Mario Gomez in awe of Rangers as ex striker and World Cup winner rave over same Ibrox night for the ages
Rangers are renowned for their incredible atmosphere on big European nights
A pair of German football heroes have described Rangers supporters as the best opposition fanbase that he has played against in Europe
Former Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart forward Mario Gomez has faced Rangers twice in his playing career with both meetings coming for Stuttgart in the 2007/08 Champions League Group Stage. The 78-time German international found the net after 56 minutes at Ibrox to send his side into a one goal lead but was left disappointed when Walter Smith’s side successfully fought their way back into the contest through goals from Charlie Adam and Jean-Claude Darcheville to secure a memorable 2-1 victory.
It sparked a two-match winning run for Rangers in the competition as they earned a shock 3-0 victory away at French champions Lyon through goals from Lee McCulloch, Daniel Cousin and DaMarcus Beasley. But the Gers ultimately had to settle for a place in the UEFA Cup after finishing third in the group with a total of just seven points. Gomez played no part in the second meeting between the two sides at Stuttgart due to injury but watched on from the sidelines as his side picked up a 3-2 win in front of their own supporters.
Mario Gomez praises incredible Ibrox atmosphere
When speaking with the TikTok user Fiago, Mario Gomez was asked to name the best atmosphere he had played in during a European contest. He responded: “That’s a difficult one. I would say the Scottish fans like Celtic but to me I played against the Rangers and I will never forget this. They’ve been really strong.”
The view ironically was shared by Gomez’s former international teammate Sami Khedira, who played in the same match for Stuttgart at Ibrox. The 2014 World Cup winner recalled: “For me the most craziest experience ever was my first Champions League match. We played Glasgow Rangers and it was such an amazing experience.”
When did Rangers last compete in the Champions League?
Rangers are looking to secure their place in the Champions League for the first time since automatically qualifying under Giovanni Van Bronckhorst in the 2022/23 season.
The Light Blues qualified for the competition by beating Union Saint-Gilloise and PSV Eindhoven in the qualifying rounds before being paired with Napoli, Liverpool and Ajax in a challenging group which saw the Light Blues lose all six games while conceding 22 times and scoring two.
Prior to that, Rangers fans have to go back to the days of Walter Smith in the 2010/11 season when they qualified automatically as champions of Scotland. On that occasion, they finished third in a group containing Man Utd, Valencia and Bursapor - picking up just one win, three draws and two defeats.
The Light Blues last progressed to the knockout stages under Alex McLeish in 2005/06 when they finished second in a group containing Inter Milan, Artmedia Bratislava and FC Porto before eventually being knocked out by Villarreal on away goals. Rangers will hope to return to the competition next season as they look to kickstart the 49ers in fashion with progression through the play-off stage.