Calvin Bassey has now shared exactly what former Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst addressed to his players after losing to RB Leipzig on the way to the 2022 Europa League Final.
Rangers were quite incredible on their run to Seville a year-and-a-half ago now. The European season started horribly from a Gers perspective after losing to Malmo in the Champions League qualifiers but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Dropping down into the Europa League, Rangers clinched second place to qualify for the last 32 play-off phase. An epic 6-4 aggregate win was achieved over Borussia Dortmund, which earned Van Bronckhorst’s charges with ties against Red Star Belgrade and Braga.
Rangers edged past both on aggregate via six and five-goal thrillers respectively, before the mammoth task of overcoming German high-fliers RB Leipzig in the semi-final was presented in front of the Glasgow giants.
Fans expected the end of the road was nigh but hope was brought to life when Rangers escaped eastern Germany with just a 1-0 defeat – who can forget Angelino’s incredible long-range strike to win the game?
At the time, it was a deflating goal to concede after such a composed performance. But Leipzig had to come to a fiery Ibrox next and that was never going to be easy, as Van Bronckhorst alluded to after losing the first-leg.
Calvin Bassey shares brilliant Gio message
Calvin Bassey has recently been reminiscing about that moment in time with The Athletic but firstly couldn’t praise Van Bronckhorst enough for really kickstarting his Rangers career.
The Nigerian then encapsulated the quality Van Bronckhorst had as a manager to put things into perspective and not let his players get too down in the dumps.
Bassey has now revealed what Gio told his frustrated players after that first-leg Leipzig loss. He said: “We were losing 1-0 to Leipzig after the first leg of the semi-final and we (the Rangers players) were arguing, but then he came in so chilled. He said, ‘Calm. We’re going to see them at home’.
“Ibrox was our fortress. We could win any game. I’ve played at a lot of grounds now but none are as loud or intense. Not a lot of players have experienced it so they can be rattled, no matter who it is.”
It turns out Gio was absolutely spot on. Rangers seriously perturbed the likes to Dortmund, Red Star and Braga at Ibrox on that famous European run, so why couldn’t we do it to Leipzig too?
That’s exactly what the team did. Rangers turned the tie on its head with a sensational 3-1 home victory to sail into the final against Eintracht Frankfurt.
The less said about that part, the better. But Gio’s post first-leg Leipzig message appears to have been a huge catalyst in ensuring the belief we could get to the final stayed intact.
Gio van Bronckhorst. Rangers legend.
