Bolt from the blue can be a game changer ... just ask Alex
THE passing of considerable time allowed Bert Konterman to, succinctly and selfdeprecatingly, admit to playing ‘master of disaster’ at Rangers for too long. To Alex McLeish, however, the Dutch defender will forever be remembered as the improbable catalyst of an era of high achievement.
For the unlikely trigger to McLeish guiding Rangers to the first five available trophies of his reign was Konterman’s 30-yard bolt from the blue against Celtic at Hampden 20 years ago this midweek.
It’s a reminder, ahead of the anniversary of that epic League Cup semi-final and Old Firm managerial debut for Giovanni van Bronckhorst, of the career-changing and
narrative-shifting qualities of impacting this fixture.
McLeish admits that his very appointment to the manager’s role, after leaving Hibernian, remained in need of positive affirmation on approach to the tie.
So he requires no memory jog as to the significance of the 105th-minute goal that launched his Rangers managerial career into orbit. Without fail, he receives one every year anyway.
The former Scotland manager said: ‘Rangers supporters, family members, they always send me that goal — every year!
‘My cousin’s son, David, is a huge Rangers fan and it’s a case of: “There you go, here’s the goal that started your Rangers career off”. ‘It’s right. Bert’s goal was the
catalyst for everything.
It was the validation for me. I was absolutely buzzing, raring to go. My enthusiasm for management and coaching at the time was off the charts.
‘But that was my first Old Firm game. The demon on your right shoulder is saying: “What if you don’t beat Celtic — ever? What if you don’t win a cup for Rangers — ever?”.
‘I did always try to go in with the half-full cup and say: “Well, what if you do manage it?”.
‘But usurping a Celtic side who the great Dick Advocaat had trouble with was a massive challenge.
‘Many questions to me from the media were about the underwhelming welcome I got when Rangers hired me.
‘It was up to me to prove to fans that I was the right guy for this job. That night was as good an answer as I could give. It set us up for a massive couple of years.’
Van Bronckhorst and McLeish met in the Ibrox Blue Room last week after Rangers brushed aside Stirling Albion to advance to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.
That win was the 11th game of an impressive unbeaten start from
Van Bronckhorst, who was a colleague of Konterman for one season at Ibrox before moving to Arsenal for £8million.
Konterman had been recruited, following Euro 2000, from Feyenoord for £4.5m.
While Van Bronckhorst’s every touch in Rangers colours seemed graceful, classy and effective the new arrival — a target for Real Madrid 12 months earlier — was prone to high-profile blunders.
The mercilessly-mocked Konterman raised the roof at Hampden before kick-off on February 5, 2002 — at the Celtic end. The mention of his name in the team lines was uproariously cheered by their supporters.
Yet McLeish had already warmed to a committed player who was signed to play centre-half but started to deploy more frequently in a defensive midfield role.
McLeish recalled: ‘I only had a short time to get to know the players before the Celtic game came up.
‘But the one thing I knew about Bert was he gave everything. He was pretty versatile and a terrific, selfless team player.
‘Sometimes fans don’t see what his team-mates praise him about. I was really chuffed for him that he’d become the hero that night.
‘His goal was just a dream. He’ll forever be remembered for it. These are magical moments.’
McLeish is hopeful that a victory for Van Bronckhorst, on his first taste of derby day in the dugout, will give Rangers the extra kick required to keep Celtic at arm’s length going into the final third of the season.
McLeish said: ‘I don’t think you can blame Steven Gerrard for wanting to go to the richest league — and probably the best league — in the world to manage Aston Villa.
‘He won an incredible title for Rangers with an undefeated run that will never be forgotten.
‘Steven played really high with his full-backs and it worked tremendously well for him.
‘When you see that kind of attacking play and you’re not getting exposed defensively, you’ve got to say that it came off brilliantly.
‘I went to Rangers’ game against Stirling Albion the other week and I can see a few differences in the style of play, changes the new manager wants to make.
‘I think Gio is doing more to ensure it’s his attacking players who are the ones mainly providing the assistance for scoring goals, rather than the full-backs.
‘We had a chat when he came up to the Blue Room. I complimented him on what has been a great start for him as Rangers manager.
‘I only knew him previously through Jan Wouters (McLeish’s first-team coach at Ibrox), who worked with him for a few years and always spoke highly of him.
‘Gio has done a great job so far and beating Celtic at Parkhead would be the icing on the cake for that good start.
‘But he knows that very well. He’s not exactly wet behind the ears in Rangers terms, he’s played there and knows what the score is.
‘Everyone knows how much an Old Firm win means to the supporters and how big it can be for the players who play a big part in those wins.’
Bert’s goal was the catalyst for everything, as it was my first Old Firm game