Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst might not always have gotten it right domestically, but amid top showings in the Europa League and Champions League the Dutchman has earned his Ibrox stripes.
The Gers must find a way to be more ruthless back home in Scotland but on the European scene the Ibrox side are fast emerging as one of the continent’s darkest horses.
With the club’s name in the Champions League group stage draw, all eyes will be on Istanbul as the Gers eagerly await their first foray amongst Europe’s elite in 12 seasons.
But the man who got them there in Giovanni van Bronckhorst deserves immense credit for the progress the club have made in this regard.
Given the foundation by Steven Gerrard and co, van Bronckhorst has taken this Rangers team to the next level on the European stage and nothing exemplifies this more than his exceptional knockout record.
As highlighted by journalist Colin Millar, Gio and his charges have now faced six European knock-out ties and won all six of them, scalping the likes of Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and now PSV Eindhoven in the process.
Remarkably, van Bronckhorst done much of this with a squad decimated by injury and in the latter stages was going into matches without a recognised striker. It’s a real indictment of his talent as a coach.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst shows Rangers leadership
The Rangers manager also showed his ruthless edge heading into this match – with prestige, £40m and Old Firm pride on the line – by cutting Alfredo Morelos from the matchday squad.
Amid a nervous atmosphere in the Rangers support – something all but completely extinguished by this result – the decision could’ve monumentally backfired.
Instead, Rangers striker Antonio Colak scored the only goal of the game v PSV in a 1-0 win and van Bronckhorst guided the Gers to the Champions League anyway.
In a touch of class at full-time, the Rangers boss didn’t forget our firebrand Colombian and paid him a reminder that the Champions League is there for him too if he can fix his attitude and fitness.
It’s all contributed to some fawning over the Dutchman whose European record has provided – genuinely – some of the greatest nights in the lives of so many Rangers fans
Domestically a stagnant Rangers still have to improve but after banking the cash and with a competitive squad eager to play their part in the Champions League, optimism is rising this can give the club a kickstart on home soil.
But what the always calm Giovanni van Bronckhorst has proven, with his Rangers side so often the underdog, is that you should write him off at your peril.
Meanwhile, one former Rangers coach was snapped watching the Gers overcome PSV Eindhoven with a London-based RSC.
