During their three full European campaigns of this era, Dick Advocaat was definitely a fan of the element of surprise. This could usually be via a tactical tweak or a surprise choice in the eleven. - on two occasions, he even elected to do both of these things simultaneously.
In October 1999, Rangers welcomed Dutch champions PSV to Ibrox for a Champions League group stage game. Advocaat deployed Scottish central midfielder Derek McInnes as a sweeper in front of the back four in this game, aiming to man-marking PSV’s legendary striker Luc Nilis.
McInnes duly delivered a fantastic performance as Rangers rampaged to a 4-1 victory over PSV in one of the most dominant performances ever at Ibrox in the premier competition.
Interviewed many years later, Nilis had this to say about Rangers and the tactical role McInnes performed that night.
“That was my first experience of Ibrox, and as usual, the fans were amazing. When they went 4-1 up, the fans kept on singing, demanding more. I remember they man-marked me. They put the player McInnes on me. It was like having a bulldog jumping on my neck.
“I couldn’t get free of him. Rangers were the team we had to beat to have any chance but, I have to admit, they were better than us.”
Advocaat tried to repeat the trick in this season’s final group stage game, deploying McInnes again as a sweeper in front of a back four when Valencia visited Ibrox. Rangers would lose this game 2-0, and McInnes was substituted just before halftime, but there is a school of thought that this may have been an error on the part of the Rangers manager.
McInnes said years later, “He took me off after 39 minutes, but crucially, I always remember Arthur Numan saying this to me: the manager made a mistake.
“I was operating as a sweeper in front of the back four, and Claudio Lopez scored from there about three minutes before the interval.
“The goal would not have happened if the manager had waited until halftime.
“We were left chasing the game. [Gaizka] Mendieta had scored the opener.
“To be fair, Dick apologised to me later and said it was nothing to do with my performance.
“He had a go at Lorenzo Amoruso.
“He felt he was allowing me to do his job for him.
“But obviously he was captain and a big player, so I was sacrificed.”
The manager repeated this trick the following season, as Rangers visited France to play Monaco in their second group game of the 2000/2001 Champions League. On this occasion, Advocaat switched to a 3-4-3 formation, and this time, experienced Turkish international Tugay Kerimoglu played in the sweeper role. The central midfielder delivered a masterful performance as Rangers beat Monaco 1-0 thanks to a delicious strike from Giovanni Van Bronckhorst. This tweak allowed Rangers to claim six points from their first two group games.
Despite being the match winner, Van Bronckhorst praised Tugay after the game, even calling him ‘the new Kaiser’, comparing his performance with that of legendary German sweeper Franz Beckenbauer.
As with fan favourites Lorenzo Amoruso and Jorg Albertz, it was common knowledge that Dick Advocaat and Tugay didn’t see eye to eye during their time at the club. Advocaat’s man management of players and prominent personalities certainly left a lot to be desired, and this would be a recurring theme, ultimately playing a considerable part in the eventual decline under his leadership. Advocaat was known throughout his career as a very strict disciplinarian, with the players regularly falling foul of his rules. His training was very tough, but he got immediate results. Still, as with anything, sometimes that hardline message wears off after a couple of seasons and players - particularly modern players - can start to resent a manager who was so stubborn and demanding. He had zero tolerance for coloured boots and an obsession with minute detail, which may have ruffled the feathers of some of the creative or laid-back players in the team.
Spoiler alert - it did.
European Pride Returns
Rangers had been consistently poor on the European stage since their fantastic run in the inaugural Champions League of season 1992/93, and further progress on the continental stage was deemed a big priority for Dick Advocaat.
Throughout these seasons, Rangers would defeat some of the best teams in Europe, including Bayer Leverkusen, Monaco and PSV Eindhoven, as mentioned, but also Parma and Borussia Dortmund, as they went some way to restoring their pride on the continent.
Rangers would play Parma in both of Advocaat’s first two seasons. In the round after the victory over Leverkusen, the might of Serie A would prove too strong as Rangers European campaign ended just before Christmas courtesy of a 4-2 aggregate defeat.
In their 1999/2000 campaign, Rangers would face Parma in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. What followed was one of the most incredible nights at Ibrox as Rangers defeated a star-studded team 2-0 in the first leg and secured a hard-fought 1-1 draw in Italy to qualify for the Champions League proper. As with so many other games during this era, Rangers tactical style was summed up by their terrific performances against top-level European opposition. The two goals scored by Rangers in the home leg will live long in the memory. The first was an unlikely goal from Tony Vidmar, as he cut in from his left-back berth, securing a fortunate deflection from Lillian Thuram to spin his shot over the head of Buffon in goals. The second was real quality: excellent work from Albertz and Rod Wallace to bring the ball forward and a lovely cushioned layoff by Michael Mols. There was Claudio Reyna to smash the ball into the net and blow the roof off Ibrox stadium.
Rangers came agonisingly close to qualifying from the subsequent Group of Death, ultimately losing out to Bayern Munich and eventual finalists Valencia in the last game of the group stages. Many believe the loss of Michael Mols — a player of explosive quality in the final third — was the deciding factor in Rangers’ failure to qualify from this group. Before this season started, the Rangers had swept all before them in Scotland, completing the domestic treble with relative ease, finishing six points ahead of the Celtics in the league while also beating them in the Scottish Cup final courtesy of a Rod Wallace goal.
Amidst the fanfare and financial outlay in the summer of 1998, the 28-year-old Londoner had sneaked in almost unannounced on a free transfer from Leeds United. Throughout his first two seasons at the club, Wallace scored 47 goals in just 95 appearances, making him one of the best value for money signings in the modern era. With all that said, many fans felt the one missing piece of the puzzle was a centre forward to provide competition for unlikely hero Wallace.
Advocaat agreed. The main signing in the summer of 1999 was Michael Mols, a 28-year-old Dutch forward signed from FC Utrecht for £4m. Mols would quickly endear him to the Rangers fans with his beaming smile and trademark shimmy used to throw defenders off his scent. He would make an electric start to his Ibrox career, scoring nine goals in his first nine league games, including four in one game against Motherwell, who had legendary Rangers ‘keeper Andy Goram in goals that day. Mols added four more goals in the Champions League by early November, but his explosive style of play captured the hearts and minds of the Rangers fanbase. His season was cruelly cut short in the last game of the group stages away to Bayern Munich. With Rangers needing just a draw to advance at the expense of their illustrious hosts, they started on fire, showcasing all of the dynamism and flair we had come to expect from Advocaat’s team on the European stage. Mols’ reactions were often laser-sharp, and he could take advantage of any defensive misstep in a split second. In the first half, he did just that as he raced to the touchline to pick up a ball deep in Bayern’s half. Oliver Kahn had different ideas and rushed out of goal to save the day. As Kahn slid in to clear the ball, Mols had to twist in the air to avoid landing on the German and, by doing so, shattered his knee on the turf. It was a cruel blow for Rangers to lose the player who had quickly become their talisman. The disappointment was magnified four minutes later as Thomas Strunz converted a penalty to give the German champions the lead. Throughout the game, Rangers hit the woodwork three times and put a defence, including 38-year-old Lothar Matthaus, under pressure they rarely experienced, especially at home.
After the game, Bayern Munich manager Ottmar Hitzfeld said
“There are many high calibre teams in the Uefa Cup but Rangers are capable of winning it.
“I am very satisfied to be in the last 16 but I know we were very lucky to win this match. I am not surprised at how Rangers played. They are a team of great substance and one of the top clubs in Europe.”
It was not to be, and Rangers dropped into the UEFA Cup Third Round, where they would face another German opponent, Borussia Dortmund.
Rangers opened the scoring against Dortmund at Ibrox courtesy of a Jurgen Kohler own goal, but it was to be that man Rod Wallace who would help soften the blow of Michael Mols’ long-term injury. Perhaps the most stylish goal scored in the history of Ibrox Stadium was finished off beautifully by the Englishman, but not before 20 passes involving all 10 Rangers outfield players. Rangers dragged Dortmund’s defence apart with quick movement and incisive passing to create space for Arthur Numan to thread a delicious ball through to Jorg Albertz. The German’s first-time cutback was perfectly timed for the onrushing Wallace, who calmly slotted the ball beyond the Dortmund keeper. It showcased Advocaat’s version of Total Football flawlessly and would have been a worthy winner of any game.
As it was, the game finished with no more goals, and Rangers took a healthy 2-0 lead to the famous Westfalenstadion. Alas, an agonising equaliser in injury time by Fredi Bobic - complete with a Jens Lehmann assist after the keeper came up for a corner - and a defeat on penalties put paid to European football at Ibrox for another season.
In their last full campaign under Advocaat in 2000/01, Rangers would again qualify for the Champions League group stages following routine victories against Žalgiris Kaunas and Herfølge BK in qualifying. Rangers enjoyed a fantastic start to this campaign, defeating Sturm Graz 5-0, with Ronald de Boer scoring his first Rangers goal and the aforementioned 1-0 victory away in Monaco to rack up six points from six. Unfortunately, Rangers defensive issues and Advocaat’s stubbornness would be their downfall as they picked up just two more points whilst still securing third place and UEFA Cup football.
Ajax and Barcelona legend Ronald de Boer had injury issues throughout his time at Ibrox, but his undoubtedly star quality elevated Rangers whenever he played for the club. Ironically, he would save his best season until later, notching 20 goals from midfield in 2002/03, 18 months after his compatriot Advocaat’s departure.
The Downturn
The signings in that summer of 2000 didn’t all manage to reach the levels as the previous years, with players seemingly arriving randomly with no apparent thought as to how they would fit into the existing tactical set-up. Amongst this summer’s signings, Bert Konterman, Fernando Ricksen and Tore Andre Flo were signed for more than £20m and were arguably not at the existing squad’s level. A disappointing domestic season followed as the club finished 15 points behind a resurgent Celtic in the league. A points total made all the more stark when you consider that Rangers finished the 1999/2000 season an enormous 21 points ahead.
Advocaat spent big that summer only to preside over a 36-point swing in the league; this would be the beginning of the end. After starting the 2001/02 campaign poorly and finding themselves 12 points behind Celtic by mid-December, he was ‘moved upstairs’ to a Director of Football, with Hibernian boss Alex McLeish named his successor. McLeish would enjoy a similar first 18-month spell to Advocaat, cajoling this squad to win another 5 out of 6 domestic trophies. This included a second domestic treble in five years in season 2002/03 as Rangers played an attack-focused, swashbuckling brand of football.
Summer 2003 saw monumental changes as the club’s financial challenges started to bite, resulting from the many years of excess. Some players who had served both managers well, including Arthur Numan, Lorenzo Amoruso, Neil McCann, and club captain Barry Ferguson, would depart as the wage bill was drastically reduced.
Advocaat would leave his role as Director of Football shortly afterwards to take up the job of Netherlands coach again. Indeed, at the time of writing, the now 76-year-old has had a further 20 coaching jobs in the intervening 22 years.
Fans fondly remember his time at Rangers, and his legacy will live on. He was the driving force behind building a first-class training facility on the outskirts of Glasgow. Auchenhowie opened its doors in July 2001 and is the base for all Rangers’ day-to-day activities across men’s, women’s, and academy teams. The Rangers academy has helped develop players such as Allan McGregor, Allan Hutton, Nathan Patterson, and Billy Gilmour, with hopefully many more to follow.
During his three full seasons at the club, Advocaat won two Scottish Premier League titles, two Scottish Cups, and one League Cup. Whilst there was plenty of domestic success, his tenure was defined by the progress made on the European stage, particularly the style of play and tactical flexibility implemented to defeat such illustrious continental teams.