Uefa Cup final tribute to Rangers and Scottish football
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TOMORROW night’s Uefa Cup final will be a fabulous occasion. Not just for Rangers, but for Scottish football.
It is not often we get the chance to see one of our clubs on this stage and it is a match everyone should look forward to.
I spoke to Walter Smith at the Football Writers Awards dinner on Sunday and he did not seem to be too nervous.
He told me they are all looking forward to the occasion but make no mistake, they believe they can win it.
Rangers have done extremely well to get to the final, that is a wonderful achievement in itself, but they will be determined to go that step further and lift the trophy with victory against Zenit St Petersburg.
I have got the feeling they might just do it.
Call it fate or whatever, but I think their name is written on the Uefa Cup this year.
When you look at some of the results and performances it seems to me it is meant to be.
There could be 100,000 Light Blues supporters heading to Manchester and it will be a magnificent spectacle.
Some people have said the pressure is off Rangers, but I do not think that is the case.
The expectation levels are always huge at Ibrox and the huge travelling support want to see their side winning.
I was reading this week Walter will be sending his team out to attack.
I would take those comments with the proverbial pinch of salt.
I would imagine Rangers will stick to the tried and tested game plan that has served them so well in European competition this season.
They will look to keep the match tight for as long as they can and hope to cause Zenit problems from the odd set play or piece of magic from the likes of Barry Ferguson.
From what I have heard about Zenit, they can be absolutely lethal on the counterattack and that is why Walter cannot afford to be too expansive.
Just look at what the Russians did to Bayern Munich in the semi-final.
I do not think anyone saw the 4-0 victory coming.
Whether Bayern were over-confident or not does not matter, because Zenit managed to pick them apart on the break.
They might not have the name or pedigree in European football, but they are one of the richest clubs in the world and now one of the leading clubs in Europe.
Manager Dick Advocaat has spent a lot of money, but he has bought good players.
Fortunately for Rangers their opponents will be without their leading scorer Pavel Pogrebnyak, who is suspended.
He scored two of the goals against the German champions and will be a big loss.
All weekend we had the celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of Aberdeen’s magnificent Cup Winner’s-Cup triumph in Gothenburg.
It is hard to believe it is that long since a Scottish club won a European trophy.
Who knows, we might just have to wait another 24 hours for the barren run to end.
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