Super Mario Blues Brothers
Gers stars were hooked on Nintendo racing game on way to UEFA final says Kirk
KIRK BROADFOOT joked it was more Super Mario than Super Rangers as they shelled Sporting Lisbon out of the UEFA Cup.
The Light Blues booked their place in the 2008 semi-final with a stunning away victory in Portugal, thanks to goals from Jean-Claude Darcheville and Steven Whittaker.
Broadfoot has revealed how the majority of Walter Smith’s squad that season were hooked on playing Super Mario Kart on the Nintendo DS to pass the time on their various adventures on the way to the UEFA Cup Final that year.
Green and white-shirted Sporting may have stood in their way that night but the biggest threat was more likely to come from Luigi, Yoshi or Bowser as the Rangers stars battled to get into their own Mario Kart Premier League.
Broadfoot said: “Literally, the whole team had Nintendo DSs and we were all playing Mario Kart. We were all trying to get through the airport and on to the plane first after that game in Lisbon.
“Somebody had said the first 10 players on the plane will be in League One and the last 10 will be in League Two.
“Everyone was fighting to get on the plane and after that we were fighting to win the league or to get promoted if you were in the bottom league.
“We had so many away games on the way to Manchester that the Mario Kart competitions became a regular occurrence. Somebody shouted something about a red shell and I remember Walter Smith turning around, looking at us and just shaking his head.
“Chris Burke was the main man at it and we still play it and try to beat each other when we are away with Kilmarnock.”
Yet, many people believed Rangers had already slipped up on an early banana skin after they had drawn an Ibrox blank against the Portuguese giants in the first leg.
Broadfoot said: “The first leg was 0-0 at Ibrox and everybody, like some of the fans and media, thought it was a poor result but within our dressing
BY SCOTT BURNS room, we believed it was a good result.
“Sporting Lisbon hadn’t got the away goal and we knew from previous European games that we were always defensively solid and we were capable of nicking a goal. So it proved.”
Rangers had already raced past Panathinaikos and Werder Bremen in the knockout stages and Rangers went to the Jose Alvalade Stadium with their own Boombox in the shape of their huge, travelling support.
Broadfoot said: “It looked like it could be some atmosphere come the game but when we got to the ground and the match started, there were probably more Rangers fans than Sporting Lisbon supporters, which was great.
“The Rangers fans turned out in their numbers and we could hear them from the first whistle to the last. They really played their part that night.”
Gaffer Smith knew it was all about getting out a good solid start before Frenchman Darcheville provided the ultimate boost, with the opening goal, on the hour.
Broadfoot said: “We went over there with a game plan. Big Davie Weir was suspended so Christian Dailly came in.
“We went there as underdogs but we fancied ourselves. The gaffer was brilliant with his game plans.
“Yes, it might not have been pretty to watch for long spells but it worked. We kept it tight in the first half and we broke in the second half and scored.
“I played a long ball up to Darch, he laid it off to Steven Davis before he played Darch back in and he finished it off. We knew then it was game over because Sporting needed two.”
Lisbon pushed to get back in and then hit the post before Whittaker set off on a solo effort, defying Broadfoot’s shouts, that killed off the game.
The defender said: “Whitts went on a mazy run. It ended up two on two.
“I was screaming at him to play in Daniel Cousin but he went himself and slotted it away, to score a brilliant goal.”