Rangers FC is one of the two biggest and most well-supported teams in Scotland. Given the size of the country, that might not seem like a particularly impressive stat. However, the passion for football in Scotland, and in particular the city of Glasgow where Rangers are based, is arguably stronger than pretty much anywhere else in Europe, if not the world.
Formed in 1872, in that time they have won the Scottish First Division Championship 55 times, the Scottish Cup 33 times, and the Scottish League Cup 27 times. They have pedigree in Europe too, winning the European Winners’ Cup in 1972, and coming second in the UEFA Cup (now the Europa League in 2008.
Despite all this success, disaster struck in 2012, when the team entered administration and was relegated down to the Third Division. Slowly over the years, they climbed back into the Premiership, with the aim to get back to the top of the Scottish football pyramid. For that, they needed a serial winner in charge.
Steven Gerrard had a glittering playing career, winning the Champions League, UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League cup as a Liverpool player, his boyhood club, which he also captained for much of his career. When he retired, it seemed inevitable that he would take the step into management. Instead of taking the first big job that came his way, he bided his time, leading the Liverpool youth teams for a few seasons.
When the Rangers job became available in 2018, it seemed like a match made in heaven. Within three seasons, he took them to the league title for the first time in 10 years, ending the league campaign undefeated with 102 points. Fans who used Wagerweb to place rolling bets on Rangers to not lose that season would have won a lot of money indeed.
Domestic success is obviously key, but Rangers fans will also want Gerrard and his team to succeed in European competitions. Given his success in Europe as a player, can the former Liverpool number 8 take Rangers far in this year’s Europa League? Let’s have a look to see how they’ve started in the competition.

Struggles so far
As champions of Scotland, Rangers had the chance to qualify for the Champions League. Despite their best efforts, they were defeated by Swedish side Malmo 2-1 in both legs, meaning that they instead would be entering the Europa League. Given the size of the club and the depth of their squad, this seemed like a good outcome for the Scottish side.
Unfortunately, they have not gotten off to a very good start in the competition. Their first fixture was against Lyon, the French side who had finished fourth in Ligue 1. A strong team, they proved too much for Rangers, winning 2-0 thanks to goals from Karl Toko Ekambi and an own goal scored by James Tavernier.
Their second game didn’t go much better, as they lost 1-0 to Sparta Prague. Matters were made even worse as Glen Kamara was sent off. It appears that the Sparta Prague fans were booing Kamara and the other black players in Rangers’ team every time they touched the ball, in a blatant act of racial abuse. UEFA are looking into the incident, and will hopefully punish the Czech side, as this clearly affected Gerrad’s men.
Two games gone, 0 points, and bottom of their group. It certainly doesn’t look great for Rangers in the Europa League right now.
Can they turn it around, and progress like they did last season?
In the previous campaign, Rangers were very successful in the Europa League. In their six group games, they won four and drew just twice, meaning they topped the group. It wasn’t an easy group either; Benfica and Standard Liege have appeared in the Champions League in recent years, and Lech Poznan have beaten Manchester City in Europe within the last ten years,
They made it through the first knockout stage, beating Royal Antwerp 4-3 and 5-2, to progress to the round of 16. It was here they came unstuck, as they lost 3-1 on aggregate to Slavia Prague.
To make it to the knockout stages this year will be incredibly difficult, as you would imagine they would have to win at least three of their remaining four games, and hope that the other sides beat each other. Gerrard will have to galvanise his players and make them believe it is possible. If he can get them on side, then the fans will start to believe too. With them cheering Rangers on, it could well have a positive effect in their remaining matches.
The next fixture comes on the 21st of October when Danish side Brondby pay a visit to Ibrox. Let’s hope Rangers can grab a win, and get their Europa League campaign back on track.