Dhe Dortmund defenders probably still scratch their heads in embarrassment when they think about the first leg of the Europa League second round last February. Glasgow Rangers traveled from Scotland after struggling to qualify for the next round in a group with Olympique Lyon, Sparta Prague and Brondby IF.
The squad value of the Rangers is also less than a quarter of the added market value of Dortmund. So on paper it was a clear affair from Borussia’s point of view. But between the 38th and 54th minute the guests scored four goals, BVB lost the game 2:4 in the end. In the second leg, a draw was enough for the Rangers to make the sensation perfect and move into the round of 16 instead of the clearly favored Dortmund.
Only away win in Dortmund
What makes things all the more interesting from today’s perspective: away from home, the Rangers are actually not particularly strong in this European Cup season. On their way to the final against Eintracht Frankfurt this Wednesday (9 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Europa League and on RTL) they overcame Red Star Belgrade in the round of 16, Sporting Braga in the quarter-finals and RB Leipzig in the semi-finals – but they lost to all three away from home Opponent.
In all cases, it was the encounters in front of the home fans at Ibrox Stadium that secured them a place in the next round: 3-0 against Belgrade, 3-1 after extra time against Braga, and they also beat Leipzig 3-1 in Glasgow , although coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst was even without his top two scorers in that game.
Missed title in Scotland
Not everything went according to plan for Rangers in the Scottish Premiership either. They won the championship last season, but this season hated city rivals Celtic have reclaimed the title.
This was also due to the fact that Rangers were not consistent enough in the one-sided Scottish league: they did not score full points in eleven of 38 games, last season they only did that six times. Despite reaching the Europa League final, the BBC has “no doubt” that Rangers will analyze very carefully “what went wrong” in the summer.
In this analysis, the following numbers will also play a role. In the just-completed season in Scotland’s Premier League, Rangers played 19 home and 19 away games, winning 4 at home and losing 1 in 14, and drawing 4 and losing 2 away.
The difference in the distribution of the goals conceded becomes clearer: the Rangers had to accept 61 percent of their total of 31 goals conceded on a foreign pitch, whereas they put down a spotless fifty-fifty distribution of their own goals. It may be small things, but they made themselves felt in the table. Celtic won the championship by four points overall.
Tactically variable
At the same time, van Bronckhorst does not send his team onto the pitch differently in away games. The coach is considered to be tactically variable, reacting with his formations more than his predecessor Steven Gerrard to the opponent – regardless of the venue of the game. In connection with his personal worries against Leipzig, he said: “I always watch the opponent and look at which players are available to us when I make my plan for the game.”
Especially in the first leg in Leipzig, the Rangers had acted extremely defensively; the strategy clearly focused on preventing goals in order to create a solid basis for more of their own offense for the second leg at Ibrox Stadium. “You always want to attack and create chances. I think we’ve shown that in all our games – also away,” explained van Bronckhorst: “But we have to make sure that we’re doing the right thing at the right time. I’m sure we will have our moments – even if we defend.”
Tedesco impressed
A video of Rangers’ second leg against Leipzig at Ibrox Stadium is circulating on social media. You can hear the frenetic Scottish fans belting out a battle chant as if from one mouth. You can see how a brave cameraman rocks back and forth and up and down on a kind of lifting platform attached to the upper tier of the grandstand, as if he were on rough seas.
The stadium trembled, in the truest sense of the word. Leipzig coach Domenico Tedesco was impressed by the atmosphere after his team left. “It was electrifying,” he said on RTL. “The best atmosphere I’ve ever experienced in a football stadium.”
When it was clear that Rangers would advance to the final in Seville, there was a real rush for flights to Spain in Glasgow. As a reminder, around 200,000 Rangers fans are said to have traveled the almost 350 kilometers to Manchester for the 2008 UEFA Cup final, although only 37,000 of them had tickets.
For this year’s final at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán stadium, the Rangers only received a contingent of 9,500 tickets. Up to 57,000 other fans will also be able to follow a live broadcast of the game in the Estadio de La Cartuja, around six kilometers away. Away from home, Rangers aren’t particularly strong this season in Europe. But the fans will do everything to make the final feel like a home game for their team.
