Dortmund fans wave their flags during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and VfL Bochum 1848 at Signal Iduna Park on September 27, 2024…Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund via Getty Images
Ibrox subplot gifts Rangers Champions League incentive as Borussia Dortmund host Celtic
There are levels to the pain of Rangers’ failure to qualify for the Champions League whilst Celtic were safely guaranteed a spot in this season’s competition.
With a revamped tournament worth in excess of £30m to its participants, Rangers have had to settle for a place in the Europa League as their Old Firm rivals dine at Europe’s top table.
Between win bonuses, TV cash, international exposure and the lure of football’s biggest club competition for would be signings, it has been a clear advantage that Celtic have boasted over Rangers this season.
The glamour of playing football’s biggest names on its biggest stage also brings with it an attraction which just isn’t on offer until the latter stages of the Europa League competition.
But as the Parkhead side gear up for MD2 of the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund this evening, there is an interesting Rangers subplot which Gers fans will hope has a happier ending than the one involving Vladimir Weiss.
READ MORE: Injury to £50m-rated Premier League star could hand Gers hero his chance
Giovanni Reyna of Borussia Dortmund and head coach Nuri Sahin of Borussia Dortmund during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Eintra…
Photo by Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images via Getty Images
Rangers given extra Champions League incentive
It’s worth noting that Celtic are effectively in the Champions League courtesy of Rangers’ monumental work in rebuilding Scotland’s shattered coefficient.
The Ibrox side’s recent Euro exploits have guaranteed our nation an automatic Champions League place for the last three seasons, with Celtic’s domestic dominance allowing them to take full advantage of our hard work and widen a pre-existing financial gap.
It hurts us all, and you better hope this new-look Rangers team use the pain of our rivals galavanting around the Champions League as they gun for the tournament next season.
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We’ve also got to deal with fawning press coverage of the Gallowgate Galacticos who’ve already convinced themselves they’ve got a chance of winning the entire thing.
Coefficient or not, there’s not a Rangers fan out there who isn’t hoping to see the Parkhead side put back into their place by one of European football’s top sides.
With Celtic all set to face last season’s beaten Champions League Finalists, as if Rangers fans needed any more reason to cheer for the opposite side, one ex-Ibrox star’s son has given them it.
Ibrox star’s son playing for Borussia Dortmund
Giovanni Reyna is one of the more interesting subplots as Borussia Dortmund prepare to face Celtic in the Champions League in Germany.
Rangers fans will take note of the 21-year-old’s surname, with the USA international the son of one Claudio Reyna, formerly of the Ibrox parish.
But the links don’t end there either.
Claudio Reyna spent two seasons at Rangers between 1999 and 2001 and struck up a strong friendship with another familiar ex-Gers face in Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
The former Ibrox midfielder and Rangers manager is Giovanni Reyna’s Godfather, with the midfielder named after the legendary ex-Netherlands icon.
Rangers fans will remember the press coverage around the two when the Gers famously overcame Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League playoffs en route to Seville.
But we’re sure bluenoses everywhere will be donning their black and yellow in support of Giovanni this time around as Old Firm rivals Celtic descend on the famous Westfalenstadion, or Signal Iduna Park as it’s known these days.
Whilst Giovanni Reyna will be focused on doing it for Borussia Dortmund, Rangers fans won’t mind asking the midfielder to pull one out the bag for his old dad.
Related Topics
Champions League
claudio reyna
Giovanni Reyna
Giovanni Van Bronckhorst
Old Firm
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