Rangers played a big game against Eintracht Frankfurt (Craig Mercer/Getty)
Football fans sympathized with Scottish club Glasgow Rangers after their defeat in the final European League Against Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties, and behind this sympathy is a story of challenge that the defeated team has raised in recent years.
And the French radio website RMC published the story of a journey fraught with obstacles that Glasgow succeeded in cutting in a period not exceeding 10 years, to turn a penalty he was subjected to and relegated to the lower leagues into a will that reached the final of a major European competition.
In 2012, the Scottish Federation decided for football Glasgow was punished by being relegated to the fourth division, due to debts amounting to 160 million euros, and after 10 years in which the team succeeded in brilliance in the “Europa League” final, and it would have been close to achieving the title, had it not been for the brilliance of Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp.
Rangers were not satisfied with overcoming the penalty of going down in his first year, and overcoming the deduction of 10 points from his balance, and during that period the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, approached the purchase of his shares, before he fled due to the penalty and many problems.
About 30 Scottish clubs have agreed to penalize Glasgow Rangers, the most decorated club in his country with 54 titles. Despite the departure of its stars, the board of directors accepted the promotion of some talents, and they achieved promotion in the 2013/14 season under the support of a large crowd.
Glasgow Rangers returned to their true place in the first division after 4 years of suffering, and former Liverpool star Steven Gerrard assumed his position as technical director in the 2018/19 season and achieved a remarkable number through an unbeaten streak that lasted 12 matches, and reached a qualifying place for the European League competition.
Gerrard included many famous stars, and occupied the runner-up in the league the following season, and in the 2020/21 season, he managed to lead the team to win the title, with a historical number of 102 points, and he did not know the taste of defeat in any confrontation.
The successes continued despite the departure of Gerrard through a new experience in which he leads the English club Aston Villa, as Dutchman Giovanni van Bronckhost succeeded him, and led him to reach the first final in 14 years, figures that made Glasgow Rangers an extraordinary team, and a hero despite its failure to achieve the European Championship.