Rangers are preparing for a history-defining clash against RB Leipzig as they Make Us Dream of a place in the Europa League Final.
The Gers are 1-0 down against RB Leipzig but with the power of Ibrox behind them, this Rangers team have shown that just about anything is possible.
Add the painful, surprise passing of beloved kitman Jimmy Bell – a man who was immensely popular in the dressing room these players call home – and it promises to be a hugely emotional night in Govan.
Rangers are well aware of the gargantuan nature of this game; European semi-finals do not come along often and this is already the biggest Scottish achievement on the continent since 2008.
When you consider where Rangers have been in that time, to financial ruin and the bottom of Scottish football, this is quite extraordinary.
The story of Rangers’ rise has been an exceptional if not tumultuous one and it is European football that has so often provided the hoist that has pulled us out of the mire.
The exit of outgoing manager Steven Gerrard and his backroom team might still rankle with some, but whilst 55 stands as his biggest achievement, the progress made in Europe in such a short window of time was unbelievable. Genuinely.
In four seasons Rangers have gone from humiliation against Progres Niederkorn to genuine Europa League contenders and that’s in no small part down to the work put in by the legendary Scouser.
It’s apt that the Make Us Dream motto adopted by Rangers fans for this run is also the name of the Amazon Prime documentary about Steven Gerrard.
The team too deserves their immense credit; European competition has allowed Rangers to come alive at times, freed them from the shackles of “low blocks” and depressingly repetitive Scottish football, an escapist opportunity that has allowed these players to live their Ibrox dream.
It’s where they’ve developed most, the arena in which they have shone brightest, and over the course of the last few seasons they’ve become Europa League stalwarts.
Hard to beat with a powerful jab of their own.
Rangers Make Us Dream ahead of RB Leipzig Europa League semi
With all four excursions into the competition this team has gotten wiser, stronger and more confident and this is the apex of a squad likely to see some dramatic change this summer.
But what’s interesting is the introduction of Giovanni van Bronckhorst and his backroom team, something which added a depth and pragmatism to our approach on the European stage.
Rangers were often accused of being one-dimensional under Gerrard, Beale and co but van Bronckhorst demands in-game intelligence and flexibility from his charges.
There’s a meticulousness about how Rangers set up in these matches and when you combine that with a squad hungry for success on this stage it is proving a potent combination.
It’s impossible to say if Rangers would’ve gotten this far with Gerrard, but the Ibrox club have a different approach under van Bronckhorst and it may well prove the difference-maker.
Now, it’s the sternest test of the last four years, the highest hurdle to date, and it’s one that if this team can clear, for them immortality surely awaits.
C’mon the Rangers, Make Us Dream.
Rangers have also confirmed a minute’s silence will be held at Ibrox against RB Leipzig to remember the legendary Ibrox kitman Jimmy Bell, who passed away this week.