GLEN KAMARA began his footballing career in the UK playing Sunday League in front of crowds barely out of single digits.
This coming week he’ll march out of the tunnel at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium in Seville with 43,000 packing the terraces.
Just over five kilometres away as many as 60,000 Rangers supporters who couldn’t get their hands on a ticket will pack into the Estadio La Cartuja to watch the match.
It's been an incredible come-up for Kamara who fondly recalls his time playing for Sunday side Westway in Ladbroke Grove with mum, Peggy, just as big a fan – and occasional kit woman.
“When I first came to the UK I was playing Sunday league so to now say I’m playing in a Europa League Final is crazy,” explained Kamara.
“I appreciate it more because of that. I’d have been playing in front of ten or twenty people.
“Not many at all. 50,000 people, wow. It’s an honour to play in front of our fans at Ibrox.
“I played for a team called Westway. It’s a team from my area I grew up in Ladbroke Grove.
“I was a striker back then believe it or not.”
Southend United were Kamara's first club back in 2011 before a move to the Arsenal youth academy in 2012. Following loans to Southend and Colchester Kamara joined Dundee then signed on with Rangers in 2019.
Midfielder Kamara doesn’t expect the magnitude of the occasion to hit home until he is in Seville on Wednesday. But he’s certain it’ll mean just as much to his mother, who’ll be in the stands.
“My mum will definitely be there so she’ll be buzzing.
“She’s always been there backing me and helping me out so I can always rely on her.
“She will probably shed a tear.
“She’s delighted and probably can’t believe it herself but she’s just excited, so it’ll be nice for us.
“I feel everyone who’s seen me (from back home), played with me, supported me have all given me lots of messages and the support has been amazing.”
Rangers have overcome expectations – sometimes disrespectful – from opposition sides and detractors during the dream run to the Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side have taken major scalps on the way to the final with RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund and Braga dispatched in the knockout rounds.
Asked what has made Rangers so successful so far in Europe, Kamara only needed one word; “Ibrox!”.
Unfortunately, there’s a limitation on tickets for Rangers fans with around 9,000 briefs allocated to fans of the Ibrox side. But there’ll be thousands more heading to Seville – and Kamara reckons they’ll still have an influence on the match.
“Ibrox (has been the difference),” said Kamara on the success in the Europa League.
“Throughout the whole tournament we have been good as a team. And when we beat Dortmund it became reality, not just a dream.
“We are just delighted to be here. We missed the supporters last year, we wish we could have had them there with us.
“They would have spurred us on but luckily we still managed to win the league.
“In Europe we didn’t have that backing and this season they have been our 12th man.
“It probably inspires us and intimidates the opponents. It definitely pushes us on.
“They have been our 12th man and every time we come back to Ibrox it gives us a chance to beat everyone.
“You can sense that it affects the opponents.
“I spoke to one of the Leipzig players after the semi-final and he said that as the opposition you have to manage the first 20 minutes.
“You could see we were all over them, running about and the crowd was right behind us.
“I think the fans will still be there whether they’re in the stadium or outside. The support is amazing all the time. We’re grateful to it.”
Rangers have enjoyed relative success on the European stage both under Steven Gerrard and Van Bronckhorst, but the later has taken it that step forward and seems to excel on European nights.
The Dutch boss has tweaked his side throughout the competition, and Kamara reckons that’s what has made reaching the final a possibility.
He said: “I feel like we’ve gone toe to toe with everyone in Europe and not really been too afraid.
“We’ve been able to adapt to whoever we’re playing against which has really helped us in the long run.
“He (Van Bronckhorst) has given me different kind of pointers. I can’t really tell you too many but he has definitely helped myself out. Both managers have had their qualities, helped us as a team and individually.”
