Rafael van der Vaart stuck the boot into Rangers and claimed they are fully deserving of their tag as the worst ever Champions League team.
The former Holland international delivered his damning verdict after watching former club Ajax inflict the final blow on his old international team-mate Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side with a 3-1 win in Glasgow in their final Group A fixture.
Rangers did defeat Ajax’s Eredivisie rivals PSV Eindhoven to reach the group stage of UEFA’s premier competition for the first time in a decade but Van der Vaart, who also played for Spurs and Celtic’s Champions League opponents Real Madrid, claimed that was because Ruud van Nistelrooy’s men “screwed up." The 39-year-old is now working as a pundit in the Netherlands and told Sport Nieuws: “Rangers is a mediocre opponent, you have to admit that. That record of worst Champions League team ever? They deserve that too.”
Van der Vaart’s scathing comments came as he played down Ajax’s two wins over Rangers - 4-0 at home in the first group game before Tuesday’s victory at Ibrox - as he criticised the Dutch side’s own showing in the Champions League as they lost their four games against Liverpool and Napoli.
He said: “It (Ibrox) often looks a lot and grand when they play at home with those great fans behind it. But haven’t we seen them against Ajax? And against PSV? PSV screwed up against them, and Ajax just had a good evening two months ago. I see too many Ajax players who are not in shape. There is too much doubt, always hassle. In the Champions League you simply fall short.”
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