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FC Zenit St. Petersburg - Rangers FC
City of Manchester, Manchester
Wednesday 14 May 2008 - 20.45CET (19.45 local time)
Smith seeks to dim Zenit ‘It’ factor
Rangers FC may provide one of the stories of this European season but manager Walter Smith believes FC Zenit St.Petersburg have already scored the campaign’s key result.
‘Exceptional’
Emphatic confirmation of the Russian champions’ élite status came with their semi-final second leg destruction of FC Bayern München, which Smith hailed as “exceptional”. The question occupying the Ibrox boss between Tuesday’s press conference at the City of Manchester Stadium and Wednesday’s UEFA Cup final will therefore be how to better Dick Advocaat’s “favourites”.
‘Best in Europe’
“I think Zenit are favourites because of their result in the semi-final,” said the former Scotland manager, who returned to the Rangers job in January 2007. “For Zenit to beat Bayern, who are well ahead in the Bundesliga, in the manner they did, makes them favourites for this game. You only have to look at the semi-final matches – 1-1 in Munich was an excellent result but 4-0 at home was exceptional and probably the result of the season in Europe. That’s how good they are.”
‘Nice surprise’
Smith went as far as to say that Zenit would have troubled the field in the UEFA Champions League had they entered that competition this season. It was after exiting the blue-riband European tournament, with a December defeat by Olympique Lyonnais, that Rangers’ continental adventure really began. “After a shaky start against Panathinaikos [FC], we picked up and managed to get good results to get us into the final. It is a nice surprise for us.”
Odds-defying
The Round of 32 triumph over the Greek side set a precedent, with a tight home leg in Glasgow being the prelude to an odds-defying success on foreign soil. The ties against Panathinaikos, Sporting Clube de Portugal and ACF Fiorentina were settled in the return fixture; the one exception to the rule, the Round of 16 defeat of Werder Bremen, owed itself to two goalkeeping errors at Ibrox followed by a heroic defensive display in Germany.
Different tack
Will the same winning formula account for Zenit? Smith’s answer suggested that backs-to-the-wall Rangers may yet be tempted on to the front foot. “We have defended very well in a lot of games, especially away, but in a final you have to go and win the game. So we may approach this match differently from other ones. The final throws up different situations from two-legged affairs.
One-off
“In the knockout rounds we have played, we have been home then away and that has dictated a lot of the way we have played. In the final it will be the circumstances of the evening, how well we play, which dictate whether or not we win.” A Rangers victory would put a glittering cap on the 60-year-old’s managerial career. The very thought of it is intoxicating. “It will be a very difficult game, but once you get here, you realise just how much it means to everyone. It starts to take over everything else.”
Advocaat relishing Rangers reunion
Dick Advocaat will come up against familiar opponents when he leads his FC Zenit St. Petersburg side out to contest the UEFA Cup final against a Rangers FC outfit he still refers to as “my club”.
Surprise appearance
There is a famous moment in England from January 1999 when Ron Atkinson, the newly-installed Nottingham Forest FC manager, marked his first game by climbing into the wrong dug-out and sitting among startled Arsenal FC substitutes. It came to mind on Tuesday as Walter Smith, Steven Naismith and Allan McGregor filed into media tent for the Rangers FC press conference, with Advocaat bringing up the rear.
No emotion
It was an unusual, unexpected sight, but after four successful years at Ibrox, the Dutchman holds the Scottish club dear to his heart. Friendships will be put aside at the City of Manchester Stadium, however. “Hopefully we will get a very good game with Zenit as winner,” said the 60-year-old. “That’s what I hope. I don’t become emotional because I am playing against a team where I was manager for four years. I feel very positive because this is a football match: hopefully it will be a great match from both teams.”
Bayern shocked
The Russian champions’ progress to their first ever UEFA club competition final certainly intimates that it will be. Villarreal CF, Olympique de Marseille and Bayer 04 Leverkusen were all unable to stop the Zenit juggernaut, which sent minor shockwaves around Europe when they saw off FC Bayern München in the last four thanks to a 4-0 second-leg victory. Smith has certainly taken note, though Advocaat doubts it will alter Rangers’ game plan, saying: “[Zenit] won’t change our system because of this game. We like to play our own style, and that’s probably what Rangers will do.
Rangers strength
“We have to worry about Rangers as a team. We have to keep an eye on every one of their players because they are a real team,” the veteran continued. “I know that if I was Rangers coach, I would be ready to play against a team who can play football really well and are well-organised.” Stepping in Walter Smith’s shoes is something that obviously comes easily for Advocaat, who claimed five trophies in his first two seasons at Ibrox after replacing Smith in 1998.
‘Great respect’
He went on to add another before leaving in 2002, but still follows their progress, and has been impressed with what he has seen of late. “With great respect, what Rangers have achieved in the last couple of years, when there was no money, that is a compliment to the staff and the directors,” said the former Netherlands coach, though his primary focus is on the immediate future. “Both teams know each other quite well and I don’t think there will be a big difference. The better team on the day will win.” He just has to concentrate on finding the right dug-out.
