Giovanni van Bronckhorst knows the importance of the Ibrox crowd next week if Rangers are to have any chance of beating Borussia Dortmund over two legs.
In this Europa League encounter, the last 32 stage, the champions of Scotland are going up against one of the favourites for the tournament and given the profile and prominence of BVB, thankfully we know a lot about them and their considerable talent.
Whilst Erling Haaland may be missing, the likes of Marco Reus, Jude Bellingham, Mahmoud Dahoud et al will provide stiff opposition and probably the most difficult task of Gio’s Ibrox reign to date. The aim tomorrow is to be competitive to secure a positive result to take back to Glasgow with the tie still in the balance.
If that is accomplsihed, a full house at Ibrox will ensure an electric atmosphere under the lights for what promises to be an epic European occasion like so many that have came before. The Gers boss was asked about a potential benefit of a capacity crowd at Ibrox in contrast to the much limited numbers at the Westfalenstadion tomorrow evening to which Van Bronckhorst responded:
“Of course, it’s different to play for 10,000 people than with a full stadium. We know the differences, we’ve had those games in the season also with both full stadiums and fewer crowds.”
“Still, we’re facing a good team so for me, that’s no different, we just have to go out and perform. It’s two games, we know we have a game in hand next week at home so we want to have a good result to take back to Rangers, as good as possible.”
“Next week we have the second game at home with a full capacity so the difference is there but our aim is the same to get the best result possible.”
The recent positive performances and results against Hibs and Hearts will stand the team in good stead. Added to that, they should be inspired by the big stage, Borussia Dortmund away is almost as good as it gets in the European arena, as well as a welcome fresh break from the routine demands of the domestic game in Scotland.