THE DAY DE BOER MET 007
One of De Boer’s first tastes of life at Rangers involved meeting at Dens Park, now Defoe faces his own culture shock in Cowdenbeath
FOR Ronald de Boer, his first few weeks adapting to the new and unique landscape of Scottish football left him shaken. But not stirred.
Arriving at Dens Park as a Rangers player in September 2000, he was taken aback by the sloping pitch and the cramped facilities.
But the experience took a surreal turn when he encountered none other than James Bond in the away dressing room.
Superstar actor Sean Connery had been invited up to Tayside as a guest of his friend, the thenRangers owner Sir David Murray.
It promises to be a similar culture shock on Friday night for former Spurs and Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe when he makes his Rangers debut in a William Hill Scottish Cup tie against Cowdenbeath.
Like De Boer, Defoe has previously graced some of the game’s great venues, like the Bernabeu and Wembley.
Now a player who once faced the actual Brazil with England will be found taking on the Blue Brazil in a gritty Central Park where discarded tyres lie by the side of a pitch surrounded by a tarmac oval stock-car racing track.
‘In Scotland, you will always get games which are not so glamorous. That is something Jermain Defoe will have to get used to,’ said former Ajax, Barcelona and Holland attacking midfielder De Boer.
‘I always tell a story to people back in Holland about one of my first games for Rangers against Dundee away from home.
‘We arrived at the stadium and the dressing room was tiny. It was so small and difficult to fit everyone into it. I remember going in there and seeing someone stand in the corner. And then I realised it was 007. At the time, I didn’t know why Sean Connery would be there but obviously he was a good friend of David Murray.
‘After that, we went out onto the pitch and I couldn’t believe the slope on it. It was like playing on the side of a hill.
‘I remember thinking: “What is this!” and that people in Holland wouldn’t believe me when I told them.
‘But that is Scottish football and part of the charm of it is that a lot of things are so different.
‘It was something I liked. My brother Frank and I come from a small town up north, so we grew up as simple guys.
‘So we didn’t care about that when we signed for Rangers. We just wanted to play football and do our best. We didn’t mind the quirky things in Scotland.
‘It wasn’t a problem for us but you have to have the correct mindset.
‘I haven’t been to Cowdenbeath myself, but I have been told what it’s like with the car track around the pitch.
‘In games like that and in places like that, you have to dig out the motivation yourself and team spirit is very important.
‘Everyone has to be in the right mood. If you have that, then the game will go much easier.’
The Dutchman was delighted by the big-name arrivals of Defoe and Steven Davis at Ibrox this January.
He believes the influx of star quality may not have been possible without the bold decision to hire a superstar untested manager last summer in Steven Gerrard, whose work impressed the Dutchman.
‘Signing Jermain Defoe is a big move for the club because he has been a very good player over the years,’ said the 48-year-old.
‘But I do think those signings come from having a manager like Gerrard. He knows him from their playing days and he can call him up.
‘I’m sure he phoned him up to tell him what’s happening at Rangers and then convinced him to become part of it.
‘That’s important because a manager needs to do these things and bring the best players they can to a club.
‘Of course, Defoe will still have to show it out on the pitch. He’s getting older but he looks fit, so I’m sure he will make an impact.
‘I do think it was important for Rangers to have someone in front of the group with a face everyone recognises.
‘So I was happy to see someone like Gerrard get the job because, with his name, it makes people work harder.
‘He has respect all over the world in football because of what he did as a player and now he is proving that he is also a good manager.
‘He has made a good impact at Ibrox. He’s got the team playing decent football, he’s got them passing the ball and with energy and power there, too.’
De Boer was particularly thrilled to see Rangers end 2018 by finally winning an Old Firm derby against Celtic for the first time in the Brendan Rodgers era at Parkhead.
Now with the addition of Defoe and Davis, allied to fit-again stand-out performer in the 1-0 win at Ibrox on December 29 Ryan Kent, he feels his old side are now well placed to take on their city foes in a title battle in 2019.
‘I was very impressed with Rangers in the Old Firm game,’ said the Dutchman.
‘They were obviously very pumped up but I thought they played the ball around well, too.
‘I liked Ryan Kent a lot. He is a very good player.
‘I hadn’t seen him before and I looked up that he is on loan from Liverpool but I really liked him.
‘His movement, his skill on the ball and his pace were all big assets.
‘It’s good that Rangers are back where they belong and can now give Celtic a go.
‘It wasn’t nice to have a one-horse race but now Rangers are back and some of the other teams are doing well, too. It’s all very healthy for Scottish football.’