When you think of Scottish football, what comes to mind is perhaps Sir Alex Ferguson, former manager of Manchester United, or traditional giants Celtic. Indeed, both are deeply embedded in the symbols of Scottish soccer. However, there is one team that, despite being relegated to the fourth tier of Scottish football through financial woes, is resilient enough to return to the top, and that is Rangers. In the just-concluded UEFA Cup semi-final, they defeated the prestigious and powerful Red Bull Leipzig with a surprising result, successfully advancing to the final. Looking back at the glorious history of this veteran Soviet Premier League team, we have to mention their manager, the Dutch legend Van Bronckhorst, who once coached in the Chinese Super League.
Founded in 1872, Rangers, the traditional Scottish giants, have won 55 Scottish Premier League titles, four ahead of arch-rivals Celtic. Had they not suffered relegation before, their number of titles might have been even higher. They also have a history of European success, such as winning the European Cup Winners' Cup in the 1971-1972 season. Despite their long history, they have not performed well in Europe in recent years. This season, they advanced to the UEFA Cup final as winners of the Scottish Premier League, which has been a highlight for Rangers.
Rangers are no strangers to Dutch coaches. Back in 1998, Dutch star Edvocat coached the team and became the first foreign manager, leading the team to achieve a good record and even broke into the group stage of the UEFA Champions League at one time. 20 years later, Rangers once again chose a Dutch coach, this time it is the former Dutch international Van Bronckhorst, who coached the team at Guangzhou City.
It is worth mentioning that the Dutchman took over the team at the end of last year, only six months ago. Under his leadership, Rangers not only performed steadily in the domestic league, but also managed to advance to the title contention group, temporarily ranking second. In the European tournament, they even emerged from the group stage, and in the knockout stage, they went all the way to the final.
Rangers will face Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt at the Pizjuan Stadium in Seville, Spain on May 19 at 3:00 a.m. BST. Can Van Bronckhorst lead his team to the title and create a new legend? Anything is possible.
