BEWARE GIO’S GIANTKILLERS
Ibrox boss is imbued with quiet belief that his side can take yet another huge scalp
IT speaks volumes for this current Rangers team that, whatever obstacles fall in their path, they usually find a way. Against an RB Leipzig side assembled at a cost of £130million, the champions of Scotland shouldn’t really have a chance of reaching the Europa League final.
They said the same before the games against Borussia Dortmund, Red Star Belgrade and Braga, of course.
Under Steven Gerrard and now Giovanni van Bronckhorst, this group of players have found a formula for playing in Europe. They consistently confound expectation.
And, 50 years to the month since John Greig, Derek Johnstone and Co secured a place in the European Cup Winners’ Cup final by beating some German giants — in the shape of Bayern Munich — in the semi-final, there’s a sense that this one is written in the stars.
A cautious media performer, Van Bronckhorst is as likely to challenge Boris Johnson for the leadership of the Tories as he is to predict a Rangers appearance in the final in Seville next month. Yet, through some carefully chosen words, there lies a growing level of belief.
Despite their domestic toils, Rangers are a highly motivated machine in the Europa League and have earned the right to fancy their chances. Secure a decent result to take back to Ibrox for the second leg next week and they become favourites to book a trip to Seville on May 18.
‘Well, of course we have the belief,’ Van Bronckhorst conceded yesterday. ‘If we are still involved in Europe and in a semi-final and you see the run we’ve had in Europe, then it’s been very good. But we need another good performance tomorrow and next week.
‘The confidence is there but I think that we know we have to perform again and everything we achieved in the past doesn’t count against Leipzig.
‘We are just preparing well for these two games and I am very confident in my team.
‘I am sure that we can get good performances in and have a chance to make the final.’
When top-scorer Alfredo Morelos was ruled out for the rest of the season, it felt like a serious setback, a season-afflicting calamity. Rangers reacted by seeing off Braga to reach a first European semi-final in 14 years.
Kemar Roofe proved an able deputy for Morelos when he scored four goals in three games. Now he’s out injured as well and the timing could hardly be worse.
The loss of two key strikers ahead of a European semi-final — and a trip to Parkhead in the league — gives Van Bronckhorst a headache he can do without.
It’s not just the din of 7,000 travelling fans which could have kept him awake in his Leipzig hotel room last night. Big decisions have to be made.
Does he trust the raw pace of Fashion Sakala to give hard-nosed Bundesliga defenders a problem? Could he push Ryan Kent into the middle and utilise the 3-5-2 formation which saw off Borussia Dortmund in a pulsating second leg at Ibrox? There’s been some talk of Joe Aribo being pressed into action as a false nine and there’s some logic in that.
Whatever decision the Dutchman reaches, this is a Rangers team which consistently defies the odds. A team which struggled to make it past the last-16 in previous seasons, the Ibrox side are now two games from the final.
‘That’s what you want,’ admitted Van Bronckhorst. ‘I came here in November with my staff and I think we had to start straight away without any preparations.
‘We both reacted well. Not only my staff, and the staff that were already here, but also the players and we have to do it all together.
‘Of course I am the manager and I will lead the team but I’m just very proud of the players and how they have performed in difficult circumstances against difficult opponents.
‘We are now in the final weeks of the season and we will give everything we can to be successful in Europe and that’s what you want. Being involved in Europe and playing big games.’
They will come up against one of Europe’s most coveted young strikers in Christopher Nkunku. In Braga, Rangers failed to muster a shot on target, but came through the tie at home. Likely to be hemmed in for long spells once again tonight by a Nkunku inspired Leipzig, the pace of Kent and Sakala could be devastating on the break.
‘We need a big performance in this game so there is no big decision for me,’ claimed Van Bronckhorst.
‘You always want to attack and create chances. I think we have shown that in all the games we have had — also away from home.
‘We just have to make sure we do the right thing at the right moment.
‘I am sure we will have moments when we are defending. But we have to also wait for moments when we can attack and create dangerous chances to score.
‘It’s a semi-final of the Europa League so the level is high — and the level that’s needed is also high.
‘So we have to prepare well and make sure we have a good result to take back to Ibrox next week.’
After four games in ten days, Hungarian international defender Willi Orban claims Leipzig are physically and mentally tired. A shock 2-1 home loss to Union Berlin on Saturday ended a 15-match unbeaten run, raising hopes that Rangers just might be playing them at the right time.
Dismissive of that kind of talk, Van Bronckhorst has heard it all before.
‘We just concentrate on our own game,’ he said. ‘We have also played many games in the last weeks so I think for everyone still involved in Europe, in all the competitions, it’s quite demanding on the squad mentally and physically. In that case, it’s the same for all of us.
‘We have to make sure we are doing well ourselves and prepare the way we want to play against Leipzig. For me, that’s more important than what other players or teams feel.’