1959/60: Rangers v Eintracht Frankfurt, European Cup

THE great Rangers team of the early sixties was beginning to take shape as the Light Blues entered the 1959/60 European Cup. They were taking part in the competition for the third time, having won the Scottish League ahead of Hearts. It was a European campaign that started with some promise, only to end in humiliation at the hands of their first ever German opponents.

Anderlecht, Red Star Bratislava and Sparta Rotterdam were defeated en route to a semi-final clash against West German champions Eintracht Frankfurt. Rangers went into the tie knowing the final was to be played at Hampden Park, against either Barcelona or four-times cup-winners Real Madrid.

But Rangers’ dreams of taking on one of the Spanish giants in their home city were extinguished as they suffered one of their worst ever defeats. Eintracht were undoubtedly a good team, but there have to be question marks over how well prepared Rangers were under their manager Scot Symon. In Tor! - his history of German football - Ulrich Hesse-Lichtenberger tells how, on landing in Germany, ahead of the first leg, Symon was asked his views on the local favourites. His reply was surprisingly dismissive. ‘Eintracht? Who are they?’ Later, asked if he would like to inspect the pitch, Symon answered: ‘Why? One pitch is like the next. We'll have time to inspect the pitch during the match’.

It was an astonishing attitude to take. In the previous round, Sparta coach Denis Neville had shown what could be achieved with thorough preparation. A team of undoubtedly inferior players had gone close to knocking Rangers out, almost entirely because their manager had identified the threats they would face and how best to nullify them.

It would perhaps be unfair to single Symon out for criticism on this issue though. His approach was hardly unusual at the time, particularly among British managers, and subsequent Rangers managers undoubtedly took the same attitude, particularly when taking on ‘lesser’ teams.

As Jim Baxter put it, ‘We would play against Inter Milan the way we played against Partick Thistle and Third Lanark. We didn’t change anything but you can’t do that in Europe.’ Team mate Harold Davis also questioned the approach taken in the early days of European competition in the book Follow On: Fifty Years of Rangers in Europe. ‘I think Rangers did pretty well considering, in these European ties, but I don’t think we were up to the standard we should have been. Our tactics were a bit behind the times; we were plodding a wee bit. Scot Symon was a great manager, but, like the rest of Scottish football, he was slow in catching up with the times. His attitude was: Get it up the wing, get it over and head it in the net. But times were changing and Scot didn’t. '

In the first leg in Frankfurt, on April 18th 1960, things looked good for Rangers as they held the Germans to one-all in the first half. Stinka’s goal in the 27th minute was quickly cancelled out by a Caldow penalty, given after McMillan was brought down. But in the second half, the Scots were blown away. Cheered on by a raucous crowd of almost 80,000, Eintracht came flying out of the blocks, regaining the lead in the 51st minute. The goals kept coming, each one met by rockets and fireworks from the crowd, and each attack looking like it could result in a score. The final score was 6-1, leaving Rangers no chance of making the final.

The torture continued in the second leg at Ibrox, where an astonishing 70,000 had turned out in hope of a miracle. It was not to be. Rangers managed to breach the German defence three times through McMillan (2) and Wilson, but Eintracht scored another six goals, giving them a 12-4 aggregate victory.

The Rangers fans sportingly applauded the Germans at the end of the match and the players returned the compliment by standing in a line and raising both their arms in acknowledgment, first to the supporters in the terracing then to the main stand.

The Eintracht performance was big news back home in West Germany, with the sportswear firm Adidas taking out adverts in the sports papers hailing the victorious team and showing them lined up before the match in the brand’s distinctive three-stripe boots.

It was a humbling experience for Rangers, but there may have been some sense of relief as they saw Real Madrid thrash Eintracht 7-3 in the famous Hampden cup final. Given their demolition of the team that had so easily dismantled the Scottish champions, what would the Spanish maestros have done to Rangers?

Rangers winger Alex Scott later admitted the tactical shortcomings of the Scots were partly to blame for the Eintracht capitulation. He said, ‘Ten minutes into the second half of the first leg it was one each. If we had a little bit of tactical know-how, like the Italians, and just held it, then it could have been different. But we only knew how to play one way and that was to go forward. The game finished 6-1 and they came over here and we did what we had to do which was all-out attack and it ended 6-3. So we scored four goals against them, but we lost 12! The score flattered them a bit but they proved they were a good side when they gave Real Madrid a good game in the final. It was one of the best finals you were ever likely to see.’