Lambert warns Rangers to expect full-on assault from wounded Dortmund
Former BVB midfielder certain his old side will score at Ibrox after their humiliation in Germany
FEW people gave Borussia Dortmund much hope of prevailing when they squared up to Juventus in the Champions League final in the Olympic Stadium in Munich in 1997.
The Italians were the defending champions, fielded Didier Deschamps, Zinedine Zidane and Christian Vieri in their starting XI, had Alessandro Del Piero on the bench and were managed by Marcello Lippi.
The Germans, meanwhile, were bidding to win Europe’s premier club competition for the first time and were very much the underdogs.
Yet, Scotland’s very own Paul Lambert set up KarlHeinz Riedle for the opening goal in the first half, marked Zidane out of the match thereafter and ensured that Ottmar Hitzfeld’s men ran out comfortable and deserved 3-1 winners.
Having been involved in that historic and unexpected triumph, it is perhaps no surprise that Lambert is refusing to dismiss Dortmund’s chances of beating Rangers in the second leg of the Europa League knockout round play-off at Ibrox on Thursday evening and progressing to the last 16.
The former Celtic and Scotland midfielder appreciates that his old club will have to perform an awful lot better than they did during the 4-2 defeat they suffered in the Westfalenstadion last week in order to overhaul the deficit and go through. However, he has watched Marco Rose’s side, whose average age in midweek was just 24, in action on numerous occasions this season and knows they can be erratic because of the number of young players they have.
He has seen them recover from heavy home defeats in some style and believes they can do so again – particularly if their free-scoring Norwegian striker Erling Haaland has recovered from injury and is involved.
“Dortmund lost 5-2 to Bayer Leverkusen at home in the league this month,” he said. “But that is the first time in over seven years they have lost at home to Leverkusen. The standard in the Bundesliga is so high that sometimes you can get games like that.
“And they certainly bounced back. They went to Union Berlin, which is a really tough place to go, last weekend and got a good 3-0 win there. So they have got that in them.
“I know how they play, know how they work and still have contacts at the club who I speak to. They are quick and dynamic. Sometimes they make mistakes, but they have got some really fast and skilful players going forward and are exciting to watch.”
Lambert continued: “Erling Haaland is obviously a difficult player to play against in oneon-one situations. If they can get him fit again they will have a real strong side at Ibrox.
“Marco Reus, their captain, has been there for a number of years now. He has been a brilliant player for them. But they have got a lot of good players in every position and they all contribute. Thorgan Hazard has been playing well, Jude Bellingham is a talent and Mats Hummels gives them a lot of experience.
“Dortmund will score away. That is the power of them. They are comfortable going away and pushing for a goal. Rangers need to keep it tight because Dortmund will come at them in Glasgow, especially on the counter attack. They are quick on the counter attack.”
Lambert feels the criticism which has been levelled at Dortmund at times this term – and the media in their homeland claimed they made “fools of themselves” on Thursday night and described the loss as “an absolute
Rangers need to keep it tight because Dortmund will come at them, especially on the counter
humiliation” – has been unjustified.
“I have seen some absolute nonsense written about them,” he said. “Listen, they are only six points behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. I have seen them live and I have watched them on television. They are a right good team playing at a high level.”
Rose, the former Red
Bull Salzburg and Borussia Moenchengladbach manager who took over at the Westfalenstadion in July, was savaged by German reporters after the Rangers reverse and Bild, the biggest-selling tabloid newspaper in the country, questioned if he was the right man to lead Dortmund forward.
Lambert, though, has been impressed with what he has achieved in a short space of time.
“The manager deserves a lot of credit for what he has done,” he said. “I know they didn’t get out of their tough section in the Champions League and got knocked out of the German Cup, but they are still right in the Bundesliga.
“He has not done any worse than anybody else. Bayern have been German champions for the last nine years now. It is difficult to get ahead of Bayern and you have to finish above them to win the title. A lot of other managers have tried it. Thomas Tuchel has tried it, Lucen Favre has tried it.
“They lost narrowly to Bayern at home in December, but they still have to play them again. If they beat them then they can reduce the gap to three. Bayern lost 4-2 to Bochum away earlier this month so it can be done. It is still open for them to do it [win the Bundesliga].”
There were only 10,000 fans allowed inside the Westfalenstadion last week because of the strict Covid-19 social distancing guidelines which are in place in Germany – but a sell-out crowd will cram into Ibrox on Thursday night to see the rematch between Rangers and Dortmund.
Lambert, a veteran of numerous Old Firm encounters, is looking forward to the occasion and he knows the visitors will be undeterred by the hostile reception they will be given by the home support when they walk out of the tunnel.
“They will enjoy having a full house in Glasgow and won’t be intimidated by it at all,” he said. “The club are used to big games. They get over 80,000 for every home league game. It is a massive club. They take a huge travelling support with them away as well. I was lucky enough to play in front of them.
“There will be nearly 3,000 away fans at Ibrox and they will bring a lot of noise and colour and help to create a brilliant atmosphere. I am sure it will be similar to when they played Liverpool at Anfield in the Champions League back in 2016. It will be interesting to see what transpires.”