KAMARA SEES BIG PICTURE
From humble beginnings, Finn is eyeing European triumph...
THE ‘fifty-grand’ man continues to deliver value in spades. The meagre sum paid to Dundee for Glen Kamara has become a standard part of the Rangers supporters’ lexicon over the last couple of years, not least when quantifying their achievements in Europe.
It’s on the continental stage that the silky midfielder has truly excelled in Ibrox blue and this week he will take to a new rarefied level as he runs out to compete in the Europa League final in Seville.
Yet while cash may be king when it comes to planting football yardsticks, Kamara reaches for something more personal by which to gauge the journey on which his football career has taken him.
Long before he left the Arsenal academy to join Neil McCann at Dens Park, Kamara was a Sunday League player for Westway, a club operating in the west London area of Ladbroke Grove.
Back then, he’d be lucky if a couple of dozen joggers and dog walkers took time to pay attention to his fleet-footed exploits as a teenaged striker.
The thought that he might one day regularly run out in front of 50,000 hardcore supporters or be preparing for a match in which tickets are retailing for four-figure sums would have seemed wildly unimaginable. And yet here he is.
Although Kamara has not quite felt like the same fixture in the Rangers team since Steven Gerrard upped sticks for Aston Villa, the 26-year-old has nevertheless played a key part in the road to Seville.
When Rangers needed a piece of calm, measured quality in their quarter-final against Braga, it was
Kamara who provided the serene moment that freed Joe Aribo to set up Kemar Roofe’s key goal.
And the Finland international’s strike in the semi-final against RB Leipzig was one of the true highlights of the swaggering march to Wednesday’s showdown with Eintracht Frankfurt.
‘That will only sink in on Wednesday once we’re actually over there,’ says the quietly-spoken midfielder. ‘It means a lot to me. And it means a lot to the club, too, everyone associated with the club. We are all excited and looking forward to it.
‘When I first came to the UK, I was playing Sunday league, so to now say I’m playing in a Europa League final is crazy.
‘I played for a team called Westway, a team from my area in Ladbroke Grove where I grew up. I was a striker back then, believe it or not.
‘I was decent, I was fast! I was 13 or 14. I’d have been playing in front of ten or twenty people. Not many at all. So to now do it in front of 50,000 at Ibrox — wow.
‘I appreciate everything more because of that. Hopefully, everyone at Westway will be watching and supporting this week.’
The Finnish-born Kamara has, of course, undergone his own personal journey since signing for Rangers in January 2019.
Unwillingly and harrowingly, he became the centre of Europe-wide headlines after the incident in which he was abused by Slavia Prague defender Ondrej Kudela during last season’s tournament.
He politely declines to revisit the issue of racism but he is happy to expand upon the personal connections that will follow him to Spain this week, most notably in the form of his mother, Peggy Roberts.
‘Mum will definitely be there, so she’ll be buzzing,’ he smiles. ‘She’s
‘WHEN I FIRST CAME TO THE UK, I PLAYED IN SUNDAY LEAGUE SO TO SAY I’M PLAYING IN A EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL IS CRAZY
always been there backing me and helping me out, so I can always rely on her.
‘She will probably shed a tear. She’s delighted and probably can’t believe it herself but she’s just excited, so it will be nice for us.
‘She’s been there and always supported me and I feel everyone who’s seen me, played with me, supported me, have all given me lots of messages. The support has been amazing.’
More viscerally, Kamara has felt the love and the power of a full stadium as Rangers have progressed through the knock-out stages of this tournaments.
As glorious as last season’s titlewinning campaign was, it played out in the soulless environment of empty stadiums.
This year, the crowds have been back with a bang.
Asked to define what the greatest factor in propelling the team to Seville, Kamara does not hesitate to answer.
‘Ibrox! It probably inspires us and intimidates the opponents,’ he offers. ‘It definitely pushes us on. Every time we come back to Glasgow, it gives us a chance to beat anyone.
‘You can sense that it affects the opponents. I spoke to one of the Leipzig players after the semi-final and he said it had been hard to manage the first 20 minutes. You could see we were all over them, running about and the crowd was right behind us.
‘Throughout the whole tournament, we have been good as a team and when we beat Dortmund this became reality, not just a dream.
‘We missed the supporters last year, we wish we could have had them there with us.
‘They would have spurred us on but luckily we still managed to win the league. In Europe, we didn’t have that backing and this season they have been our 12th man.’
Kamara rates his goal against Leipzig as the best of his career, yet
he still wouldn’t necessarily be viewed as a first choice by the club’s current manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Under Gerrard, Kamara had a clearly-defined role but the emergence of John Lundstram and return to fitness of Ryan Jack have altered the midfield mix under the more flexible coaching style of the Dutchman.
‘It’s been a bit of an up-and-down season, not my best but I’m just happy to reach the final and contribute,’ he admits.
‘The new manager has given me different kind of pointers. I can’t really tell you too many of those but he has definitely helped me out.
‘Both managers have had their qualities, helped us as a team and individually.
‘I feel like we’ve gone toe to toe with everyone in Europe and not really been too afraid.
‘We’ve been able to adapt to whoever we’re playing against which has really helped us in the long run.’
During his Arsenal days, Kamara would look up to the incumbent
midfielders operating in Arsene Wenger’s first team. One of the top talents was Aaron Ramsey, someone Kamara has been able to call a team-mate since his loan move from Juventus in January.
Ramsey has played only sporadically for Rangers but Kamara has enjoyed the rapport that has stemmed from their shared experiences in London.
‘We always have little jokes about that and it’s been nice to see a familiar face,’ he says. ‘Even when Aaron hasn’t played you can feel his presence in the changing room. He’s always trying to encourage everyone around him and he’s been really helpful so far.’
Ramsey’s big-time experience can only help Rangers going into their third encounter with a German Bundesliga side this season.
And having seen off Borussia Dortmund and Leipzig, there would seem little for Rangers to fear in a one-off tie at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
‘I’m not sure if there was a lack of respect in those matches but we showed we can go toe to toe with those teams and show them what we have got,’ adds Kamara. ‘That’s credit to the ability and the attitude of the players here.’