Lightning ROD
Former Rangers hero Wallace on scoring the winning goal in the Scottish Cup final against Celtic, ‘handbags’ with Riseth and how he knew Gio would make it as a boss
FOR Rod Wallace, a Scottish Cup showdown against Celtic remains the singular most memorable day of his football career. The record books show that the little striker plundered the winning goal for Rangers in the 1999 final, a fact that would make the day memorable enough in itself.
But Wallace also remembers the novelty of the occasion, the first to take place at the newly-renovated Hampden Park. The ground may look tired by modern standards but back then the new main stand had a space-age feel with its vast dressing-room spaces, indoor warm-up area and underground access for the team coaches.
Neither set of Old Firm players is likely to bat an eyelid as they disembark in the bowels of the ground for today’s semi-final but Wallace recalls being wide-eyed at the stage provided for one of the greatest moments of his life.
‘Scoring the winner that day was one of the big highlights of my career,’ says Wallace. ‘The day itself was just a series of highlights.
‘Even arriving at the stadium on the day felt like an event. Hampden had been refurbed and we were experiencing it for the first time. And then we’re playing against Celtic, so it was a special day.
‘To then come away with the win having scored the only goal… you can’t beat that for a story! That will always be with me.’
It was early in the second half that Wallace pounced as the ball ricocheted off Alan Stubbs for an instinctive left-foot finish past Jonathan Gould.
The day was the culmination of a fine first season in Glasgow for new Rangers manager Dick Advocaat, whose arrival had brought a clutch of new players.
Big money was paid for the likes of Arthur Numan and a certain Giovanni van Bronckhorst but amid all the spending, the acquisition of Wallace on a Bosman from Leeds United was the value deal.
Aged 28 and at the peak of his powers when he moved, Wallace notched 27 goals that first season.
His status as a prolific goalscorer had long been established in England’s top tier, first with Southampton, then Leeds with whom he won the title in 1992.
He’d already had a good look at Ibrox and Rangers through his involvement in the Battle of Britain Champions League qualifying tie but it was a subsequent visit to the other side of the country that first moved him to envisage a future career in Scottish football.
‘There was one pre-season game against Hibernian,’ he recalls. ‘As we left Easter Road that day, I said to myself that I could see myself up here one day.
‘And then it happened! It turned out Rangers were interested and it was a no-brainer. I knew what it was like to play at Ibrox anyway after the Battle of Britain.
‘I didn’t really look back. I was interested, I signed and that was it.
‘Advocaat brought in Gio, Arthur,
Andrei Kanchelskis, Lionel Charbonnier and Gabriel Amato. We all bonded immediately, the whole squad, we just gelled.
‘I got on with almost everyone but the two Dutch boys were great with me. Myself, Gio and Arthur laughed so much together, we went out for meals after the games and we had quite a good social time.
‘When you have all of that, it makes for a better atmosphere.’
Wallace has kept in touch with Numan and Van Bronckhorst and was reunited with his old buddies at the recent Legends match held in Glasgow to mark the 150th anniversary of Rangers’ inception.
Van Bronckhorst, of course, was there in a dual capacity as both ex-player and the current manager of the club.
Although a high-achieving player who graced the first teams of Feyenoord, Arsenal and Barcelona before ultimately appearing in a World Cup final, Van Bronckhorst’s personality has always been understated.
Wallace reckons his calm and dispassionate demeanour is an asset and the very thing that marked him out as a future manager.
‘Gio was always very methodical in everything he did,’ he says. ‘Everything was measured, right from the passes he made on the pitch to everything he did off it.
‘So it didn’t surprise me that he would go into management. I just hope he does well with Rangers — and his previous work suggests he can.
‘As far as I am concerned he has not changed all that much although I’m sure he has to have a different face for the media.’
Van Bronckhorst’s appointment followed the departure of Steven Gerrard to Aston Villa, a resignation that caused some upset among a fanbase who had idolised the man who brought the club a first title in
10 years.
Appointed too late to prevent the team’s League Cup knock-out at the hands of Hibs, Van Bronckhorst has presided over a 12-point swing in the team’s league fortunes relative to Celtic.
As a consequence Ange Postecoglou’s team are six points clear with five games to play — and boast a superior goal difference.
Underwhelmed by the impact of the club’s four January signings, that has led to some misgivings among the Rangers support that the manager is not right for the job.
Having watched his friend take the club into the semi-finals of the Europa League on Thursday night, Wallace would disagree.
And he would urge the fans to reserve judgment until he has presided over his first summer transfer window.
‘They have to stick with Gio,’ he says. ‘They’re in a European semi after another great performance and have a chance to get to a cup final.
‘Gio has always been a positive person and he will be looking to doing his own business in the summer.’
Today presents a situation in which Rangers essentially need to win in order to stop their rivals clinching a Treble — the precise scenario in which Celtic found themselves in 1999 after stopping Rangers’ own ‘10’ a year earlier.
Like Advocaat, Postecoglou has overhauled his squad to great effect but Wallace insists it would be wrong to write Rangers off, not least on account of their exceptional European form.
Thursday’s victory over Braga has carried the club into the last four of the Europa League — an achievement that proved beyond Advocaat.
Although the quarter-final tie dragged into extra-time, Wallace expects the nature of today’s tie to energise the team in blue.
Gio was always methodical. So it came as no surprise to me that he went into management
‘Everyone should be up for this game,’ continues Wallace. ‘It’s going to be tough in the league but they just have to keep the pressure on Celtic.
‘With Europe, the games are going to come thick and fast but they have to keep that pressure on and hope Celtic crumble in two or three of their matches.
‘Hopefully on Sunday they will have that confidence boost. It’s a semi-final and there is the chance for a medal and a cup. That’s what every player wants to achieve.’
There was one occasion on which that pressure did get the better of Wallace. A few weeks before he sealed that Treble, Wallace started up front in the match in which Rangers sealed the title at Celtic Park.
He didn’t finish the game after becoming embroiled in an incident with Vidar Riseth.
‘It’s called handbags, mate!’ he retorts, suddenly morphing into a sort of Cockney Postecoglou. ‘I was a shocked as anyone when I got sent off because I was attacked!
‘It was a bad tackle actually and I just reacted. We were just pushing each other around and it just got out of hand.
‘When you are in the heat of the moment things like that happen. That was another fantastic game to be involved in.’
Wallace spent three years at Rangers but never did quite match the impact of that first season in Glasgow, eventually moving on to wind down his career with Bolton and Gillingham.
Now 52, he works as an ambassador for the Phoenix Sports Media Group and through his work with ex-academy players and former pros, retains a regular connection to the game he played.
His return trip to Glasgow reminded him of some of the best days of his career.
‘I have been in touch with Arthur and Gio but hadn’t seen guys like Barry Ferguson and Craig Moore since I’d left,’ he adds. ‘It was great to be back at Ibrox and on the field, albeit only for 15 minutes!
‘I’ll be tuning in this weekend and I’m sure the pictures will bring those memories flooding back.’