GIOVANNI VAN BRONCKHORST was left pinching himself as he watched his Rangers side book a place in the Europa League final with a thrilling 3-1 win over RB Leipzig at Ibrox.
The Bundesliga outfit won the first leg in Germany 1-0 but found themselves trailing at the break in Govan thanks to goals from James Tavernier and Glen Kamara.
A Christopher Nkunku strike midway through the second half levelled the scores and ensured a dramatic finale in the semi-final before John Lundstram popped up with the winning goal.
Speaking to BT Sport, Van Bronckhorst revealed that the players and coaching staff paid tribute to Jimmy Bell, the long-serving Rangers kitman who died earlier this week, as he hailed his team’s achievement.
“Wow, I think it’s very hard to find words,” he said. “It’s been an amazing night.
“We said before the game we were going to do everything possible to make sure we were in the final and I think the players were fantastic together with the crowd. We made it the atmosphere we needed to overcome this opponent.
“You cannot write a script better than this. We are all very proud to reach the final and we all toasted Jimmy.”
The Rangers boss believes that the raucous backing his team received provided a boost for his players while simultaneously throwing the Germans off their stride as he saluted his team’s tactical versatility.
“The atmosphere goes both ways,” he explained. “For us, it’s very important to help us during the game and for the opponent it’s difficult to play in the circumstances. They are a team with a lot of experience and quality. To win against them is amazing.
“You have to be versatile because teams like Red Bull see how you play and they change tactics and make moves like chess. We have to react and make moves too.
“It’s 90 minutes of thinking, looking and discussing and making the right choices in the moment. I’m really happy the decisions went our way.
“[The timing of the winning goal] was vital. We knew Leipzig would come at us. There was a great save by Allan [McGregor] before the 2-1 but to score in the last 10 minutes gives you an enormous boost.”
Reaching a European final in his first season in the job at Rangers was not in Van Bronckhorst’s remit when the Dutchman succeeded Steven Gerrard last year but now that he is on the brink of history, the coach urged his players to go all the way and lift the cup.
“Of course it wasn’t what I was thinking,” he added. “My first game in charge was against Sparta Prague and we knew the result would take us into Europe after the break.
“That was our goal but we have taken each opponent game by game and I’m very proud of our achievements.
“Now we play a final. Not many players play finals. I played one with Barcelona in the Champions League in Paris and a World Cup final in South Africa.
“It’s not for every player. But we have to do everything to win it.”
