Billy McNeill. John Greig. Willie Miller.
The only three captains of Scottish clubs to have hoisted a European trophy into the skies of Lisbon, Barcelona and Gothenburg respectively.
The last name in that trio of legendary leaders believes that they will soon have to shuffle along a bit to make space for a fourth member of their exclusive club.
In fact, former Aberdeen captain Miller is convinced that James Tavernier will turn the trio into a quartet by leading Rangers to Europa League glory in Seville eight days from now.
The former Dons and Scotland defender, who led his side to that never-to-be-forgotten victory over Real Madrid in the 1983 European Cup Winners’ Cup, is confidence that Rangers will have enough to add Eintracht Frankfurt to the Bundesliga scalps of Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig to become the first Scottish club to win two Euro trophies.
And he believes that in Tavernier, they have a man who deserves a place alongside himself, McNeill and Greig - just as Giovanni van Bronckhorst will merit his place in the pantheon of managerial greats alongside Jock Stein, Willie Waddell and Sir Alex Ferguson if Rangers come home with the trophy.
Miller believes the Dutchman has done a remarkable job after coming in midway through a campaign that could have been derailed by Steven Gerrard’s sudden departure in November but has somehow fashioned a run all the way to the final on a fraction of the budget of the teams they’ve left trailing in their wake.
“This is a Rangers team that has done magnificently well (in Europe) over a number of years, and you have to throw into the mix that they lost a manager during this journey and they’ve managed to cope with that,” he said.
“But it’s about belief and momentum and going out and actually believing that you’ve got the game won before you’re playing it.
“For them to lift the trophy would be just sensational, particularly when you look at them not having any strikers, so they have to do it a different way.
“Van Bronckhorst has changed the tactics, the shape of the team. He’s looked at the opposition.
“Steven Gerrard didn’t really do that. He believed in playing a certain way, but Van Bronckhorst has proved fluid in terms of the tactical situation and he takes a huge amount of credit for this run.
“Add to that the co-efficient and the benefit Scottish football is feeling in European terms, and the fact that they could play with Celtic in the Champions League next term, it’s just sensational.
“Going back four or five years, could you imagine talking about Scottish teams playing European finals and going directly into the Champions League? Hearts going into the Europa League or Conference League until Christmas?”
While Van Bronckhorst has orchestrated this run from the sidelines, his on-field lieutenant has led by example, scoring seven goals to be the top scorer in the Europa League. Not bad for a right back, Miller contends, of Tavernier.
Speaking on the Radio Scotland Sportsound podcast, he added: “A big part of being a captain is consistency, being there every week and your attitude and consistency. He’s got that.
“Andy Robertson looks as though he is a great communicator with Scotland, but is that really that vital? I don’t know if it is.
“For me, the most important part of being a skipper is what you do on the field of play. How you handle yourself out there. The fact that you can communicate by your performance that ‘this means everything to me’ and that;s the type of player I see Tavernier being.
“When he goes onto the pitch, you know you are going to get absolutely everything out of him. If you can get 11 players doing the same thing, you’ve got a very good side.
“Add that to the talent he’s got and the goals he gives Rangers, then he’s perfect material for the captaincy.”
And one, he believes is going to be a European winner.
Miller added: “There are only three Scottish teams who have picked up European trophies over decades and now we are in a position where we are speaking about who is the favourite in this tie, and for me it has got to be Rangers.
“The only thing that might work against them is not having that atmosphere at Ibrox. It’s a one-off, so they don’t have that to draw strength from but what they do have is that belief.
“This has been a long journey for them. Back in the day when I played, it was a very short journey you had to get to a European final.
“We won it in ‘83 and were in the semi final in ‘84. You still had to beat top teams and back then the German teams were the top teams. The Bundesliga was certainly the big league and if you can get yourself past those clubs it gave you the belief that you could lift the trophy.”
“We beat Bayern Munich and that is when it turned for us, there’s no doubt about that. Bayern Munich...how do you take on the giants and overturn them? But we had that belief and it had been building over a number of years.”
Sounds a bit like Rangers. In the opinion of the last man to do it, it sounds EXACTLY like Rangers.
