Rangers utility man James Sands has joined forces with fellow USA international Giovanni Reyna to promote the Ibrox side’s clash with Borussia Dortmund on American television.
Ahead of Rangers’ trip to Germany much of the conversation has surrounded the relationship between Ibrox manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst and namesake Reyna.
The talented young Dortmund midfielder – who is the son of ex-Ibrox and USA star Claudio – is named after the Ibrox manager with Reyna Snr and van Bronckhorst remaining close friends from their time at Rangers.
But it was NYCFC loanee James Sands who joined forces with Giovanni Reyna pre-match to promote the match Stateside on the pair’s official Instagram accounts.
With the match set to kick off at 12:45pm Eastern Time and screened live on Paramount +, Sands shared a message on his official social media and 30k followers to promote a special seven-day trial offer.
The defensive midfielder wasn’t the only one either, as Giovanni Reyna, 19, soon joined Sands by promoting the trial to his 475k followers.
van Bronckhorst talks up relationship as Reyna teams up with Rangers star sands
Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst has also been discussing his relationship with Dortmund wonderkid Reyna, who is regarded as amongst the brightest talents in the game.
Speaking amid news that the Dortmund kid is fit to play against the Gers, van Bronckhorst branded a potential on-pitch reunion “very special”.
“I played with his father Claudio and I am good friends with the whole family actually for many years,” said van Bronckhorst [Rangers].
“Gio I know from the day he was born so I have a special relationship with him as a friend but also as a player.
“He came to Holland to train with our youth academy at Feyenoord so he was in our house and we were trying to help him to be the player that he is now.
“We have always kept in contact and seen each other at least once a year. It is a special bond I have with the Reyna family and it will be special for both of us to play against each other.
“Hopefully it is a good game. The competitors that we are, we both want to win. It will be a very special moment.”
Dortmund boss Marco Rose was a little less poignant when he was asked about the relationship, suggesting the Rangers boss has known Reyna since he was “peeing his pants”.
It promises to be a special match for Rangers and Dortmund fans and Ibrox supporters have already been leaving their mark in the famous Signal Iduna Park.
