IBROX — John Greig, Sandy Jardine, Willie Johnston and the heroes of ’72, you have company. Rangers have won nothing yet, but that does not diminish the sense of triumph that washed over Ibrox on a night of improbable theatre that ended with the club in their first European final since 2008.
The soft rain that greeted the players felt like a doubling of Scottishness, a harbinger that there might indeed be something in the Glasgow air pulling the home side toward a repeat of its greatest night in Europe.
Locals will tell you that this was the most significant match at Ibrox since they toppled Bayern Munich in the semi-finals 50 years ago en route to their only European success, victory in the 1972 Cup Winners’ Cup. Though the aura of that day pervaded this, that world has since spun out of Rangers’ reach. In 2022 RB Leipzig brought the heft to this semi-final tie, a £200m ensemble owned by a soft drinks magnate who spends more on his private Falcon jet each year than Rangers do on players.
If the essence of Wednesday’s epic comeback by Real Madrid against Manchester City in the Champions League was sourced in a profound feeling of tradition and their place in the order of things, then Rangers drew on their own inalienable connection to the footballing cosmos, a big club swagger raging in defiance at the privations visited upon the Scottish game by modernity’s new money.
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- Date: Wednesday 18 May
- Kick-off time: 8pm BST
- Venue: Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, Seville
A flag paying tribute to that 1972 victory over Dynamo Moscow at the Nou Camp rolled down the Broomloan Stand as the players gathered before kick-off. It served not only to taunt an opponent birthed in 2009 about a history they do not have but called Rangers forth to honour their past with one more mighty push.
Feeding off the energy of the crowd, Rangers flew full bore into the contest. There was no pause here, no change of gear to disrupt Leipzig, who met muscle with muscle. The urgency actually slowed down Rangers since the ball was surrendered too frequently in haste.
The ball started to go longer. “That’s not going to work,” screamed a supporter in frustration. At which point Glen Kamara brought the ball down and fed Ryan Kent, who sped into the box trailing menace. The crowd erupted. Our friend the tactician set aside his critique to urge on his boy. “Go on, wee man,” he screamed. Go in he did, driving in a shot-cum-cross that evaded all but the rapidly advancing James Tavernier, who smashed it over the line. Oh my.
Ibrox convulsed, but that was as nothing to the abandon that greeted Kamara’s strike five minutes later. Fifty thousand human fireworks went off in the stands. The primal attachments bred by football are among the most powerful unleashed by any community, no matter how trivial the enterprise. How could the players not respond?
Leipzig might have been three down had Joe Aribo not shanked a straightforward opportunity. It was an appalling miss that brought pre-match anxieties flooding back. To lose is one thing. Doing so after leading is a different kind of hell.
The second half fell into a kind of holding pattern as Leipzig sought a way back into the tie and Rangers shaped to counter. This altered dynamic had the crowd in a frenzy. Giovanni van Bronckhorst was the calmest man in Ibrox. This is to a man Steven Gerrard’s squad but no longer his team. The Dutchman has added fluidity and expression to the togetherness fostered by his predecessor.
Rangers benefitted from Gerrard’s star billing, but that is a vibe readily exhausted. While Gerrard felt the move to Aston Villa was one that had to be taken not all, were pained to see him go. Despite his cool exterior there was a feeling of resignation about Van Bronckhorst as his team began to wilt under the weight of Leipzig’s response.
That Aribo missed chance was felt when Leipzig struck with 19 minutes to go. Christopher Nkunku’s volley filled Ibrox with dread. Rangers had given everything and Leipzig oozed confidence as they piled forward.
Out on their feet, Rangers conjured beans from nowhere to hit on the counter. A cross from Kent was fumbled and John Lundstrum cleaned up to put Rangers back in front. Seville, a week on Wednesday, was back in the diary.
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