It was billed as a clash of two footballing styles. Fiorentina, under now Italy coach Cesare Prandelli, had fought off all comers with a bold, attacking 4-3-3 formation. With Riccardo Montolivo orchestrating wave after wave of purple onslaught from the midfield, La Viola could call upon Giampaolo Pazzini, Adrian Mutu, and Mario Santana to slice through the Rangers back four. To put into context the extent to which Rangers were up against it, the Florentine front three that night cost precisely double the entire Rangers starting XI.
Rangers, on the other hand, were a team built upon tactical discipline, defending deep, and the counter attack. This was epitomised in the away leg of the previous tie against the Portuguese outfit, Sporting CP. Having cancelled each other out at Ibrox, Rangers had to score at the José Alvalade to avoid the game going into extra time; truly as unwelcome a thirty minutes you can get when you're chasing a quadruple.
After an edgy first half, which had given little indication as to who would progress, the Rangers goal would have had Walter Smith jumping for joy not just because it meant that Rangers would surely progress, but in the manner in which it was scored. A long ball out of defence was won by Darcheville, the lone striker, on the half way line. After skilfully flicking it on to Steven Davis, on the right, the Ulsterman burst forward, deep into Sporting territory, before squaring it for the ever-running Darcheville to slot home. Ping, ping, ping. 1-0 Rangers.
That gives you a gist of what Rangers' campaign had been like. Control the opposition, then strike when they lose concentration for a second. The critics had written it off as dull, and claimed that it could have been replicated by any team willing to give up their puristic football soul. However, the opposite is probably true. For the neutral, it probably wasn't fascinating, but for the Rangers support, it was captivating. Knowing that, despite the opposition's apparent superiority, this team could create something out of nothing- it kept you quite literally glued to the match. As for the 'anyone could do it' argument- what a load of nonsense! Counter attack at the wrong time, and you're dead meat. It requires tremendous knowledge of your opposition, your own limits, and of football in general. José Mourinho would have been proud.
That being said, Rangers were still the underdogs.
Fiorentina were sitting 4th in the Serie A, above Milan, and had recorded some decent results, such as an away win in Turin against Juventus.
Conversely, Rangers were going through a horrible run of form on the home front. Two consecutive away defeats to Celtic had seen them loosen their grip on a championship that was seemingly destined for Ibrox back in March. A draw against Dundee United in the league, and being taken to penalties by St. Johnstone in the Scottish Cup semi finals meant that, domestically, Rangers had not won in 90 minutes since beating Celtic 1-0 on the 29th of March. In fact, of the seven matches played by Rangers in the April of 2008, the only victory was the scalp of Sporting in Lisbon.
Furthermore, Rangers had been dominated by the Italians at home the previous week; what chance did they stand in the fortress of Franchi? Their opponents were yet to lose at home in the competition. Even more forebodingly, they had never failed to score in Florence. This meant that any Fiorentina goal would require a reply from Rangers; a very awkward proposition for a side that depended on its adversaries committing too many men forward.
Those who had put money on a Viola victory would have had little to worry about on the basis of the first 45 minutes. Rangers had failed to get a single shot on target, and despite his best efforts, Darcheville was time and time again being pulled back for offside. Barry Ferguson could only stand by and watch, as Fiorentina drove at Rangers time and time again. One commentator was moved to remark upon the quality of Rangers one touch football- they touched the ball once, then gave it straight back to Fiorentina! Surely the Italians would find a goal sooner or later?
They kept pushing and pushing, as the Glaswegian defence looked shakier and shakier, as if surrender was inevitable. Midway through the second half, the industrious Darcheville was taken off for Rangers' Gabonese striker, Daniel Cousin. Many believed Rangers' 'enigma' at the time to be Kris Boyd, but it was really Cousin who deserved that title. On his day, he was unplayable. Strong, quick, with a marvellous shot, he had scored some vital goals for Rangers that season, the pick of the bunch being a wonderful shot on the turn to help Rangers conquer Lyon 3-0 in France. However, he had seen a £3m January move to Fulham fall through, and Cousin had been accused of poor discipline, of not having his heart in it, and generally just waiting to leave the club. Sadly, this was not to be his finest hour in the royal blue. More on that later.
Around this time, each team made another change. Fiorentina brought on the veteran Christian Vieiri for the nullified Giampaolo Pazzini, while Walter Smith exchanged the exhausted Steven Davis for the fresh legs of fan-favourite Nacho Novo. As it would happen, these two substitutes were going to have a massive say on who would reach the final.
One minute after coming on, Vieri missed the chance of the tie, blasting wide from a yard out. Hearts were not so much as in mouths as they were about to be vomited out onto the floor. Fiorentina and Rangers both had a couple of half chances between them, but that was that for the 90 minutes. Rangers had done what no other European team had managed that season; they had held Fiorentina for 90 minutes at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. Though holding on for another 30 minutes was an entirely different matter.
It was more of the same for Rangers in extra time. Vieri was getting closer and closer. This was a guy who had 49 caps for the Italian national team, and had scored 23 times for them. Not to mention the 103 goals he had scored for Internazionale over six seasons on the black and blue side of Milan. The Rangers support still had hope though. This was, after all, the team that had so often created something out of nothing. Daniel Cousin was a good player, he could do something. All he needed was one good ball....
Turned out he really needed one good brawl. After kissing Fabio Liverani in the most Glaswegian way possible, Rangers were down to ten men in Florence. With the lone striker gone, Rangers just had to hold on for another fifteen minutes, and hope to find salvation in the lottery of the penalty shoot out. And lo and behold, they did. After excellent chances for Mutu and that man Vieri, Rangers had a real shot of firing themselves to Manchester. For all their 59% possession, their 10 corners, and their 19 shots on goal, Fiorentina had failed to breach the impermeable Rangers defence.
Rangers were to strike first in the shootout. It was Captain Fantastic Barry Ferguson up against the talismanic Sebastien Frey. Ferguson had blue blood pumping through his body. Since the age of nineteen, barring an 18 month hiatus at Blackburn, Ferguson had been the darling of the Ibrox support. Captain since 2000, there was little the Hamilton native could do wrong. Well, except miss a penalty in the semi finals of the UEFA Cup. After his effort was saved by Frey, Ferguson later confessed that he felt like 'jumping off the Kingston Bridge'.
When the Serbian Kuzmanovic slotted home for Fiorentina's first, it looked like Rangers, despite their heroic efforts, would end their European adventure on a balmy evening in the Renaissance City. However, as luck would have it, Rangers would experience a renaissance of their own. Steven Whittaker kept Rangers' hopes alive with a cool finish, sending Frey the wrong way. After saluting the travelling support, it was a big thank you to Stevie, and time for Fiorentina to reply. Montolivo cooly converted to make it 2-1 to the Italians. With 3 penalties left each, Rangers just had to keep scoring, and hope Alexander could do something in goal.
Of all people to stand up and be counted, it was Bosnian Sasa Papac who was next up for Rangers. The last remaining relic of Paul Le Guen at the club, the left back cut a steady, unassuming figure on the pitch. This was a man who had survived not only a car crash, but a civil war too. A penalty in a European semi-final? Water off a duck's back. 2-2.
Still, the advantage lay with Fiorentina. Experienced midfielder Fabio Liverani was to deliver their third penalty. After eight years in Serie A, the Rome born 32 year old could surely be depended on to find the target. And he did. Except Alexander, Rangers' reserve keeper up until this match, threw himself to his left, and denied his Italian opponent. Game on.
Rangers still had to keep their heads though. The scores had merely be levelled. If Hemdani was to miss, and the next Florentine player was to score, then Fiorentina would only have to convert their last penalty to reach the final. Thankfully, the majestic Hemdani knocked it home, showing about as much stress as he would show brushing his teeth.
Now it was Vieri's turn. Guilty of passing up chance after chance, this was the best way he could have redeemed himself to the Fiorentina faithful. Looking Alexander dead in the eye, he confidently stepped up, and proceeded to blast it over the bar. Advantage Rangers.
I could write about what happened next, but whatever semantics I put down on this page would be a mere shadow of the emotions felt by Rangers fans upon watching Nacho Novo step up to take the winning penalty. Here's the video:
Rangers knees crumbled, with joy while Florentine hearts broke with sorrow. It wasn't pretty, but the Scottish team built on a shoestring had overcome their chic Italian opponents. All of a sudden, Rangers could forget their domestic troubles, because this on this warm spring night in Florence, Rangers Football Club had earned themselves another European final.
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