When you get bitten by the Rangers bug it normally never leaves you.
Sasa Papac put it best when he said that when it comes to Rangers, ‘it is simple really; this club grows in your heart and stays there forever’.
Even for those who take shelter at Ibrox as a temporary home, Rangers can leave an indelible mark which remains even long after they leave this mortal coil.
It happened to Abdallah Sima last season, and it’ll likely happen to anyone else who walks in through the gates in the years to come.
Now, one ex-Rangers loanee turned cult hero is set to finally make his long-awaited return to Glasgow and Ibrox fans will be wishing him every success on what will be a fleeting visit.
Rangers cult hero returns to Glasgow v Celtic
As the UEFA Champions League kicks off this week, Rangers fans will need to wait until next Thursday before their Europa League campaign begins.
The pain of the club’s failure to reach European football’s elite stage this season still very much stings and a challenging group campaign in the Europa League is scant consolation.
But with Rangers’ exploits shelved until that trip to face Malmo in Sweden, all eyes will be on Celtic Park this Wednesday when Slovan Bratislava come to visit.
With our Old Firm rivals firm favourites against the pot four side, Rangers fans might notice one of their former players leading the Slovak charge into Glasgow.
Vladimir Weiss spent a memorable season on loan in Glasgow back in 2010/11 when the Ibrox side lifted the title at Celtic’s expense by a single.
Now the former Manchester City talent is hoping to inflict more heartbreak on our eternal rivals when he leads Slovan Bratislava out at Celtic Park this week.
Vladimir Weiss eyes Champions League ‘upset’
Now 34-years-old, Vladimir Weiss Jnr is the current captain of Slovan Bratislava and one of the club’s key players.
The ex-Rangers winger’s father, Vladimir Weiss Snr, is the Slovak club’s manager and the pair have helped steer the Bratislava side to the Champions League Group Stage for the first time in their history.
In fact you have to go back to 1992/93 for the last time the Slovak side competed in the competition proper.
Having come through four qualifiers to make the revamped tournament, Slovan defeated Macedonian side Struga, Slovenian club Celje, Cypriots APOEL and Danish club Midtjylland to reach the tournament.
Now, Vladimir Weiss and his teammates are challenged to go out and land what would be a major blow on Celtic at Parkhead.
With doubts surrounding his father’s visit due to a nasty virus, Weiss claims that his team of Champions League underdogs are relishing the battle.
“We think we can cause an upset and get something against Celtic,” Weiss told the Daily Record.
“If Slovan was playing any of the 36 teams in this big Champions League, they would be favourites against us.
“So that’s the case with Celtic. We are at the very bottom. But look, we’ve climbed the ladder and played four qualifying games to reach the Champions League. That was amazing, incredible. We have some great talent in the team and some good experience.
“We have my crazy dad (Vladimir Snr) as coach who always pushes his teams to the limit. Celtic fans will remember him from when he knocked them out of the Champions League with Artmedia almost 20 years ago.
“So I know we can definitely get something. But it depends on how the game goes. We’re not favourites but we want to enjoy the competition so we’ll put up a good fight.”
Vladimir Weiss made 35 appearances in the 10/11 season, scoring five goals and laying on 15 assists as the Gers lifted the SPL and the League Cup, where the winger famously set up Nikica Jelavic’s winner in the Hampden Final v Celtic.
After suffering a broken foot in the run-in, the winger was then spotted celebrating with Rangers fans in the stands in a famous Old Firm draw which saw Allan McGregor save a Georgios Samaras penalty.
Weiss then famously recreated the spot kick at Ibrox as Walter Smith’s team paraded the SPL trophy.
Needless to say, the former Rangers winger will have the entire backing of the blue side of Glasgow come Wednesday evening.
Especially with official UEFA prize money of €2.1m (£1.8m) up for grabs if either team can snatch the victory.
