Latest news with #Advocaat
Daily Record
2 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
The night Rangers refused to play in Russian war zone as defiant David Murray risked a mega UEFA ban
Rangers refused to go for safety reason as Dagestan Rangers will learn who they face in their first Champions League qualifying hurdle after Wednesday's draw in Berne. But regardless of who comes out of the hat alongside the Ibrox side, it won't be as daunting as their UEFA Cup first round pairing almost a quarter of a century ago. Certainly off the park at least. Russell Martin's side will discover their Euro fate this week before facing three qualifying rounds to reach the Champions League group stage. At 11am UK time, their opponents will be pulled out of the hat - with either Swiss outfit Servette, Greek giants Panathanaikos or Norwegian club Brann Bergen lying in wait. But 24 years ago, when Dick Advocaat's Gers were preparing for a foray into Europe, they got the worst possible draw. Rangers were paired with Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala, who were based in war-torn DAGESTAN. And when ex-Ibrox chairman David Murray refused to allow the team to travel - Gers were threatened by a five-year UEFA ban. Dagestan is sandwiched between Chechnya and the Caspian Sea with a reputation as a dangerous place to visit. Back then, 34 different ethnic groups were engaged in constant rivalry and the 1999 war in Chechnya had spilled into Dagestan. When Rangers refused to go for safety reasons, initially they were told by UEFA they HAD to or they'd face strict sanctions. Football's governing body were adamant the game had to go ahead but Murray defied them. He said at the time: 'The club is ready to play Anzhi anywhere other than the Dagestan capital but will not travel to Makhachkala under the current circumstances. 'We have advised UEFA that although our travel plans have been cancelled, we could still be in a position to travel to participate in the match assuming a safe venue can be confirmed. 'UEFA have advised us that no further appeal is available but we have requested them to reconsider their decision.' At that point, Rangers' immediate future in Europe was under genuine threat and the club was prepared to take their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne. But eventually, the UEFA big-wigs came to their senses and agreed to rearrange the tie. Chief Executive Gerhard Aigner took the decision to make the UEFA Cup clash a one-off, winner-takes-all game to be held in Warsaw, Poland. With Dagestan suffering from terrorism as Russian troops and rebels fought in nearby Chechnya, common sense had prevailed. And Gers' worries about being expelled from the competition had gone. Advocaat took his team to Poland but with only a small band of Rangers fans in the stadium, there was a strange, eerie atmosphere. It was a poor game but the Scottish side just had to get the job done. And with four minutes left of the 90, Dutch defender Bert Konterman was Rangers' unlikely hero. His deflected strike from long-range beat the Anzhi keeper to secure a scrappy 1-0 victory and see Advocaat's men into the next round. Rangers went on to beat Dinamo Moscow and then PSG - Ronaldinho et al - on penalties later in the competition. But their UEFA Cup dream died with defeat to Feyenoord in February 2002 after a 4-3 aggregate loss. Here's the team from that unusual night in Warsaw against Anzhi Makhachkala: Rangers: Klos, Ricksen, Moore, Amoruso, Numan, Konterman, Ferguson, Latapy, McCann, de Boer, Flo. Subs: Caniggia, Dodds, Kanchelskis, Christiansen, Vidmar, Lovenkrands, Hughes.
South Wales Argus
09-06-2025
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Nick Morgan living the dream with Stern John in St Lucia
The 44-year-old from St Julians has a management CV that features a raft of Gwent clubs but now he is part of St Lucia's set-up, working as an assistant for former Premier League striker Stern John. The 'Piton Boyz' will go up against Advocaat's Curacao, who boast players from the Netherlands' Eredivisie, in the early hours of Saturday UK time and then face Barbados on Tuesday night. Morgan has had the job since the autumn of 2024 after accepting an invite from John, who played in England for Nottingham Forest, Birmingham, Coventry, Derby, Sunderland, Southampton, Bristol City and Crystal Palace. The pair met on a Football Association of Wales A licence course and that led to the Welshman jumping at a chance to experience international football. Morgan initially did that while managing Westfields in Hellenic League Premier Division but he has now left the Hereford club and will devote more of his time to St Lucia, alongside his full-time job as a project manager with energy company SSE. COACH: Nick Morgan in St Lucia (Image: Nick Morgan) 'I'm senior team coach but now I will also be a liaison for the players in the UK, which I couldn't do when I had games on Saturdays,' he said. 'I'll go and watch those who have already committed to us but also work on a big list of those who maybe could in the future. 'Stern came over in May and we went to watch some players because we have seven professionals in the English leagues – the likes of Terell Thomas at Carlisle, Arkell Jude-Boyd at Cheltenham, Chris Forino-Joseph at Bolton.' St Lucia are 165 in FIFA's rankings and the World Cup is not a realistic aim but they did have a good crack at qualification for this summer's Concacaf Gold Cup. They finished second to Curacao in the group stages, that after stunning Advocaat's side 2-1 in their opener. The big aim is to make progress as a nation with Morgan relishing the chance to be part of a professional football environment again. He did that with Newport County AFC under good friend Michael Flynn in 2017/18 – a season that featured the FA Cup games against Tottenham at Rodney Parade and Wembley – but it was a stretch. 'I remember that we had Lincoln away on a Tuesday night and I had to be in Exeter for work at 8am. We got back to the training ground at 3am,' said Morgan, who has a wife Lucy and children Cian and Kayleigh. 'I was committed to that season but it was tough, I've been offered opportunities in full-time football but, with the level that I would have to go in at, I couldn't risk my job in the outside.' Morgan has been part of the set-ups at Newport Corinthians, Newport YMCA, Chepstow, Monmouth, Cwmbran Celtic and Abergavenny, plus he also worked with the Exiles' academy before stepping up to help with the first team. 'I've been in semi-professional football for the last 15 years since I stopped playing and it's always been something running alongside my job, working with some very good Welsh teams before going over to England,' he said. 'Now I've got this opportunity to go over to the Caribbean and represent a country, and I love the togetherness that we have as a squad and staff. 'This gives me the chance to get that experience of a professional football environment with the camps three or four times a year. I love it.'
Daily Record
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Mikel Arteta handed Rangers reminder as Arsenal boss suffers painful PSG flashback from old Ibrox pal
The Gunners crashed out of the last four of UEFA's premier competition Mikel Arteta was feeling the pain in Paris after Arsenal's Champions League exit when an old Rangers pal offered a reminder of another night of misery for the Spaniard in the French capital. The Gunners gaffer was just a fresh-faced teenager when he was on the home side, while on loan from Barcelona, in the Parc des Princes and they went out of the UEFA Cup to Dick Advocaat's Light Blues. It was a dramatic night with Rangers going through on penalties after two goalless draws with Arteta featuring in both games. And after Arsenal's 2-1 defeat to Luis Enrique's side in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final qualifier which saw them lose 3-1 on aggregate, former Rangers star Maurice Ross mentioned the game with the quip: 'Winning away to PSG isn't for everyone.' Ross also featured in both games and later became a friend and team-mate of Arteta's during the Spaniard's short time at Ibrox. It was during those European games that he caught the eye of Advocaat and Gers spies. Advocaat requested a report from chief scout Ewan Chester who watched the French giants away from home and returned with this message: 'Young Arteta is their most influential player." And while the Dutchman was departing Glasgow to make way for Alex McLeish, the club pushed the boat out to sign him four months later in a £6million deal from Barcelona. Arteta helped Rangers to a treble in his first full season in Scotland, scoring a penalty in a 6-1 Ibrox rout of Dunfermline Athletic on the final day of the 2002/03 campaign when McLeish's Rangers pipped Celtic to the title on goal difference. The second season didn't go to plan as the Light Blues ended the campaign trophyless and Arteta wasn't helped by the sale of current caretaker boss and his midfielder partner and captain Barry Ferguson to Blackburn Rovers at the start the season. He returned to Spain where he joined Real Sociedad, his hometown team, before coming back to Britain with spells with Everton and Arsenal where he became one of the finest midfielders in the league.
