Seville. The first support of a hundred thousand.
Then alone in the world.
As Eintracht Frankfurt buried itself on Victory Hill, Aaron Ramsey turned his back on the battered Rangers supporters and disappeared.
Surprisingly, there are many ways to get from Scotland to Seville and previously unknown routes are now guaranteed.
A heat wave swept through Spain just in time for hungry football fans to be surrounded. The picturesque squares were mostly filled with blue and orange jerseys, the colors of Glasgow Rangers for home and away.
The club lost their opening two matches in the European League, a tournament which they ended up with due to Malmö FF. Shortly after being knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers, coach Steven Gerrard disappeared into the Premier League with large parts of the coaching staff.
The Rangers stayed behind and watched their arch rival Celtic get order at Croft under Ange Postecoglou (hardly any Briton could pronounce the Australian’s name from the start, whenever he could now).
Super loan with modest impact
Fast forward a little over six months and the Rangers were in the final. Giovanni van Bronckhorst didn’t manage to steer the gang towards the league title, but this has become a real patch on the wounds of the fans who have now flocked to southern Europe.
Even the super loan during the January period was not good. Aaron Ramsey He was supposed to break historic signings like Brian Laudrup and Paul Gascoigne, while Juve hoped for a beautiful shop window.
Injuries resulted in minimal playing time and therefore a modest impact on the team. “If Ramsey is complete, he has to start,” a local newspaper wrote before the crucial meeting with Eintracht Frankfurt, referring to the promising efforts once the body cooperates.
Eintracht fans brilliantly
Ramsey did not start but jumped to the 117th minute at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium. If the arena is boiling? Yes, in the literal and figurative sense.
For Eintracht Frankfurt, they can also collect followers. Just ask Barcelona, whose Camp Nou was so moderately invaded that their next-placed rival West Ham did everything they could to prevent a similar scenario in the semi-finals at the London Stadium.
The white-clad spectators sang to the tunes of Pippi Longstocking, rocking the beat and spreading a cheeky tifo before kick-off. The Rangers supporters were passionate about the stands but the Germans certainly did the trick.
Joe Aribo, one of those who worked hard in the heat, pulled off a 1-0 win against Rangers after a clumsy defense. Rafael Bury’s goal tied with 20 points remaining on the clock for another equalizing event.
It’s probably smoother than many experts initially thought. Most people have highlighted Eintracht Frankfurt as the pre-favourite, but Jungle wins, or yes, keeps one in the match.
It may take another 50 years
A moment that will be caught in the retina of Rangers supporters for a long time to come is the reaction of Eintracht goalkeeper Kevin Trapp to save Ryan Kent, the last thing that happened before the ill-fated penalty shootout.
Substitute Aaron Ramsey was the only one who missed. The 31-year-old was the fourth player to step up to a penalty kick, hitting so often in the middle, at which point Trapp stopped the attempt.
The planes departed from a hundred thousand Britons who arrived around Seville. While fifty thousand German fans celebrated their first European title since 1980 (Bure confirmed the win), Rangers were forced to realize that fifty years of waiting still went on.
It was painful to see Ramsey trying to shake off the disappointment, and he quickly disappeared into the player’s tunnel. Eintracht Frankfurt is by and large a worthy winner of the 2022 Europa League – albeit unpredictable. But everyone with the heart of a Rangers knows it can take another 50 years before they even get close.
