Rangers FC coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst was visibly shaken on Wednesday evening after the dramatically lost Europa League final in Seville. The Scots went down after penalties against Eintracht Frankfurt and missed the first European cup in fifty years.
“Because of the penalty shootout, it became a lottery. And we were not on the right side,” said Van Bronckhorst at his press conference. “In grand finals you can create indelible memories, but losing a final hurts a lot. This is a big disappointment.”
Rangers took the lead in Seville in the second half with a goal from Joe Aribo. Eintracht Frankfurt equalized twenty minutes before the end via Rafael Borré and never missed 11 meters in the penalty series. At Rangers, Aaron Ramsey was the schlemiel; his penalty was saved by keeper Kevin Trapp.
“Of course Aaron is disappointed, but he took responsibility,” Van Bronckhorst defended his star player. “That’s what you want, players take a penalty that are ready and feel good about it. A miss is part of it and unfortunately for us that happened now.”
‘I can’t blame my players’
For Rangers, a fine European campaign came to a bitter end. The Scottish top club settled on the road to the final with Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig and had been able to win a European prize for the first time since the European Cup II in 1972.
Instead, Rangers remains, just like in 2008 – the FC Zenit of then coach Dick Advocaat was too strong in the final of the UEFA Cup – empty-handed. The Glasgow team can still close the season with a prize; Saturday awaits the final against Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Cup.
“You notice in the dressing room that everyone is depressed, but I can’t blame my players,” said Van Bronckhorst, who stepped in in November as the successor to Steven Gerrard. “They gave everything in this final, but also in the previous matches. We did everything we could.”