Rangers made a big stunt on Thursday evening by eliminating RB Leipzig in the Europa League. After the 1-0 defeat in the first game, a 3-1 victory in Scotland proved sufficient for a place in the final of the second European club tournament. Giovanni van Bronckhorst had to search for words after reaching the final. “It is very difficult to find the right words”, the Dutchman indicated to the camera of Sky Sports†
“We already said before the game that we would do everything”, the ex-feyenoord coach started his story in front of the camera. The Dutchman, who could not have imagined a better scenario, was proud of his team. “The players were fantastic, you can’t write a better script than this.” The atmosphere had a major positive impact on his team, Van Bronckhorst stated. “The atmosphere was incredible, that helped us a lot. You could see from the celebrations afterwards how happy we were all with reaching the final.”
Reaching the final had added value for Rangers due to the sudden death of equipment man Jimmy Bell earlier this week. The club legend turned 69 years old. “The story couldn’t have been better. We are all very proud to be in the final and we toasted to Jimmy.” Bell started out at Rangers as a bus driver, but soon took on the role of chief equipment man. In that position he worked with many famous players and trainers over the years. Bell was still on the bench for the Old Firm against Celtic (1-1) on Sunday, as part of Van Bronckhorst’s staff.
For Rangers and Van Bronckhorst, the final is scheduled for May 18 against Eintracht Frankfurt, which eliminated West Ham United. For a moment, the game at Ibrox seemed to end in extra time when Christopher Nkunku made the connecting goal on behalf of the Germans, but it was midfielder John Lundstram who gave the Scottish team a margin of two again in the final phase. “We knew that Leipzig was coming at us, but we got a huge boost from our late goal,” Van Bronckhorst said. Sky Sports the hectic final phase.
The 47-year-old coach realizes that reaching the final is not for everyone. “We now have to do everything we can to win the final.” The final of the Europa League will take place in Seville. “It doesn’t matter how long the fans have to fly or walk or ride their bikes. Some may even come swimming. In any case, we will be well represented by our fans, both in the stadium and in the city.” Van Bronckhorst also looked cautiously ahead to the final, in which he certainly does not think his team has a chance: “Do we believe in winning the final? Of course we can win the final.”