While Philippe Clement’s team will have to wait another week to kick of their European campaign, there was a Rangers connection to be spotted in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
When Vladimir Weiss was wearing that iconic blue shirt, a Rangers side guided by the late, great Walter Smith were going head-to-head with Manchester United, Valencia and, to a lesser extent, Bursaspor in Europe’s elite club competition.
That, of course, is the level Rangers aspire to reach once again.
Suffering heartbreak in the qualifiers – a bizarre Jefte red card scuppering their hopes of progresion against Dynamo Kyiv – Europa League clashes with the likes of Malmo, Lyon, Olympiakos and Tottenham Hotspur will have to keep the Glasgow giants content for now.
As for the aforementioned Weiss, with his 35th birthday only two months away, this may very well be something of a personal farewell tour to the Champions League stage.
But if the veteran winger had hoped to bow out gracefully, then this was not what he had in mind.
Former Rangers winger Vladimir Weiss endures dark night
Booed and jeered throughout, Weiss’ return to Scotland certainly didn’t go to plan.
As his Slovan Bratislava side were filleted 5-1 by a ruthless Celtic, Weiss’ hopes of getting one over Rangers’ Old Firm rivals quickly dissipated.
Just to add insult to injury, the Manchester City academy graduate also had former Celtic boss Neil Lennon criticising his every action from the birds’ nest above.
“He has been disappointing tonight,” Lennon said during his co-commentary duties on TNT Sports (18 September, 8pm), feeling that the occasion got to a man who won a Premiership and League Cup double at Ibrox back in 2011.
“He’s been too emotional, Weiss,” adds the former Rapid Bucharest boss, who was keen on bringing Ianis Hagi to Romania during his time abroad. “He’s a talented player but his final product has not been there at all tonight.”
Weiss’ miserable evening was summed up early on.
First, when attempting to take down a high ball into the box and inadvertently directing it out of play. Moments later, when briefly finding himself one-on-one with Kasper Schmeichel, Weiss moved like a tortoise in treacle before allowing Celtic the chance to block the angle.
In his mid-30s these days, the pace that once marked Weiss out as a fearsome prospect has long since deserted him.
Slovakian ace looks back fondly on Ibrox spell
“(Being booed) was okay. I don’t take these things personally. It’s okay,” Weiss, who’s father Vladimir Sr watched on helplessly from the sidelines, said via Football Scotland following a humiliating defeat to kick off their Champions League campaign in the worst possible fashion.
“It’s nice they remember me after such a long time,” he adds with a hint of a dig. “Obviously, the result is not what we wanted. We were expecting a really difficult game.
“I think I had a good chance at 1-0. Maybe, if I take that, the game would go differently. But, unfortunately, it didn’t.
“(Celtic) showed the quality they have. They played so fast, and we just weren’t good enough in in some moments.”
Weiss only spent one season at Ibrox, on loan from Man City. Clearly, life in the blue side of the city left an indelible mark on a man who’s time north of the border will have the Gers fans reminiscing about happier times.
“I loved my time at Rangers,” Weiss adds. “I was only here for a year but I was very young and I know I made some silly comments about Celtic in the past. I’m a totally different person now, but it was fun when I played here.
“I hoped for a better result tonight, but it didn’t come. That’s football.”
