Cuellar wants to be manager of Rangers
Carlos Cuellar has backed Steven Gerrard to make Rangers a force to be reckoned with in Scotland and Europe again.
And the Spaniard admits that, one day, he’d love to be manager of the Ibrox club.
A decade may have passed since he swapped Glasgow for Aston Villa, but the Spaniard still keeps a close eye on the goings-on at the Light Blues.
The defender watched on in horror as they lurched into liquidation and were relegated to the bottom tier of Scottish football in 2012.
Their return to the top flight has been far from smooth, with Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic side clinching back-to-back Trebles.
It’s a far cry from the side Cuellar starred in that saw off Werder Bremen, Sporting Lisbon and Fiorentina on their way to the 2008 UEFA Cup Final.
However, the 36-year-old believes the appointment of the Liverpool legend as manager could bring the good times back to Ibrox, despite his lack of managerial experience.
“With all the knowledge and experience he has from playing, he is the right man to be there,” Cuellar insisted.
“He played for one of the best clubs in England, and for many years in Europe. He’s also had some of the best managers around to learn from.
“I hope he can impart that knowledge to the players, and they learn from it. If they do, then he will be successful.
“Hopefully next season they will be back again to fight with Celtic to win the league, and start competing again in Europe. That’s part of Rangers’ history.”
The Spaniard spent just one season in Scotland following his move from Osasuna, but the Ibrox club left as big an impression on him as he made on the pitch during his brief stay.
Cuellar played 65 games that season – a club record for a single campaign.
His performances earned him cult status amongst the Rangers support, and plaudits from the pundits as he was crowned the Scottish Football Writers’ and Scottish Premier League Player of the Year.
He departed for Aston Villa in a £7.8m move to chase his ultimately unfilled ambition of playing for the Spanish national side.
But there’s a part of him that has always regretted leaving Ibrox, and he has dreamed of a return ever since.
About to turn 37 and currently playing for Beitar Jerusalem in the Israeli top flight, Cuellar fully admits he’s unlikely to be top of Gerrard’s wish list to shore up a porous Rangers defence.
But the defender has ambitions of one day replacing Gerrard in the manager’s seat.
“It’s the club that I have in my heart,” Cuellar said.
“I knew it was a big club and all the history behind it. But you only realise how big it is when you are inside it.
“When I played at Ibrox with Osasuna in the UEFA Cup, and sampled the atmosphere, I thought: ‘Wow! I need to come here’.
“For me, personally and professionally, it was my best year ever. I only have good memories.
“I’d love to go back to take some role in the club. If you want, you can give Steven Gerrard my number and tell him to call me!
“I would run back to Rangers. “I’ m probably a bit old now togo back as a player, but it’s my dream to come back one day as the manager of Rangers.
“It was so hard to leave because I felt that I was going to be at Rangers until my last day in football.
“But the coach of Spain, Vicente del Bosque, told me that if I wanted a chance, I needed to play regularly in one of the top leagues.
“It was the main thing that made me move. To play for your national team is the biggest achievement you can get in your career.
“I took the risk and it didn’t work out. But I was so close.”
The Spaniard was an integral part of Walter Smith’s side that came agonisingly close to securing Rangers’ first European trophy in 36 years.
Time has healed some of the wounds since the loss to Zenit St Petersburg in Manchester, but Cuellar admits he’s still too emotional to view a recording of the match.
“We were so close. I was touching the UEFA