, and that move broke down, so it was agreed I’d go if the right club came along.
‘Sir Alex Ferguson called me along with Uli Hoeness from Bayern and Colin Harvey at Everton — because I was an Everton supporter as a kid.
‘Liverpool fans would never have forgiven me if I’d gone to Man United or Everton, though, so it was between Bayern and Rangers — and Souey would have swung it. I liked Graeme as a person and a manager. He knew what he wanted and sold the club well. ‘I am Catholic and that was one of the first things we talked about, but Souey convinced me that wouldn’t matter as long as I played the way I had been playing the previous seven or eight years. He told me there wouldn’t be a problem and I believed him. ‘I was confident I would produce on the pitch. Maurice Johnston went there a little later and showed you will win the fans over with your performances. It takes time to do that, of course, but nothing comes easy. ‘If Kenny hadn’t called a few days later, I would have been at Rangers with Souey. In the end, I went to Liverpool because I knew I was going back home. I’d gone to Italy and realised the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. I knew the club at Liverpool and knew exactly what to expect there.’ Had Rush (left) not returned to Liverpool to add another league title and two FA Cups to his medal haul from first time round, he suspects he would never have been handed his current role as official club ambassador. He sits beside Dalglish, now a non-executive director, on matchdays at Anfield and was fascinated to hear his old chum talk recently about the prospect of Rangers manager Steven Gerrard going back there as head coach
somewhere down the line. Current boss Jurgen Klopp sparked the debate when stating that former Reds captain Gerrard should take over when his time is up. Dalglish ventured that the 39-year-old ‘will come into the thoughts of everyone at Liverpool’ when that day comes.
‘It would be a dream come true for our supporters,’ said Rush. ‘I am sure Jurgen will be at Anfield for a good bit yet, but, if anything did happen, the supporters would love to see Steven back. I would, too.
‘He is learning his trade at Rangers. If they could win the league, given Celtic’s dominance, I am sure that would be right up there in Steven’s managerial career as one of his best achievements. It would certainly put him on the map.’
Gerrard, of course, will be back in Liverpool colours next weekend as Rush’s on-field captain. They first worked together when the Welshman was employed as a striking coach during Gerard Houllier’s Anfield reign and remain close.
‘I remember Gerard telling me how he’d gone to the academy to look at another player and it was Steven that he spotted,’ said Rush, whose assistant for the Ibrox challenge match will be current Rangers No 2 Gary McAllister.
‘He wasn’t captain, but Gerard saw him as a real authority in that game and took a shine to him.
‘Steven thrived under Gerard. I would take him for work on finishing and he would score for fun from outside the box as well as inside.
‘Even now, from dead-ball situations, he is fantastic. If I was the Rangers keeper next Saturday, I’d be worried if we do get any free-kicks.’
Gerrard, of course, still looks fit enough to play competitively. Rush, for one, reckons he could. ‘I believe he is good enough to play,’ he stated. ‘Genuinely. Last time he played for the Legends at Anfield, he was our best player. He keeps himself in great shape, but I think playing for us is a kind of relaxation for him these days, now that he is managing. I feel I played in some of the best Liverpool teams ever. I played with Dalglish, Souness, Alan Hansen. People still ask which player from other eras would get into our team and the only answer I can ever give is Steven Gerrard.
‘He’d be in my all-time Liverpool XI. That is how good he was.’
Gerrard’s signature evening in a red shirt was probably the Miracle of
Istanbul in 2005 when his headed goal sparked a second-half comeback from 3-0 down to AC Milan in the Champions League final that ended with victory by penalty shootout.
Rush was involved in the party. He celebrated with Gerrard afterwards.
He insists Liverpool could never have defied the odds without Gerrard and Jamie Carragher’s guiding influence, but, above all, recalls how the captain never wanted that night to be about him.
‘He doesn’t have an ego. He’s from Liverpool — and I think Glaswegians and Liverpudlians are similar,’ said Rush, who also turned down a move to Celtic when Tommy Burns was manager.
‘If you did have an ego, they would put you in your place. They are working-class people and they are the people you are working for.
‘Steven might have been the best player, but he always put the team first. I have my own charity foundation and he is always on, asking if there’s anything I need. He is a gentleman.
‘We are one big family at Liverpool. It’s a special club and I see that with the amount of foreign players who want to come back for these Legends games.
‘Again, there are similarities with Glasgow. I saw Fernando Ricksen’s funeral on TV and it looked like a tremendous send-off. If you’ve played for Rangers, the locals will always appreciate what you achieved.’
Rush never did live that undoubted truth himself. Thirty years on, though, he is just looking forward to being there at Ibrox, at last, to enjoy its emotion and warmth.