Rangers have wished German giants and old friends Hamburger SV the best of luck for the season ahead on #InternationalFriendshipDay.
Alongside Danish outfit FC Kobenhavn, Rangers retain a historic and special friendship with the German club.
After HSV saw fit to celebrate the connection on Twitter, Rangers duly replied with a special image of the two club’s crests in the legendary Volkparkstadion.
The historic connection between the two clubs is thought to have started in the 1970s when Scottish workers set up a Rangers Supporters Club in the legendary port-city of Hamburg.
Rangers signing German legend and former Hamburger SV star Jorg Albertz also helped to strengthen the bond between the two clubs, and he continues to act as a symbol of it.
This friendship has continued over the years at Rangers with both clubs now holding a unique fondness for each other.
It’s clearly a friendship that the German giants and Scotland’s Premier Club continue to value and it’s something which both sets of fans can enjoy.
Both clubs have also had a downturn in fortunes in recent years, with Hamburg suffering relegation to Bundesliga 2 only a couple of seasons ago.
Rangers, of course, suffered near financial ruin after the events of 2012.
Both very much “sleeping giants”, the best is yet to come for Rangers and Hamburg. You can bet both clubs will be celebrating the success of each other in the coming seasons too.
For anyone who has ever considered travelling to Germany to watch HSV in Hamburg, here’s a feature about the time I travelled over to explore the famous connection between the clubs.
