WE WILL BE READY
The character of these players is the best I’ve seen in any team I’ve ever coached... we will give everything to reach this final... SAYS GIO VAN BRONCKHORST
SOMETIMES the pursuit of sporting greatness comes down to a whole lot more than how much is left in the legs.
Inevitably, along the long road into history, there will come a moment when it’s more a matter of what is left in the heart and mind.
And although the resolve of his players may have already surpassed all of his expectations, tonight at Ibrox Giovanni van Bronckhorst will be banking on them digging deeper than ever before to seize a once-ina-lifetime opportunity by the scruff of the neck.
Against a backdrop of deep pain and insufferable grief.
On occasions such as this – with a European final within touching distance – the word immortal tends to be loosely tossed around.
But seldom has it felt quite so inappropriate as it does right now, at a time when in real life Rangers are mourning the sudden passing of one of their own. And yet even though the pain of their loss is likely to be at its most clawing in the minutes leading up to their showdown with RB Leipzig, van Bronckhorst will look around the home dressing room and ask his men to go back to the well one more time.
“We want to make Jimmy proud,” is how the manager put it yesterday as he grappled with the death of Jimmy Bell, who was a great deal more than just a devoted, longserving kitman at this club.
Over the decades, stretching back to long before even van Bronckhorst’s own playing days at Ibrox, this man somehow metamorphosed into a pillar of the old place.
While players, coaches and managers came and went, Bell remained as a constant.
Which is precisely why the shock has registered so profoundly.
And yet, during his first few months in charge, van Bronckhorst has watched these players master the art of handling adversity in many of its shapes and forms.
In fact, their levels of resilience have just about blown the boss away.
He said: “I mean, of course, we are still mourning and still down. But the character of my players is the best I have seen in any teams I have ever coached.
“I am sure that the character, the belief, the determination will be there. We will do everything to reach the final. I think we will be ready.”
Emotions were already guaranteed to be through the roof for tonight’s match, which offers this Rangers side a direct route into the club’s folklore.
Bell’s untimely passing will add another layer of poignancy to a second leg that will determine which of these two teams makes it to the Europa League Final in Seville.
And Rangers have their work cut out to get an offensive foothold in the tie after losing a late goal in Germany last Thursday night despite mounting a stubborn rearguard action without a recognised striker to lead their attack.
Once again, van Bronckhorst has to come up with answers to some testing tactical questions.
Does he send his players out into this tinderbox on the front foot and ask them to set it alight as they have done throughout this epic adventure?
Or does he repeat the first-leg strategy of staying calm and keeping Leipzig’s biggest dangers under control in order to ensure the contest remains meaningful for as long as possible? Perhaps even aim to dog it out and settle for penalties.
Much of the above may depend on which players are passed fit and available for selection, with Kemar Roofe and Aaron Ramsey still not certain to be ready.
Or it could come down to how Leipzig perform, having been bogged down by a sudden lull in their barnstorming Bundesliga form.
In fact, the only sure thing right now is the ear-splitting bedlam that
I’m sure the character, the belief, the determination will be there. We will do everything GIO VAN BRONCKHORST ON HIS CHARGES FOR EURO TIE
awaits them both. Van Bronckhorst went on: “We’re going to have a noisy night and we are going to need a noisy night to overcome this opponent. It will be emotional but we will be ready when the whistle goes.”
Van Bronckhorst, of course, speaks with the comfort of a man who has seen these players scale some extraordinary heights already.
That was especially the case just last month when they toppled Braga out of the last eight over 120 minutes, three days before taking Celtic down in extra-time at Hampden to reach this year’s Scottish Cup Final.
Asked if they can go such a distance one more time, he nodded and said: “They will.
“Physically we have been good but also a lot comes from your mental strength and we have that.
“We’ve had a lot of big games in the last few weeks against very good opponents but we were there every game – and this will be the same.
“The character is amazing in my team and physically I know they are good as well.”
For van Bronckhorst, this is also an unexpected shot at cementing a place for himself in timelessness.
Only three men – the legendary figures of Scot Symon, Willie Waddell and Walter Smith – have managed Rangers in a European final.
After just six months in the job the Dutchman finds himself 90 minutes from following in the footsteps of giants.
He said: “You have goals in your career as a player and coach.
“You want to achieve great things and you dream of coaching teams in finals.
“You have that as a player, you have that as a coach and that gives you the drive.
“We are one step away from reaching the final, so we are getting closer and closer.
“Our European campaign this year has been great and we want to make sure we extend that to the final.”
But asked if he had considered his own status among the club’s alltime greats, he added: “No, I am not
thinking about any personal goals.
“I am thinking about being successful with the club. For me, the club is the most important thing.
“There are not many times that the team have played in a final in Europe, so hopefully we’ll be joining a very elite group. That’s all that matters. “We are all here to bring success and bring trophies to this beautiful club. “That’s always my main target.”