Doberman
Striker
I left Birmingham Airport on Wednesday afternoon extremely tentatively with an expectation of running battles with the local police and other unacceptable conduct that I was led to believe was the Glasgow Rangers way. I had never done a European away and had grown to understand that the Rangers support cause unnecessary trouble wherever they go. What I encountered was the exact opposite. I left Birmingham without a ticket and due to Rangers' reputation I wasn't keen on sitting in the home end but before I had even left the tarmac at Birmingham Airport I had folk taking my number and promising to sort me out! Genuine football supporters looking out for other genuine football supporters it could be said.
I had planned my trip to go via Hamburg. Rangers and Hamburg have a strong connection (similar in many ways to Sunderland - Feyenoord) and as such the Glaswegian Loyal had arranged for 3 coaches to depart Hamburg on the morning of the game and then return afterwards. This meant spending the night before in Hamburg. We were encouraged to spend our night in the St Pauli area of the city at Sportpub Tankstelle otherwise known as the home of the Hamburg Rangers Supporters club. I dropped my bags in the hotel and decided to take a walk to the Tankstelle. Sure enough lads I had briefly spoken to for 10 minutes in Birmingham greeted me at the bar and put me in contact with people that could possibly help on the ticket hunt. I then received an inbox from a stranger on FollowFollow (the Rangers equivalent to the SMB). I had spoken to him on FollowFollow briefly at the weekend but he remembered my plight and when a spare ticket come up he got in touch, told me he could email me a PDF of a ticket if I could find a printer to get it printed! He insisted that I worry about finding a printer rather than spending my evening trying to transfer the money. Luckily I had a good friend from Denmark who was attending the game the following day who sorted me out. The ticket was mine and the big bad Rangers fans had sorted me out!
That evening was spent in the Tankstelle with probably close to 150 other Rangers supporters. Not a hint of trouble, local tourists coming in for a pint and a chat when they heard the noise and the streets were self policed by the big bad Rangers. Anyone thinking they were big and clever stepping out of line was told to clamp it or f*ck off. The local police regularly drove by but their presence wasn't needed and they soon left again with a wave and a thumbs up.
Onto the match! We boarded the buses at just after 1pm, bus 1 hit a stray dog on the motorway, bus 3 was involved in a minor collision with another vehicle who claimed they never seen the massive bus that was in the way as they tried to join the road from the slip road but all 3 buses eventually arrived in one piece-ish with no complaints from any of the 150 Rangers fans on board. It was all part of the experience. I spent an hour pre-match in the club house and spotted Newcastle Brown Ale on tap! I informed my Danish friends that they need to get that sorted but they insisted it was popular although they would go for a lager out of respect for me.
The match itself was pure entertainment. Rangers supporters were insisting that a draw would be a good result and that they couldn't allow Midtjylland to take a big lead into the game at Ibrox. 6 goals followed, 5 of which came in a 20 minute spell. The noise was something to behold led by the trusty Union Bears ultras and their drum. Young and old were aware of the Union Bears and everyone participated as they jumped from song to song serenading the locals and the team with songs of Rangers history. The beat of each and every song controlled from the beat of the drum.
Rangers were excellent from front to back. Alfredo Morelos was at his unplayable best whilst Niko Katic strolled it in defence like a seasoned pro although Midtjylland did have a 10 minute spell in the second half where it looked like they could do the unthinkable and recover from 0-3 down but Scott Arfield soon ended all their hopes with a well worked goal resulting in a clever finish. The final 20 minutes was played out to the noise of the away end with the locals watching on from either side in awe. As the game finished I was expecting an announcement to inform us that we were going to face a hold back. I just couldn't believe that the local police could trust the Rangers support to leave the area safely and without bother but the announcement never came and they done the unthinkable and let the away end stroll out into the streets alongside the home support. Rangers fans responded by trading scarves with the locals, shaking hands with the stewards and taking selfies with the local police.
We boarded the buses and faced a 4 hour journey back into Germany. We landed back in Hamburg shortly after 2am after a loud and jubilant trip home with genuine football supporters with an undying and almost unhealthy obsession with their team. One of the many topics of conversation on the way back was how the big bad Rangers were once again rescuing the coefficient after Aberdeen let down Scotland once again in Europe.
I left Hamburg at lunchtime today and arrived home shortly after 7pm to reflect on a trip of a lifetime watching the... big bad Rangers in Europe.
German coach companies - 2/10
Rangers support - 10/10
Match - 10/10
Result - 10/10.
Comments on the big bad Rangers from the Danish Police - 10/10
www.thescottishsun.co.uk
I had planned my trip to go via Hamburg. Rangers and Hamburg have a strong connection (similar in many ways to Sunderland - Feyenoord) and as such the Glaswegian Loyal had arranged for 3 coaches to depart Hamburg on the morning of the game and then return afterwards. This meant spending the night before in Hamburg. We were encouraged to spend our night in the St Pauli area of the city at Sportpub Tankstelle otherwise known as the home of the Hamburg Rangers Supporters club. I dropped my bags in the hotel and decided to take a walk to the Tankstelle. Sure enough lads I had briefly spoken to for 10 minutes in Birmingham greeted me at the bar and put me in contact with people that could possibly help on the ticket hunt. I then received an inbox from a stranger on FollowFollow (the Rangers equivalent to the SMB). I had spoken to him on FollowFollow briefly at the weekend but he remembered my plight and when a spare ticket come up he got in touch, told me he could email me a PDF of a ticket if I could find a printer to get it printed! He insisted that I worry about finding a printer rather than spending my evening trying to transfer the money. Luckily I had a good friend from Denmark who was attending the game the following day who sorted me out. The ticket was mine and the big bad Rangers fans had sorted me out!
That evening was spent in the Tankstelle with probably close to 150 other Rangers supporters. Not a hint of trouble, local tourists coming in for a pint and a chat when they heard the noise and the streets were self policed by the big bad Rangers. Anyone thinking they were big and clever stepping out of line was told to clamp it or f*ck off. The local police regularly drove by but their presence wasn't needed and they soon left again with a wave and a thumbs up.
Onto the match! We boarded the buses at just after 1pm, bus 1 hit a stray dog on the motorway, bus 3 was involved in a minor collision with another vehicle who claimed they never seen the massive bus that was in the way as they tried to join the road from the slip road but all 3 buses eventually arrived in one piece-ish with no complaints from any of the 150 Rangers fans on board. It was all part of the experience. I spent an hour pre-match in the club house and spotted Newcastle Brown Ale on tap! I informed my Danish friends that they need to get that sorted but they insisted it was popular although they would go for a lager out of respect for me.
The match itself was pure entertainment. Rangers supporters were insisting that a draw would be a good result and that they couldn't allow Midtjylland to take a big lead into the game at Ibrox. 6 goals followed, 5 of which came in a 20 minute spell. The noise was something to behold led by the trusty Union Bears ultras and their drum. Young and old were aware of the Union Bears and everyone participated as they jumped from song to song serenading the locals and the team with songs of Rangers history. The beat of each and every song controlled from the beat of the drum.
Rangers were excellent from front to back. Alfredo Morelos was at his unplayable best whilst Niko Katic strolled it in defence like a seasoned pro although Midtjylland did have a 10 minute spell in the second half where it looked like they could do the unthinkable and recover from 0-3 down but Scott Arfield soon ended all their hopes with a well worked goal resulting in a clever finish. The final 20 minutes was played out to the noise of the away end with the locals watching on from either side in awe. As the game finished I was expecting an announcement to inform us that we were going to face a hold back. I just couldn't believe that the local police could trust the Rangers support to leave the area safely and without bother but the announcement never came and they done the unthinkable and let the away end stroll out into the streets alongside the home support. Rangers fans responded by trading scarves with the locals, shaking hands with the stewards and taking selfies with the local police.
We boarded the buses and faced a 4 hour journey back into Germany. We landed back in Hamburg shortly after 2am after a loud and jubilant trip home with genuine football supporters with an undying and almost unhealthy obsession with their team. One of the many topics of conversation on the way back was how the big bad Rangers were once again rescuing the coefficient after Aberdeen let down Scotland once again in Europe.
I left Hamburg at lunchtime today and arrived home shortly after 7pm to reflect on a trip of a lifetime watching the... big bad Rangers in Europe.
German coach companies - 2/10
Rangers support - 10/10
Match - 10/10
Result - 10/10.
Comments on the big bad Rangers from the Danish Police - 10/10
Rangers fans praised by Danish cops for creating 'wonderful atmosphere' last night
DANISH cops have praised Rangers fans for their good banter and atmosphere during the game last night. More than 700 supporters of the Govan club were at MCH Area to enjoy their sides 4-2 win agai…
www.thescottishsun.co.uk
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