Rangers72 (2022) Movie Script

SPANISH MUSIC
[narrator] Beauty is when
something ordinary
is transformed into art.
The art in football
is that it can transport you
out of your daily world:
the tough, the boring,
the repetitive,
and into the ultimate theater.
Grecian plots and narratives
of validation or tragedy
played out in real time,
without divine
narration or script
in front of the eyes of its
emotional shareholders.
Sometimes it delivers.
Sometimes it doesn't.
That... is part of the game.
However, once in a while,
people, places, and circumstance
play out through the
vehicle of football
to conjure up narratives so rich
they transcend the paradigm
and leave a lasting
impression on history.
Barcelona '72.
Colin Stein scored one,
Willie Johnston two.
Tragedy, redemption,
unjust defeats and
unimagined triumph.
Ancient lands, and the spirit of
the tribes that inhabit them
of rivalries and heritage,
European invasions,
and corridor presentations.
Chaos, comedy,
and the transformative powers
of the beautiful game.
Stories like these
come once in a lifetime,
and they deserve to be told.
[commentator] You wouldn't
find this in Milan,
you wouldn't find it in London,
You wouldn't find it in
Munich or in Lisbon,
You wouldn't find it
anywhere else in Europe.
Glasgow is...
fucking mental.
ROCK MUSIC
but really good.
Glasgow is my home,
the best city in the world.
Glasgow... it's a
working class city.
Our whole culture is
about proving ourselves.
I think we have to battle
for our existence,
but mostly in the industrial
age through... deprivation.
Damp and dank tenements.
Most of them on their way down,
for a regeneration of the city
so it's very, very different,
Glasgow in early seventies
than what it is today.
I think football has
been... a saviour.
It lifted people, and gave them
the opportunity to dream.
To me... life.
It lies at the heart
of our community.
Living in this city,
you either support Rangers
or you support Celtic.
You don't choose to be a Ranger,
you're born a Ranger.
The Rangers mean
everything to people like me.
After your family,
Rangers are always first.
The Old Firm is just,
it's the biggest game.
[fan] A massive occasion,
across all the fans there
across the world.
It's the biggest fixture
in the league.
It's got religion,
it's got politics,
it's got everything about it.
People know me as a Minister,
but many more know
me as a Rangers fan.
The vast majority of Rangers
supporters is Protestant.
The vast majority of Celtic
supporters is Catholic.
[commentator] It wouldn't be
the same at the Rangers
Celtic match, if opposing
supporters didn't clash.
I'd never been to an Old Firm
game until I played in one.
In them days it was a
50/50 split with the fans.
It was bitter, and it was angry,
and it was aggressive.
And the capacity crowd
settle back to watch the
battle of the giants.
The two greatest rivals
in British soccer.
There's certain pubs
that are Ranger's pubs,
and certain pubs
that are Celtic.
Don't go in the wrong one.
If you do that, then you
won't come out again.
It's just a mad city and I
better watch what I'm doing.
And when you mention
'Old Firm' it means:
Violence.
Disturbance.
Trouble.
Trouble.
Terrific atmosphere.
My best pal was a mad,
keen Celtic supporter so
we would hurl abuse at
each other for 90 minutes
and then meet up later.
It's just your neighbour, it's
just like a 90 minute... rant.
Back in the days it
was a bit rough
but it's not like what it was,
it's calmed down now.
They were also competing
against each other
to become the
best in Europe.
CROWD CHEER
Glasgow is a...
it's a rough city.
It's a hard city.
But it lives and breathes
football.
When Scot Symon was
manager of Rangers,
Celtic couldn't buy a
victory against them.
They reigned supreme.
And then in March 1965,
Jock Stein came along.
DRAMATIC ORCHESTRAL MUSIC
He developed a different
kind of spirit at Celtic Park,
and Stein started to win things.
So that was a problem
for Rangers.
Celtic were the
dominant team,
and it was Jock Stein who was
putting all the pressure
on Scot Symon.
CROWD CHANTING
Scot Symon never
really recovered
from the Berwick result.
Rangers needed to win trophies,
Berwick at the time of course,
were bottom of the heap
in the Scottish game.
Expectations was so high
because Rangers were league
cup holders at the time.
So there was the big Rangers
against the wee Rangers
and it should have been
a walk in the park
for Rangers that day.
But it was a disaster.
I don't think they were playing
at their full potential.
I mean, I think there's
a lot of good players,
individual players,
and I think the team thing
was lacking a wee bit.
The disaster of Berwick,
that shadow was cast over
Ibrox and Rangers football
club for a long, long time.
That marked the end of that era.
CROWD NOISE
Scot Symon was
eventually sacked.
TENSE CLASSICAL MUSIC
Davie White comes in.
Different character,
more of a tracksuit manager,
a kind of a new breed.
Davie White was good.
Tactically, he was very good.
He's actually reached a
European semifinal in 1969.
I think a quarter final as
well, both in the first cup.
But when it gets to
the 1970 Rangers
they're still in second
place, but points wise
they're really falling behind.
In actual fact, Davie White,
he was hands at the training
and he had a good
football brain.
But his biggest letdown was
he didnae come over
as a Rangers manager.
To us he was one of the boys
like, you know, and...
he didn't have the authority
that Symon had.
He couldnae handle
some of the players,
because he was still a young
man and he couldnae handle
the older boys
and they were nae respecting
what Davie White was saying.
And I think it was probably
the right job, maybe
just at the wrong time.
I think Davie White was
a good fit for Rangers,
but Rangers is
built on success
and one thing that you're
not allowed, is time.
You have to get
it right immediately
when you're given
the responsibilities
and the keys of Ibrox park.
And Davie White was looking
for time that just wasn't there.
We actually were doing quite
well in the league, under him,
but he still got the sack.
You know.
For all the good work that
might have been done
on the training field,
and behind the scenes,
and the modernisation
that was going on...
it just wasn't translating.
Which is why, eventually,
they turned to Willie Waddell.
SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC
Any ex-Rangers would
be looking for that job,
especially Willie Waddell like.
Wi' Willie Waddell,
you've got a man there
who is the most important figure
in Rangers' history, arguably.
He's played for the club.
Well, Willie Waddell was
a Lanarkshire man,
and he had come up the
hard way in junior football.
His debut was against Partick
Thistle when he was like 15.
As a reserve player,
he gets farmed out,
he comes back, in his first game
in the first team he scores
the only goal in the
game against Arsenal,
in what was then a kinda
established, prestigious,
pre-season friendly, in the days
before European football.
And he was powerful.
He was a powerful player.
There was no jinkiness
about him, it was thrust.
Dynamic play. Ball up
the wing, ball over.
The Second World War
comes in,
he won infinite trophies
during that period.
But because it's all during
the Second World War, it's,
you know, it's not counted.
It's unofficial.
He knows about hardship
as well, he knows
that it's... everything
is hard won.
CROWD NOISES
When I first met him
it was when he had
left football altogether.
DRUM MUSIC
Willie Waddell, who was a
journalist at the time,
kept hammering
Davie White in the press.
Oh he was slaughtering
him, every week.
He was very critical of Rangers
and him obviously being a hero
Rangers player.
He wasn't happy.
So eventually, for some
reason, he got the job.
Was it deliberate? Was there,
you know, maneuvering
behind the scenes?
I'm not so sure about that.
I think it was inevitable
that he would come back to
the club, whether it was manager
or whether it was
a different role.
It seemed like that was
kind of written in the stars.
SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC
Gravity took over,
and he was sucked in,
and he couldn't refuse,
and Rangers supporters began
to look out their scarves again.
It was quite clear
that the journalist
from The Daily Express...
had turned into a titan.
UPBEAT ROCK MUSIC
an entirely different animal
altogether.
When he came in,
he was quite ruthless
shaping the squad that he had.
Big players, the likes of
Jim Baxter, Willie Henderson,
weren't part of that
blueprint, probably not
decisions that 99% of the fans
would have made.
But he made those calls.
He brought in some new players,
He brought in some new players,
and some of the old guard was...
was released for the club.
So that was a big
change at that time.
He was a tough man.
You never ever argued
with Willie Waddell
because there was only
going to be one winner...
it was him.
You did what you were told.
If not, you were out the door.
That was a turning point,
Waddell seeing that
change that was needed.
The fans were demanding it.
He was different altogether
he wasnae a...
a tactician, or nothing
like that,
he was more of a...
disciplinarian.
Discipline was everything, you
were a Ranger 24 hours a day.
You had to behave.
You lived by that
tradition, you know.
Every morning: collar and tie.
And once you're a Rangers player
You're always a Rangers player.
Conduct yourself in
the right manner.
I fell out wi' him
quite often.
He wouldnae listen.
He wou-
You didnae have a say.
It didnae matter what you said,
he was always right.
SLOW DRUM MUSIC
He could sit in the
dressing room
and argue with three
folk at same time.
In his office, up at the top
of the marble staircase,
he had a traffic light
system on his door.
And there was an 'Enter' and
'Wait' outside the buzzer.
So every time you went up, and
pressed it, it would be 'wait.'
So you's are standing
there and you're
wondering what he's
want to see me for.
You know, and he
always perched his
glasses on the edge
of his nose
whenever he had something
to say to you.
Right son, I want to tell
you something.
And that's when you knew
you were in trouble. [laughs]
And that was his trademark.
UPBEAT LOUNGE MUSIC
I remember one time,
I went up to
sign a new contract,
and he offered me...
basically the same money,
and he just comes out,
"You don't really mean it"
I went, "Well I tell you what,
the money's getting made
at the wrong side
of the table here."
And the next thing he's got me
up against the wall [gurgles]
"Hold it! Hold it!
Calm yourself!"
ROCK MUSIC
He wouldn't let you
away with anything that
incurred his displeasure.
And he could tell
you it straight,
as he always did.
So I'm pressin' the buzzer.
'Wait.'
'Enter.'
So I goes in.
And he stands up,
he stands up,
he goes, "what did you do?"
He says, "did you
sit on the ball?"
I says, "no I didnae
sit on the ball!"
I says, "the elastic on
my shorts broke,
and I had to bend down
to pull them up."
"Public apology
and fined 60."
I says, "I'm not making a
public apology."
"You'll make a public apology.
I'm telling you, you'll
make a pu..." I says,
"You can fine me all you want,
but I'm not fucking making
a public apology,
not for sitting on a ball."
He certainly let the
players know,
what their job was.
And in John Greig
he had a player
who would take his instructions
down to the letter.
FUNK MUSIC
Well, John Greig was an
example to everybody,
and I think he was the
alter-ego for Willie Waddell
on the field,
commanding people.
He commanded them off the pitch.
John Greig commanded
them on the pitch.
[commentator] Greig shoots,
it's a goal!
He was simply a
captain with a
personal drive
that I think you could associate
with Waddell as a player.
Almost a mirror image
of each other.
And John inspired
the rest of the players.
You were fortunate
in having John Greig,
the greatest ever
Rangers player
he was voted as well,
of course.
John Greig to me was
important in every game.
You wanted John Greig
on the park.
He was a tremendous asset to us.
He was a tremendous leader.
I think Greigy got on
alright with Waddell.
I think they had a lot
of respect.
I always looked up to him as
a famous player from this club.
And he sat me in his
office through there,
and he said to me,
"we're going to bring this club
back up to where it should be."
He could see in me
probably a lot of him
as a younger person,
to move the club in the
direction it should go.
They worked well
together, they did.
They were a good
manager, and captain.
But then you have boys like
me on the team that's
gonna talk and say, "Well,
I didn't agree with this."
You get that
in every team.
FOREBODING MUSIC
The day was the
second of January.
It was a dull, dark,
grey, misty day.
The fixture was Rangers and
Celtic. That's was always the
biggest game basically on the
calendar, the league calendar.
CROWD CHEERS
The game itself
was quite a dull
Old Firm game.
And the two goals were scored
in the last minute of the game.
Celtic scored first.
Colin Stein... he
scored the equaliser.
After the game finished,
we moved our way up
the terracing.
And when you get to the top
of the terracing, there's
a concourse
And they were shuffling
along... the concourse.
It was really tight,
the crowd was about 80,000.
My Father always installed in me
when you're... in big crowds
going out the games,
you keep your arms up.
Don't let your arms get
pinned at your side.
This is basically
where the exit would have been,
coming out from
the steps and the slopes
of passageway 13.
And we were basically up here.
We turned right,
you go down the stairs,
and it was very, very tight.
And somebody had fallen
halfway down the stairs.
And...
it was like a pack of cards.
[witness] The scene was terrible
it was like a picture from...
the last war.
The bodies were just
all over the place.
Everybody was
starting to pile up
on top of each other,
just constant pressure.
Everybody was shouting,
"Get back! Get back!"
Because you know, you
just had to do something.
And end up...you
couldnae even shout,
"get back, get back" because the
air was getting squeezed out
your lungs, and you were
gasping for breath.
The more you moved, the more
you would just fall
The more you moved, the more
you would just fall
and you were getting
crushed like mad.
And I could- couldnae
breathe at all.
And there was another fella,
just across from me,
shouted, "I'm dying"
Then I saw him fall.
I prayed to God,
and said "please
don't let me die."
There was a bit of
give in front of me.
And I managed to
pull myself up,
crawl over everybody,
and I fell over onto the
grass embankment.
My breathing was gone
and my shoes went off,
lost my watch.
But I eventually made it down
to the bottom of the bankment,
and the disaster was just
happening in front of me.
It was that kind of
spectral mist about the place.
Imagine seeing a whole
line of bodies,
some of the faces
blackened. I...
I had nightmares about it
for weeks after.
We didn't realize what
exactly the disaster,
how bad it was.
So I was in the dressing room,
everybody was dressed and away,
Then Willie Waddell
came in and went,
"you, you and you, out now."
This guy came in
with a stretcher,
with a body on it, and he said,
"you better hurry up, John."
He says "because
there's been a big accident.
They're going to be using the
dressing room here for bodies."
It was like Dunkirk with all
the bodies laying all
along the side of the pitch.
Everybody was devastated,
you know, when that happened.
It took us a long time
to go over that, to be
perfectly honest it...
I mean, I was only
a kid as well.
I mean, I'm 16, 17 years of
age when that happened.
Reported by that time, the
official death rate of 66.
The Rangers directors
were in a state of shock.
And then...Willie
Waddell walked in,
and he took over,
he took command.
And from then on
he was in charge of everything
that happened in the aftermath.
The organizing of
visits to relatives,
of funerals, totally in charge.
That's when Willie Waddell
come into his own,
because he orchestrated
the whole situation.
Waddell made
sure that we
went to as many
funerals as we could.
Players would go and
meet the families
of not only people who
perished, but also
people... who survived.
It's something I've
never forgotten,
the Ibrox Disaster,
and anybody that was involved is
probably feeling the same way.
They'll never forget it.
You've got somebody
in your family
going to a football match and
they don't come back.
And a lot of them were
young people.
There's no way you can make
up for a tragedy like that,
but you can certainly
make things worse.
His priority is about making
sure that never happens again.
He did take it.
By the scruff of the neck and...
and he rebuilt the stadium.
Everything.
He went out and he
looked at stadiums
across the world
to change Ibrox.
I mean it's-it's...
Willie Waddell's legacy.
Willie Waddell always
maintained that the
new stadium was a testimony
to the people that died.
So as it would never,
ever happen again.
Least he can do for the
people who died that day
is to rebuild Ibrox itself.
And he knows that
in the short term
he has to... he has to get
some sort of glory on the field.
It's strange to say, but it
seemed to bond everybody.
You know that comradery,
and that friendship, and that
you know, we are the Rangers
and the fans are a huge part
of that for us and
we came away from that saying,
"you know what we've, we've got
to give these fans
something back."
The manager got us all
together and said "look
let's do for these poor people,
these people that came to
watch football and
never went home,
only thing we can do is go out
there and try and perform
and win things.
That's all this club can do
for these poor people
that perished."
Every Rangers player
knew what was in
store for them now.
Revival.
Revival and survival.
and what better way to do it
than winning things.
UPLIFTING ORCHESTRAL MUSIC
When the manager came in,
and just- and he was wonderful,
just the way he
said it was great.
"We owe them.
Big time!
So let's get the heads
down and work
hard and win games and win
trophies."
Team spirit, you know, it was
it was getting better.
Better, better, you know,
much more...
together.
The Rangers fans are looking for
Rangers to win a
European trophy.
And of course, that's where the
great opportunity came along.
JAZZ ORCHESTRA MUSIC
Well European football
was about prestige.
The Rangers community
wanted part of it,
we wanted to rub shoulders
with the best.
They wanted into Europe
if they got a European
prize, that in itself
elevated Rangers
into a different stratosphere,
if you like.
At that time in the seventies,
there were three European
trophies up for grabs.
Rangers qualified
for the European
Cup Winners | Cup.
The Cup Winners' Cup
had massive value
because if you look at the
people who won the Cup
in the top countries,
they were the top teams.
Rangers qualified as runners up.
So it was by
default, effectively,
that Rangers
found themselves, catapulted
into the European arena.
And my goodness, they
grabbed their chance.
BLUES ROCK MUSIC
Willie built a good team,
so it was well balanced
team, with a lot of good...
we had everything
in the right place.
John Greig, number four,
captain.
Peter McCloy,
goalkeeper.
Derek Johnstone, number five,
striker,
midfield,
and defense.
Bill Mathieson, left-back,
number three.
Dave Smith, number six,
midefield, sweeper.
Alex McDonald,
left midfield.
Colin Stein, number nine,
striker.
Willie Johnston, outside-left,
number 11.
To pick out, one, two, three
from that team is
just, it's impossible.
It was a collective.
FUNK ROCK MUSIC
The very first game
we had drawn in
France against Stade Rennes,
which we obviously thought
was gonna be a good draw.
But we hadnae started
the season very well.
We were outsiders,
total outsiders.
You wouldnae put a bet
on us in the first game.
Well, everyone knows the
flair of French football.
Rangers were perhaps
a wee bit fragile, defensively.
I think Willie Waddell
and Jock Wallace
was still striving
to come up with the
best combination,
particularly at the heart
of the defense.
So Rangers had to find a formula
that stopped this French flair
So Rangers had to find a formula
that stopped this French flair
and they did it
by the high press.
They would look for their
star man,
and try and minimise his impact
within the rules...
or sometimes outside the rules.
It wasn't a spectacle
from a fan's perspective.
But my goodness, it
was effective.
Marcell Aubour I think
was the goalkeeper,
Keruzor and Betta
were their kind of
playmakers in midfield.
And it was Willie
Waddell's tactics
And it was Willie
Waddell's tactics
He put John Greig and
Alex McDonald onto these guys
He put John Greig and
Alex McDonald onto these guys
and they did not appreciate it.
We knew exactly what
we were up against
There are a few PC
players in the side
that could cause us
real problems.
You know, if we weren't marking.
CROWD NOISE
Tactically I think we were sound
Rennes were a bit upset how
we... we performed and that,
I don't know
I don't know if they were
taken aback, the way we...
we played a bit physical.
The French are nae very brave
at the best of times are they?
Rennes weren't happy
at all by the way
Rangers played in
that game, you know.
One of the reporters
said the Rangers forgot
what the ball was for.
Yeah. He's probably
talking about me.
[chuckles]
Yeah he's definitely
talking about me.
In fact, I think they put...
one of the French journalists
had said "if this Rangers team
had been in the...
front line of the war
it'd have finished earlier."
You're not going to stand back
and let a good team play,
you got to shut them down.
They don't play, we play.
Well, the thing is,
what's anti-football?
You've come to win a game.
That's when I came
in at the near post,
It went whizzing past me
Willie Johnston put it in.
You're there to try
and get a result.
Everybody wants to
watch lovely football,
but we went there with
most men behind the ball
and their manager felt, "well,
they're not even trying to win.
You know, that's non-football."
'Anti-football.'
It's 'anti-football.'
Well, I beg your pardon but
we've come away with a 1-1 draw.
Let's see how you do at Ibrox.
CROWD NOISES
UPBEAT FUNK MUSIC
After the game their manager
stated in the press
that "when we come to Glasgow
we'll show them how
to play football."
Didn't matter what he said!
That was fine,
just let them talk.
We'll do our talking on
the pitch. That's what we said.
Then in the second leg
we did the business.
They went back with their
tails between their legs.
Some times you don't have to
play nice football. We won.
That's not anti-football,
that's just
scoring a goal.
I'll settle for that, every time
I'm not bothered.
It don't matter what
they say about you.
I've been called a
lot of things.
Little Willie Johnston, an icon.
He didn't want to be
peripheral to the game
He didn't want to be
peripheral to the game
by playing as a winger.
He wanted to be
the second striker,
and in Rennes that was
probably the first time
that Rangers deployed him
in that area of the team.
Because they knew
they had to be stuffy,
they had to be durable and they
had to defend from the front.
So Willie Johnston was played
up top alongside Colin Stein.
And my goodness, that
partnership was forged.
ROCK MUSIC
The quickest player
I've ever seen here at Ibrox.
He was that quick,
he could catch pigeons.
I always remember the Rennes
game, the crowd reacting to
Willie Johnston's pace,
[surprised noise] who's that?
He had this... built in
temper.
Colin Stein makes this comment
about Willie Johnston,
I don't know if it's true.
He's the best player he ever
played with from the neck down.
He was sent off 22
times in his career.
Which is...phenomenal.
And he says to me, he says
"I played 22 years."
So he said "it was
only once a year."
He was just a typical
Fifer, you know,
He'd his own brand of laughter
and good stories,
wee Willie Johnston.
Well, well, how are you doing?
How are you doing, Willie?
Great to see you again.
He played Ayr United one day,
and he was going to
take a corner kick
and a guy held this
can of lager and said,
"you want a drink, buddy?" He
says "yeah" and he took a drink.
Give it him back, and
took the corner.
Think you might
a yellow card
for these type of
things nowadays.
That's Willie...
no, but a good lad.
Did you score one goal?
Dos.
Was it not Steiny that
got two, no?
He got one.
Did you get two? [laughs]
I wanted to become a footballer.
So... it was either
the army or the pit and a lot
my friends went to the pit.
So I just went with them
so I could play football.
on a Saturday afternoon.
I was asked to sign for
Man United but
It'd been the first time I'd
been away from home
and I was homesick.
I was in a hotel and
it was terrible
and I came home,
and I was asked to
sign for Rangers.
My Father, he wanted me
to sign for Man United,
he liked Rangers,
he liked...
but he always said to me...
"you're a man now so
never come back and
tell me you made a mistake."
Worked out alright.
Lisbon? Well, it really was
drama of the highest order.
SWING MUSIC
Lisbon was, you know,
a big name,
a big team... still is.
And that was always going
to be the difficult one.
That was a test.
Sporting were one
of the favorites.
They were the favorite,
one of the favorites to win
that trophy.
You look through the
team that they had
really, really established
international players
who were always going
to pose problems.
I think the problems that they
posed were probably unexpected
because it was... more
fierce and more
more formidable than maybe
even Waddell had anticipated.
One thing that added
spice to the game
was that Sporting Lisbon,
they wore Celtic strips.
they wore Celtic tops, you know,
so when they ran out at Ibrox
they wore Celtic tops, you know,
so when they ran out at Ibrox
that night, there was
a little bit of extra...
tension there, if you like.
We were playing great.
We got off to a flyer.
They were miles ahead
by halftime.
Steiny scored two,
wee Willie scored one.
We were winning three-nothing
at halftime.
We were all over them.
The thought was
this tie is done.
The thought was
this tie is done.
They brought this guy
on the left wing...
and he ran riot.
We lost a goal, 3-1. And
then they got that,
and they come right
into it then.
they lost one goal,
then they lost a... a goal
very close to the end
to make it a very
nervy finish.
I probably should not
have lost two goals.
You know, I can't remember
if I was playing at the back
or in midfield...
I was possibly playing
at the back
so it's probably my fault.
3-2 at home's not really
a good result to go
to the second game away.
If they can score two goals here
what can they do at home?
UPBEAT ROCK MUSIC
The first leg,
it was by no means... done
and it was about
going out to Lisbon
to- to really finish off
what had been started.
And the journey to the
second game
was incredible.
Anything that could
have gone wrong
went wrong.
You couldn't make it up.
Chaos is the only
way to describe it.
Well normally you've got
to be in the opposing
team's city by 24 hours,
prior to kick off
or you forfeited the game.
We're on British Airways,
on the way to London
and the captain come on,
he says: "there's a-
a strike in London.
The baggage handlers
have gone on strike
and you'll have to get your
own stuff from the hold."
And as soon as we arrived
in London, we we're told
"all flights have
been cancelled."
So there's no flight
to Portugal.
Where they actually had to
carry their own bags... to their
hotel in London, they were
forced to stay in overnight.
hotel in London, they were
forced to stay in overnight.
They announced a flight for us,
This was about 12:00,
at this time
you'd to be in Portugal by
I think it was 5:00,
It's an old
Vi-Viscount
and twin-turbo.
It's a little propeller thing
and as soon as the
engine started up,
the smoke was filling
in the cabin like
We're never gonna
get there [laughs]
We landed with about
half an hour to spare.
As a kind of sign of
things to come.
The game itself was erm...
'chaos' was the best
way to describe it.
Bonkers.
Absolute bonkers.
SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC
At Lisbon...
ah it was...
There was a lot of noise
that night, y'know
DRUM MUSIC
It was a great atmosphere.
Just like Ibrox, they had drums
along the line and that
they were bang bang banging
The crowd were... the
atmosphere was incredible.
The home side opened the scoring
They scored... when they-
There was only one
way for this to go,
we had to go forward.
Cancelled out within 60 seconds
By Colin Stein...
to be short lived.
Sporting got another goal just
before halftime and again the
tie has swung against Rangers,
Sporting are in the lead.
But again Rangers dug deep
and right after halftime,
Colin Stein on target yet again.
They were putting the ball in
the net and I was going up and
putting the ball in their net.
It was horrendous.
Up and down.
I think the biggest... bang was
when the boy broke Ronnie's leg.
You could hear it, the crack.
Ronnie received one of
the most diabolical tackles
I'd ever seen in my life.
Yazalde went over the top,
got him right in the shin.
Everybody put their
hands to their head
because they knew
exactly what happened.
And we're running about
"Get up you!" Shouting
at him, "Get up!"
And Ronnie's just... like that,
"I think I broke my leg."
Ankle's lying like that and
his knee's still there.
He never even got booked,
Yazalde, for this.
So we're sitting there and only
defenders on the bench was
Davie Smith and I, it's
the first time I'm sayin'
"I hope it's not me
that's going on."
I could feel the sweat running
down the back of my shirt.
Davie Smith, who was
a sweeper, he come on,
and he was just back
for a broken leg.
You know he was...
ashen when he seen Ronnie.
Teams are tied, level,
over the piece,
we're going into extra time.
Wee Willie Henderson, as he
did in the first leg, he puts...
Wee Willie Henderson, as he
did in the first leg, he puts...
he scores for Rangers
10 minutes into extra time.
And then they got a penalty
kick just at the end
and it was 4-3.
It means the tie ends, 6-6.
And... the referee decides
it's going to go to penalties.
That year I think was
the first change
in the away goals rule.
Away goals counted
double, in Europe.
The referee didn't understand it
He thought that the away goals
rule was only for the 90 minutes
So we went to penalties.
Now, half the Rangers team
know about the change
to away goals rule...
and half of them don't.
We just thought we'd
won the game.
We were coming off the park,
congratulating one another
that we're through.
And the referee's turned
"what's going on here?
Penalty kicks."
We're still arguing with the
referee that we're through.
So I don't think we were...
we were 100%,
you know, concentrating
on the penalties,
which isn't an excuse really.
Davie Smith's was
the best [laughs].
The goalkeeper was moving,
so I ran up and I stopped,
and the goalkeeper dived.
And I sort of smile, and
I put it passed the post.
He ran up, swaggerin' and that,
He ran up, swaggerin' and that,
and he went like boof ,
right passed the post.
But... the referee says
"you'll have to take it again."
run up, stopped,
goalkeeper dived.
Passed the post again.
Twice.
It must be, you know,
the only player to...
to miss twice in a
European shootout
I would've thought.
We missed all our
penalties [laughs].
It was one of those
nights when
20, 30 shots...
naebody hits the target.
And we just think
they've been
eliminated because they failed
at the penalty shootout.
Sporting Lisbon,
celebrating, thinking
they've made it to
the quarterfinals.
They were carrying their
goalkeeper round
their shoulders and their fans.
And we're going... flummoxed
by what's happened.
So as far as we were concerned
we were out.
We're all...
heads down, cause we were...
disgusted with ourselves.
They go into the dressing room,
despondent, defeated,
out of the tournament.
Waddell's commiserating
with us all like, you know.
And Willie Henderson,
another terrific player
in that squad,
he said, "I think the rules
are: the away goals
scored in extra time do count as
double. We should be through."
On this occasion, they had
to thank journalism.
On this occasion, they had
to thank journalism.
John Fairgrieve,
who was a reporter
in the Scottish game
at the time,
was aware that something
wasn't right.
ENERGETIC ROCK MUSIC
That journalist came through,
kind of brandishing the rulebook
The rules said Rangers had won,
so he went and alerted
Willie Waddell to that fact.
He burst into the dressing room
with this wee book, he says,
"You shouldn't have
gone to penalties."
He says, "You won the game
in extra time!"
I didn't at that point, still
didn't believe him I don't think
He said, "I'm telling
ya Willie!"
The referee had made
a monumental blunder.
He still didn't know
what was happening.
The referee made a
few phone calls
and lo and behold,
"Yeah you were right,
I beg your pardon,
Rangers are through
the next round."
The euphoria when we found out
five minutes, ten minutes later
that we were back in.
From down there to up there,
it was tremendous like.
All of a sudden, on my birthday,
we're in the next round
of the European Cup Winners' Cup
Absolutely... phenomenal!
You find out you're back
in the hat again
so you're getting
another chance.
Hopefully this time we
don't play as bad.
There was a thing then
where you think "Well...
you never know, maybe
we could win this."
It was a shock for a lot
of Rangers fans
when they woke up the next
morning and seen the papers.
When you scored the goals
you're always going to
get the headlines,
you know, and he loved
the headlines, Steiny.
he scored on the Saturday,
on the Sunday
he'd buy every Sunday paper
to see his name in lights there.
He loved scoring goals,
and he proved it in Portugal
when he was there.
When it had to be done,
to qualify we needed
to score goals
and he was the man that,
once again, came up trumps.
And Colin Stein's verve, his
appetite for the game.
and his willing to do the hard
yards and constant running for
the team was never more evident
than the night in Lisbon.
I didnae start bowling
'til about 1978
when I stopped playing football.
I like to win [laughs]
I like to win.
An enigma.
I never knew anybody with as
much energy as he had,
and he never stopped talking.
Colin Stein, Louis the Lip.
[laughs]
We used to call him
the Louisville Lip,
after Muhammad Ali. You know,
Muhammad Ali could yap
all the time. Steiny
was the same.
Biggest pest I've ever met.
Honestly, I would have hated
to play against that guy.
You... he must have talked
you off your game.
Every time I see him
he gets beat.
But no... he loves the bowls.
Likes a glass of red wine also.
It's a great game.
You know, it brings everybody.
you can be a terrible bowler,
you can be great... everybody
cannae be a champion.
But the camaraderie
in the bowling club is,
you know, second to none.
Just the, you know, the football
with your teammates, and that.
I got them for playing
obviously Ireland, England
and Wales.
I didnae get a cap each,
the same cap.
You know Steiny was great,
he was one of these footballers
he was one of these footballers
That can actually hang in the
air for a couple of seconds.
It felt he was there for about
30 seconds in the air.
It felt he was there for about
30 seconds in the air.
Tell you what, he was like an
old fashioned center forward.
He could score goals
and he could rough it
with the best of them.
He didn't get messed about.
He was two footed, he
was good in the air.
He was a good player Colin,
he was a really good player.
Colin Stein joined Rangers,
the first 100,000 transfer
Colin Stein joined Rangers,
the first 100,000 transfer
between two Scottish
clubs, from Hibernian.
He was just 21 years of age.
The support at Rangers
was absolute fantastic.
I was lucky enough to score
a hat trick in my first game.
Against Arbroath
and that got the,
you know, the crowd on my side.
He was a tremendous player,
Rangers fanatic you know
but can he talk
you know.
A likeable pest. [laughs]
A likeable pest and
a great friend.
We moved on to the next game,
which is...
Torino.
ROCK MUSIC
Italy was where it was at,
wasn't it?
I mean, they were the poster
boys of world football.
I mean, they were the poster
boys of world football.
Well, Torino were the top
team in Italy then.
They were a typical Italian
team defensively.
They were a typical Italian
team defensively.
It was all about the physicality
in the Scottish game.
And there was these
suave Italians
And there was these
suave Italians
who could all pass the ball
with distinction.
And they were known for a modern
approach to the game.
We were very good side,
and when we played them,
they were top of the league.
They were a serious side,
amazingly difficult to beat.
LOUNGE MUSIC
Coaching was evolving,
and Willie Waddell was
really at the heart of that
from a Scottish perspective.
He was learning he had
Jock Wallace beside him.
Who was a similar character,
wanted to learn
Who was a similar character,
wanted to learn
and wanted evolve, and
he took the team
just to a different level
to compete with these teams.
Waddell and big Jock,
yeah they done
their homework
Every game he set out
himself to go and
watch these teams and
come back with this
dossier on each player
and everything.
It's a great example of how
football has changed,
when the managers
got to give
pen picks to the players to see
what his opposition looks like.
Nowadays, of course, they know
them inside out, upside down.
But that time, they didn't
know what they looked like.
Hadn't seen them play on
television and wouldn't have
known them unless you had
played against them previously.
And that was, that was
breakthrough stuff,
at that point, you know.
Here everybody's got their
own card, player,
date of birth, 'many kids
he's got, you know.
Not said I'm not
gonna kick him
because he's got two kids, you
know what I mean. [laughs]
There was myself, Alex
MacDonald, and Sandy
and we... were set
out as markers.
Our role was stay with
the player.
Wherever the player went,
you went.
You have to change it in
football you have to
have different styles
depending on which team
you're playing against.
We seem to adapt, you know,
when we played away in Europe
we played a different system,
we played with a sweeper,
which was hardly heard of then.
The sweeper was designed
by the Italians.
A football playing defender,
made use of the ball
and tried to spring
counter-attacks
and they would immediately try
and get the attack going,
from defense.
Dave Smith embraced that part of
the game, like an Italian would.
I liked having the ball.
At the back...
I did get plenty of the ball.
He's the best sweeper
I have ever seen.
Absolutely wonderful left foot.
I think he did settle the
back four, that's for sure.
He was the, the
sweeper in the side,
and we never lost too
many goals after that.
BAGPIPES MUSIC
There's been a bus going
from Fraserburgh for years
and I believe one of the
main members,
Dave Hamilton, he played five
or six-aside games
of football with him
in Aberdeen.
And I believe that's how people
from Fraserburgh got to know him
he started to come on the
bus, and the bus just got
named after him: The Dave Smith
Loyal Fraserburgh.
# We are the champions #
# We are the champions #
# No time for CELTIC! #
My Granddad.... every old
guy speaks about him
says how class a player he was,
just... just a touch of class.
He wasn't fast or anything
but he didn't need to be,
Cause he had it up there
they say...
Dave? Oh Dave was
a class player.
Very class, classy left foot.
Smithy? Quiet, didnae shout
a lot on the park,
didnae talk a lot on the park.
When he got the ball...
Unbelievable. Cool,
calm, collected.
Oh dear.
You been waitin' long?
Yes... [conversation fades]
Mr quiet man. Thinks he's funny,
but he's never funny.
He laughs at his own jokes.
To me he was another
Beckenbauer.
So cool, calm, and
collective you know...
You don't appreciate
at the time,
just how really good he was.
Oh!
Hold on a second, I'll have to
go and check something.
[crew] Petrol or diesel?
I think it's diesel...
Oh aye, so it is.
MUSIC: "The Best Team in the
Land" by Glasgow Rangers Support
# We've got the best team
in the land. #
# We've got Dave Smith,
number six #
# We've got Dave Smith,
number six #
# We've got Dave Smith,
number six #
# We've got the best team
in the land. #
# We've got the best team
in the land. #
ETHEREAL MUSIC
My brother who died at 26,
he was a Rangers supporter,
and I always said I would,
I would play for Rangers.
Well he died before I did,
but... I kept true to that.
I met Scot Symon, and he said
"we'll look after you."
And he was good as
his word, you know.
That was it, that was me.
Well, I kind of realised
pretty early on is,
you don't choose it, it chooses
you and I think that's
a really intriguing thing
about the top top players
a really intriguing thing
about the top top players
don't really realise what
they've got within them.
I watch clips of my Dad playing
in front of, you know,
I watch clips of my Dad playing
in front of, you know,
crowds of 70,000.
You look at Willie Johnston
sitting on the ball
and, you know, the
heat of battle
and all that sort of stuff.
They didn't think anything of it
that was that
was where they were at home.
We would,
go to games together
and you would get people
it would be you know "Davey
you got your boots today,
you playin'?"
joking, you know,
and he would laugh
and he would smile and
he would say, "Yeah, yeah."
But actually deep down
I think he thought, yeah, yeah,
I could still, I could still
be out there.
It's really difficult to let go,
I think,
because you still feel
you could be out there.
You still feel you
could do a job.
I like to see the team win.
How you win
that matters a lot to me.
Dave Smith
on the night against Torino,
out-Italianed the Italians.
He did the Italian job.
No, I didn't play in
Torino either.
Ahh, well I did play in Torino.
Ah, well you see, you know
more than I do because...
I cannae remember playing
against Torino. [laughs]
The only thing I can
remember about Torino
is just coming home,
and going shopping.
We bought tartan bonnets.
I've got one upstairs, I just
found it the other day,
the tartan bonnet,
we all bought that,
and we were walking
through the square,
five of us, with tartan
bonnets on.
That was... probably
one of the
That was... probably
one of the
the best talks we'd had before
anything, was Waddell
sitting us down, and getting us
to realise the importance
of this game.
This game,
could be the springboard
to win a European trophy.
Realise what you's could achieve
here, you could make history.
Willie Waddell, giving
out the pen pics
of the various players.
And he tells John Greig that
this is Claudio Sala.
And he tells John Greig that
this is Claudio Sala.
The legend is,
that Willie Waddell just
kind of used the phrase
"put him out of the game."
If you make sure that
he doesn't play,
then they lack their
best playmaker.
And I had the
reputation for being
somebody that liked
to make a tackle.
I'd say to him, I says
"do you mean, just for tonight
Boss, or for good?"
He says "oh no" no I says,
"no I'm sorry" I says
"that's the wrong thing to say."
I think the way that John Greig
stared at the pen pic,
he was given, actually scared
Willie Waddell.
he was given, actually scared
Willie Waddell.
Look after Sala.
[commentator] Sala with the
ball at his feet and Greig
trying to dispossess...
a foul.
Sala.
It does John Greig a
massive disservice
It does John Greig a
massive disservice
to paint him as
merely as a hatchet man.
He's a hell of a player,
scored a lot of vital
goals as well,
but he knows what
he's got to do
and he does sort Sala out
early doors.
[commentator] Freekick
awarded to Torino.
Sala.
A swarm of Rangers'
players there.
Greig is being warned
by the Referee.
Sala can't move in there,
although it was to be expected.
They weren't happy, you know,
maybe that slowed them down.
That got them thinking, "We're
playing against a team here,
that know how to play the game."
You know, physically.
INTENSE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC
[commentator] Torino are
certainly being given a game.
They almost look caught out!
Especially when Rangers
advance up the pitch.
All against the run of play,
Rangers open the scoring.
I ran the length of the
park, had a shot.
The goalkeeper did a brilliant
save, knocked the ball down,
and Willie Johnston walked in
and tapped it into the net.
Willie Johnston again
with that blistering pace.
Chances were few and far between
But Rangers knew that
they would be
given limited opportunities to
score, against this well-drilled
Italian rear-guard action.
And it took a pretty
scrappy equaliser
to get the Italians back
on level terms.
Colin Jackson clears the
ball off the line
and then Toschi fires it
straight back in,
and Paolo Pulici, who is
their kind of top striker,
he gets a deflection on it
and that takes it away from,
from Peter McCloy but...
that's the only reason
we've conceded
and Willie Waddell was
absolutely delighted
with the performance.
He, kind of, runs onto the park
at the end, kind of... he was
really delighted.
MATCH WHISTLE
[commentator] And that's the
final whistle.
Willie Waddell is straight on
the pitch
to congratulate his players.
The Torino manager,
Gustavo Giagnoni,
talks about how Rangers
played the Italian game,
and he's very,
very complementary.
And at that time, to get, a kind
of, away goals advantage,
in Italy is an
incredible result.
[commentator] 1-1 against
the top Italian side,
is surely a result that will
send the Rangers supporters
is surely a result that will
send the Rangers supporters
home beaming tonight.
A fantastic result.
We got the result
we were looking for,
and went home there delighted
and at once again
thinking at one each,
what a chance we've
got at Ibrox again
to get through to
the next round.
70'S ROCK MUSIC
We went back and we
beat them in Glasgow.
We went back and we
beat them in Glasgow.
The second game, the center half
always with him, and I was
The second game, the center half
always with him, and I was
running down with the
ball and that, and he
fckin' whacked me right
there, with hand like that,
they were physical as well.
They could look after
theirselves.
It was a hard, hard
game... Turin,
physically, and you know,
tactically as well.
I think this was the time where,
because of the quarter final,
because of the opponents,
when they played Torino, I
think with the Rangers crowd
kind of felt that real momentum,
a bit of magic was starting
to build up at this point.
Rangers again had pulled
the rabbit out the hat.
They'd turned it into
an art form.
So we're in the semifinals,
we can't believe we're
in the semifinals.
We've done so well,
the confidence is, is high
in all the players,
and you can see that in the
training and everything else.
The draw was being made,
I always remember,
in the afternoon, we were saying
"Hope-hopefully we don't
get Bayern Munich"
because they were the best side,
you know, in the last ten years.
INTENSE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC
Bayern were a marvelous team.
They were actually the
best team in the world.
Eventually they were going
to mop up everything in sight,
both domestically
and in Europe itself.
They'd seven players that played
for the German national side.
They'd seven players that played
for the German national side.
Names just tripping
off your tongue.
You know the Gerd Mllers.
The Maiers, the Breitners.
Overath.
Guy called Zobel.
Franz Roth.
Franz Beckenbauer.
Franz Beckenbauer.
Beckenbauer.
Beckenbauer.
Beckenbauer.
Beckenbauer.
The greatest captain that
Germany's ever had.
What a player he was.
They had an aura about
them didn't they?
West Germany, they're
always big, physical teams.
West Germany, they're
always big, physical teams.
They were the
favorites to win it.
And that is why
when the draw took place,
I didn't really fancy Rangers.
I thought they've reached
their peak now.
They've done as much as
they possibly can do.
So when I went to, to Bayern,
I went with a degree
of trepidation.
The, the Bayern final in '67
it burnt deeply, you know
and those that played in it
but the supporters as well.
It was as if this pair
were destined
to meet every time they took
to the European stage.
And Rangers lost the European
Cup Winners' Cup of 1967
to Bayern Munich.
We played them in Nuremberg,
in the final, which was
basically a home game from them,
for them being,
being a German side.
Willie Johnston, John Greig.
Dave Smith and Sandy Jardine.
Who'd all played
in that final of 1967.
I think they were a better team.
We lost, one-nothing
and we gave a good
account of ourselves
and I thought, to be honest
I think we were a
little bit unlucky.
MUSIC INTENSIFIES
They'd gone through the pain
and knowing what it felt like
to come off that pitch
and they actually had to, to
line up and applaud as Bayern,
you know, picked up that cup.
Had they learned from
that previous experience?
could they take on
Bayern Munich?
Were they overdue a result
against Bayern Munich?
Redemption.
CHEERING
One of the things about
playing at this club
I felt I could beat anybody,
never always happened,
but always felt that I could
beat any, any team
because we were the Rangers.
TENSE MUSIC
For the first 30 minutes
of the first leg
in West Germany,
Rangers were under
the cosh.
It was the most pressure
they'd been under in any game
during the competition.
The first half we just couldn't
get out of our own box.
We were actually...
backs against the wall.
It really was.
Every one of their players,
except Sepp Maier,
the goalkeeper,
had a shot at our goal.
They were so dominant against us
And the goal that Bayern score,
Paul Breitner basically playing
one-two with Gerd Mller,
who manages for once to
get inside Colin Jackson.
CROWD NOISES
It was a backs to the
wall performance.
The Germans tried
everything they had,
but that night every Rangers
player really gave all they had.
None more so than
Billy Mathieson.
I got a marker's job
to mark Roth.
This lad couldn't get
away from me like,
You know, he was
all over the park.
Willie Mathieson was up and
down the wing, some machine.
I had to man mark
a man called Uli Hoene,
he was the midfield maestro.
Willie Waddell said to me,
"Your job tonight, never
mind anybody else,
he's your man, mark him!"
He says "at halftime if he goes
to the toilet for a wee wee,
you stand outside the
door and look after 'im."
Big Jock says "you just
go with him,
follow him wherever he goes.
And when Beckenbauer
comes over the halfway line
go to Beckenbauer."
Are you talkin' to me?
Beckenbauer's about
six foot four.
If he told you to do it,
you do it.
By the second half,
Franz Beckenbauer
strolls forward and tries
one of his contemptuous
little flicks.
And Alex MacDonald
just cuts it out
and Colin Stein takes the ball,
still in the Bayern half.
And what him and
Willie Johnston,
who had played so
well together as a unit,
they turn them inside out.
Schwarzenbeck has fallen
over the top of Sepp Maier,
and the ball that...
Colin Stein plays back in
Rainer Zobel heads it, you know,
into his own net.
And Willie Johnston goes
down and congratulates him.
Rainer Zobel just...
he buries his face in the mud.
It was an own goal but
listen we'll take it.
When you're in Germany playing
against mighty Bayern Munich,
if you'd scored with your
backside you'd have taken it,
it's as simple as that.
In the second half we
defended well
never, never gave
Gerd Mller a sniff.
And at the end of the game they
were, they were outrunning
the Bayern Munich side you
know, they were much superior
in terms of fitness.
In fact Willie Johnston was
through in the last minute
when the Referee blew
the whistle for full-time.
So you never know it could
have been another one,
at that particular time.
We survived over there,
big time!
It was the first time
then, in my career,
that I'd seen all 11 players,
when that referee
blew the whistle,
actually punching the air
and jumpin' about.
ENERGETIC JAZZ MUSIC
Big Jock and Willie Waddell,
first time I've seen
the two of them smiling at
the one time, you know,
these two had confidence in us
that we could go all the way
and maybe even
pick up this trophy.
But Wallace was a fitness
fanatic and all the players
will tell you that made
the difference.
Big Jock, was, oh...
Sergeant Major.
I would run through a brick
wall for Jock Wallace,
without a shadow of a doubt.
He was that type of person.
He was a Marine.
And you could see that in the
way he spoke, in the way
he did the training,
and everything else.
He's a winner.
Always will be a winner.
He was a character, a
real character, hard as nails.
You never argued with Jock,
he'd just hit you.
He would give you a kick up
the backside when you needed it.
He put his arm around you
and give you a cuddle
when you needed it.
He was like a father
figure to me.
He looked on us
all as his lads.
You know, "You're my boys.
I'm going to look after you."
If You're not doing something
right, I'm gonna tell you."
And boy, did he tell us.
This is the day that they
have to tackle this.
The hill.
JAZZ MUSIC
Jock Wallace and Murder Hill was
synonymous with that period.
East coast beach...
and run until you drop.
We had to do these sand
dunes for about an hour.
Well I've never in my life
experienced anything like it.
Really it was punishing,
but it made us.
[Jock Wallace] Hands off that
bloody sand, come on!
Had about a session
for an hour, that was all.
And during that hour you
weren't allowed to walk.
I remember Jock running
over to me and
lifting me up by the
scruff of the neck.
He says, "hey Son, if
you're going to be sick,
be sick running, keep running!"
As much as it was physical,
it was psychological,
they believed they were fitter
than, than anyone else.
We just felt as if we could, we
could run through brick walls.
It was extreme training
but my God did it work.
The expectation levels at Ibrox
for the, for the, semifinal
were kind of, off the scale.
It was a great night for Glasgow
football, Scottish football
Two games,
either end of the city,
staggered by half an hour.
150,000 there.
Never be repeated again.
Rangers... under the shadow
of what happened in 1967,
are facing Bayern,
the team who defeated them
in that final, and Celtic are,
are facing Inter, the team that
they beaten... in that final
so there's a kind of
a poetry there.
And I had got this
terrible shin injury,
and it was touch and go, whether
I played against Bayern Munich.
I would not like to have played
brag against Willie Waddell.
He came up with one
or two distractions
involving the media.
The wily old Fox.
He says, "John you get
on that table there."
And he says, "pull your
socks down." So I did.
And he brought all
the press core in.
He said, "Have a look at that."
And my shin bone... it was
practically showing the bone.
And the... the guy says,
"he's not playing with that?!"
He say's, "yeah he's playing."
he says "that just shows you,
he's not frightened about Bayern
Munich." He says, "He's playing"
"Right, on you go." And out
they go [laughs]
He was really struggling,
but they didn't want
to make it public.
It was about maintaining
a guessing game,
It was about maintaining
a guessing game,
and it left
the Rangers fans bewildered,
it left the German team
totally in the dark as
to what to expect.
As it was, John Greig
was never really going
to make the game.
Dave Smith captained the side.
Dave Smith captained the side.
And Derek Parlane,
almost unheard of,
was thown in to the starting 11
against the giants
of the German game.
My dad said to me,
"Derek, do you think
there's a chance
that you might be on the bench?"
And I said, "Dad... on the bench
would be beyond my
wildest dreams."
Jock Wallace came into the
dressing room before the game.
He says, "Right lads, here's
tonight's team:
number one Peter McCloy,
number two Sandy Jardine,
number three, Billy Mathieson,
number four Derek Parlane,
number five, six..."
I honestly did not hear
the rest of the team.
Jock says to me, "Derek,
come on Son, I want
a word with you in
the boot room." [laughs]
I nearly said, "Jock, I want a
word wi' you, what you doin'?"
He said to me, "Look, we've
watched you lately in training,
we've watched the two games
you played for us.
we've watched the two games
you played for us.
We want you to mark a guy."
This guy was called
Franz Roth.
"And if you get half
a chance..."
kick the big bastard!"
INTENSE VIOLIN MUSIC
They flew in the day
of the game,
They think, "We'll go there,
we'll play the game,
and we're back home at midnight,
and we're in the final."
I think they were so confident,
and Big Jock says, "Yeah,
typical Germans you know,
just how they are.
They just think they're going
to win every game.
Especially this mob because,
they're a great side."
He says, "We're going
to have to play,
everybody's gonna have to
play out their skin tonight.
If we don't, then
we've no chance.
And if we can score a goal,
what a start that'll be for us.
There's 80,000 here at Ibrox.
So of course we'll go out, we
can't believe it, the noise is
phenomenal, we're all lined
up just looking around.
They could sense that something
was going to happen as well,
and so did we.
MATCH WHISTLE
INTENSE CLASSICAL MUSIC
My goodness Rangers started
with a whirlwind: tempo, desire.
Move the ball quickly.
I gave the ball to Sany Jardine,
just on the halfway line.
The man who had suffered
such frustration
against Bayern Munich in
the previous final of 1967,
cuts in from the right wing.
His left foot was just
for walking with,
he'd never kicked a ball with
his left foot in his life.
and all of a sudden he goes back
and all the lads are shouting,
"NO DON'T SHOOT, PASS!"
VICTORIOUS JAZZ MUSIC
He's hit this ball wi'
his left foot and it's
gone straight in
the top corner.
What a goal it is!
And Sandy couldn't
believe himself.
The ball's in the back of the
net within the first minute.
and 80,000... the roar when
you hear it is, it's quite,
it's quite something else.
God love you Sandy, scored in
the first minute of the game.
It settled us right down.
We're all over them!
Willie Johnston is running the
fullback right, he's firing
balls across the goal. You know
we're just missing the headers.
And, I hadn't even had a kick at
the big German sod so far,
but I got a few digs in, and
then in the 21st minute
Willie Johnston hit a
corner over from the,
the left hand side from the
Broomloan road end,
and Sepp Maier, the goalie,
punched it out.
And I met it on the half
volley with my left foot,
which was usually
for standing on,
and it went up into the
postage stamp.
And... ah my God, the guys
couldn't catch me,
I ran that fast.
And that night,
that goal,
my life changed.
Sounds very dramatic but it did.
My life changed.
DRAMATIC MUSIC
It's... arguably the greatest
performance in the whole,
in the whole run.
And that is essentially Bayern
Munich done after 20 odd minutes
Franz Beckenbauer was
something special,
you know, really world class,
but I had him on toast at Ibrox.
Rangers basically are left,
they were toying... at one point
in the second half Willie
Johnston actually,
he just sits on the ball.
Briefly, but he sits on the ball
just to make the point
that Rangers are tearing apart
what would basically be
the greatest team in the world
for the next three
or four years.
Willie Waddell gave him
stick about it, he says,
oh he says, "I was tired."
I was getting tired...
so I had to take a wee rest.
Sepp Maier I think it was,
He lost the plot, the crowd
got the better of him.
and I think he... dropped
his drawers and that to
the crowd and things like
that, so he was upset.
They were arguing
with each other.
We knew then that we werenae
gonna lose, you know.
Just another game aye, another
game to win, which we did.
It was probably one of
the greatest games in
Glasgow's football history.
It will never happen again,
I don't think.
Celtic lost their game that
night and went out.
and we went on, you know,
which made it even better
for us like, you know.
My Dad, my Dad picked
me up after the game.
I popped into my Dad's car
and we drove home.
My Mum says, "Well done
Derek, you did well tonight.
You want a cup of tea?" I had a
cup of tea and went to bed.
We'd beat one of the best teams
in the world.
FUNK MUSIC
The final in Barcelona.
As soon as you get to
the airport,
there was Rangers fans
there already waiting on us.
The amount of people
that were there were phenomenal,
just ordinary supporters
that couldn't really afford
to get there. But,
they made it.
And in' early 70's,
working class people didn't
go abroad for their holidays,
that was preserved
for the middle classes.
The 25,000 or so Rangers
fans who went,
most of them would be going
on a plane for the first time.
Most of them had to
go into debt.
A lot of the boys were
going to Barcelona
on a provvy cheque.
It's a loan!
And that was a big thing,
You know, credit wasn't easy
to get in those days.
It wasnae even acceptable.
Rangers fans had got there
any which way they could.
They'd gone by car,
hitching lifts.
they'd hired buses.
Bicycle, scooters,
motorbikes, vans.
Getting a car with an MOT,
and just leaving it.
I took my Mum.
[laughs]
She says, "What you
mean, come to Spain?"
"We're in the final at the
weekend,
You're coming to Spain".
"Oh, that'll be lovely."
She said "I've never been on an
aeroplane before."
Rangers fans were just
delighted to be there,
but there was a sense
of anticipation,
that this time,
third time lucky,
might be the season
that they actually lift that
European Trophy.
I think there was a presumption
around Ibrox
that because Rangers had beat
Bayern Munich.
The hard work was, was done,
knowing nothing about
Moscow Dynamo.
I've got to stress to you,
you didn't know about
these players.
You'd never seen them play,
unless they'd been on the TV,
which was very, very rare.
Well, I think when you've
beat the favorites
you've still got to have
the same attitude,
which is a big thing in
football: the right attitude
to play in a final, when you've
never seen them playing.
Till Waddell got some of the
pictures of their players
and that you didnae know
who you were playing.
Every game... they went and
analysed opponents,
right from the first round
against Rennes.
Now this was a
different question,
how do you get behind
the Iron Curtain,
to spy on a team from Moscow.
The Russians weren't happy
to hand out visas like confetti,
but Willie Waddell found a way.
He had friends in
the right places
to pull strings, to get
he and Jock Wallace
into Russia, to watch, in the
flesh, Moscow Dynamo.
You just look at their
run to the final,
and they're winning, they won
all their away games
apart from the semifinal, a home
leg with Dynamo Berlin.
They were good footballers,
and a big country.
Russia, at that time,
the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics,
the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics,
they were big, they
were massive.
They were competitive
in everything they did,
whether it was gymnastics,
or football.
They were just bred as athletes.
We did the training and,
midway through the training,
we lost our centre-half,
Colin Jackson, he went over
on his ankle.
SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC
Colin was ruled out,
prior to the big game
against... Moscow Dynamo.
Big Ronnie McKinnon had
broke his leg in Lisbon.
That meant two centre-halves,
we'd lost Ronnie McKinnon,
We'd lost Colin Jackson,
we'd no centre-half.
In the final,
it was Derek Johntsone
and Dave Smith.
I was told I was playing
in the afternoon,
and I was playing
alongside Dave Smith,
who I hadn't played with before.
You know this was the first
the two center halves were
together, in this game.
And the night before the game,
John Greig was...
extremely doubtful
at that point,
because of an injury, whether
he was gonna play or not.
I had fractured my
metatarsal joint.
In the morning of the match
when I woke up, I couldnae
put my foot on the ground,
I was in agony.
Waddell 110% wanted
John Greig to play.
Waddell 110% wanted
John Greig to play.
I don't think he was fit,
but there was no way he
wasnae going to play like,
that was John Greig.
Make no mistake,
John Greig should
not have played
in the final, in Barcelona.
But somehow the medics
patched him up.
And saying that, I think they
probably would need to
have anesthetized him
not to have him play.
I remember arriving very
early at the stadium
and the Rangers supporters
were on the pitch
and it was like Sunday
strolling in the park,
walking all over the pitch
with the police just looking
at them.
It was so friendly, as if the
Spaniards were saying,
"Welcome to Barcelona."
Fans invading the park.
It was well known,
it was done for years.
That in itself
contained the seeds of
what happened later.
because the police really
should have been saying
"This is sacred territory.
You don't get on it."
When we drove in
to get into the Nou Camp,
it was just like
going into Ibrox,
it was a mass of blue,
and in fact they were
rocking the bus.
And it was deafening,
and so that's the first time
we've seen or heard the crowd.
ORCHESTRAL MUSIC
I remember getting
very emotional,
seeing all the supporters with
their scarves and their flags.
Thinking to myself,
we've really got to do it
this time for them.
There's always pressure
on Rangers players,
Rangers have to win.
If you don't win you're
gonna be criticized,
a lot.
By the papers, the fans,
and probably,
if you're being honest,
with yourself because
how big an opportunity
is it, to play
Moscow Dynamo, in the Nou Camp
in front of Rangers supporters
because there was very few
Russian supporters there.
It was like a home game to us.
We think we thought,
"This is ours lads,
this is ours,
We've got to believe
we can do this."
Deedle give to me what
was a good talk.
You know, he was saying to us,
"Remember now" he says,
"There's people in villages,
there's people in towns,
there's people in cities,
countries,
millions and millions,
all around the world, sitting
and waiting on this result."
He says "Go out and
do it for them."
"Don't do it for yourself,
do it for them" he says.
"And then you'll be heroes."
We'll probably not get another,
another chance, you know.
The last chance.
MATCH WHISTLE
INTENSE MUSIC
Their main player
was a guy called Sabo.
He was the one that made
them tick, he was the guy
that got on the ball and
made things happen.
Willie Waddell I remember
saying to John Greig he said,
"Hey, listen, the captain
is their top man
everything goes through him."
He says "I want you to
sort him out early."
So the ball got centered,
kicked back,
and it got played to Sabo,
and Greigy hit him.
He whacked the boy.
Oof!
The game had just started
and the ball broke
between the two of us,
and I thought, "Well, if I
don't go in for this,
I'm gonna get hurt."
So I went in and
clattered him and
he walked away without saying
a word and I walked away.
So that was it.
Everyone in the stadium from
a Rangers perspective went
"Captain's back."
That guy Sabo never
kicked a ball,
till late in the second half.
for an unfit man, he did,
he did his job well.
[commentator] Mathieson,
Smith, Greig.
I remember the first
15, 20 minutes, I'm just,
"Slow it down,
calm yourself, get a
grip of the ball."
Fcking going everywhere.
[commentator] Dave Smith.
Dave Smith, Willie Johnston,
John Grieg, Sandy Jardine,
are absolutely determined
that they are not going to lose
another European final.
The guys that were there in 67.
Dave Smith has that bit of class
that bit of concentration,
that bit of skill,
that he sets up the...
he plays an electric ball.
[commentator] Dave Smith.
Over to Colin Stein.
Goal! Fantastic goal,
incredible! Colin Stein!
A tremendous piece of football
and he just rifles it
into the top corner.
FUNK ROCK MUSIC
Sandy Jardine
won a tackle on the halfway line
which he never usually did,
and gave the ball to
Dave Smith,
who chucked it forward to
me and I just whacked it
right in the net.
Oh! What a feeling
that is, a European final and
you've scored the first goal,
the fans are going
absolutely berserk.
I turned round and there was
hundreds and hundreds
on the park.
[commentator] And the fans
are on the pitch!
They run on the pitch,
and the game gets held
up for five minutes
while they all get off.
We're trying to help
them off you know
"Come on, come on get off!"
And the same happened
the second goal,
Dave Smith got the
ball on the right half
[commentator] Smith again.
Good ball.
It's a goal!
Willie Johnston!
CROWD CHEER
Dave Smith, a master
of his trade
with the ball at his feet.
The two assists you see,
as my friends would say,
two long punts up the park.
I can remember looking at Davie
and putting my hands in my
head and going
"Are we really two-nothing up?"
but the turning point is in
the second half.
The kick out from Peter McCloy.
I used to hit it very high.
Over the years we got a lot of
goals off it for the Rangers.
[commentator] Johnston
is through.
Goal!
Goal by Johnston!
Willie Johnston just takes
it and controls it
and just puts it away.
The Russians were like
rabbits in headlights.
It seems as if the game is over.
Then all of a sudden,
the Russians realise,
"We need to make
a fist of this."
And they found a way
to try and muscle
their way back into the game.
[commentator] The Russians
are attacking.
INTENSE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC
Goal!
And then, 3-1.
I think the biggest problem is
I think we saw the winning
post to early
We definitely...
went to sleep.
Lost concentration.
We were definitely getting
a wee bit tired, you know.
And the polo necks were
getting to us as well.
Polo necks in Spain.
They should never have
been in sight of us,
because we were a far, far
better team than them.
[commentator] Goal again!
Moscow Dynamo score
with only three minutes
of the game remaining
and that three goal
cushion has evaporated
into one.
Rangers were running on empty.
The tank was in the red.
And all of a sudden they
start coming forward.
So we're having to
defend a lot more.
The Rangers fans are quiet.
They're starting to panic
a wee bit now.
From then on in you're
saying, "Not again,
It's not going to happen
again." You know.
If I've ever, glad to
hear a final whistle,
that would have been the night.
[commentator] Oh! the crowd
on the pitch again!
Referee blew for the free kick
and the fans come on
and it wasnae, it wasnae
the end of the game,
they had to kind of back off.
We've still got another
two minutes to go.
They thought it was the
final whistle.
Invading the park is what
you did in those days.
[commentator] Oh, my oh my,
the game's not over yet.
As I was doing the
commentary,
one supporter came
and sat on my knee
and offered me a
drink of Fundador,
which is that firewater
Spanish brandy,
which you shouldn't really
touch with a bargepole.
They were in seventh heaven.
They thought it was all over.
It was just chaos.
I mean, it was just
fans everywhere.
We can argue about it all day,
it was an accident.
We thought it was full time.
[commentator] They'll have
to clear the pitch
and play the
remaining time.
They just made a mistake.
Off they went.
INTENSE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC
However close it
looked on paper,
the memories, I think
of '67 were definitely
there in the back of
the mind that night
and it wasn't going
to happen again.
[commentator] Stein.
Johnston.
MacDonald.
It's getting
quite physical.
They weren't letting that go,
there was just no way that was
going to happen again.
[commentator] We're expecting
the final whistle
at any moment now.
The Rangers fans
watch on... waiting.
There's no way Rangers were
letting this, letting this slip.
REFEREES WHISTLE
[commentator] And there
we have it.
Rangers are the
winners of the
European Cup
Winners' Cup.
The supporters
are flooding on!
What a sight
to behold!
UPLIFTING MUSIC
You can see how
much it means.
CROWD CHEERING
We can't see
the players anymore.
It's a sea
of people.
What incredible scenes!
They've waited a
long time for this.
EMOTIONAL PIANO MUSIC
It's probably the most wonderful
feeling I've ever had.
Tremendous... atmosphere
it was like, you know.
And of course with
25,000 Scotsmen,
full of sangria.
[Laughs]
It was just euphoria,
flooding onto the pitch.
and manifesting itself
in that way.
this was, this was
just that rush of,
of just pure celebration.
You never forget that euphoria,
it's the most wonderful memory,
you'll never, you'll
never beat it.
Well I ran into the...
down the stairs,
and then Willie Johnston
come in after me.
Steiny was waiting on me,
and he says,
"What took you so long?"
I says "You seen out there?"
There was hundreds of people on
the park and it's the first time
I've ever beat him at running.
CROWD CHANTING
They're cuddling you
and... following you.
You cannae see me. I mean,
they're all a good six foot aye.
To them it was just...
emotion, you know.
They'd won a European
trophy like, you know.
CROWD CHANTING
[commentator] The police
haven't got a chance.
The players, Willie Waddell,
they're all in there.
The police.
They started thumping 'em
with big batons.
Not just wee batons.
The Glaswegians are no...
they'll no back down.
Spain was run by the
Dictator: Franco,
and it was his fascist police
who took the heavy hand
and charged the Rangers fans.
They were just happy, delirious,
there was not any trouble.
But, they should just have let
them run mad for 10 minutes.
The police got it wrong,
I think, you know,
they really did.
Typical Glasgow boy, you don't
hit me, you don't get hit back.
You know.
ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC
They got us off the pitch
as quick as possible.
They escorted us into
the dressing room.
Yeah, it became apparent that
there could be no trophy
presentation.
You know, there was too much
trouble going on outside.
Obviously in the dressing room
we didnae know what
was happening
to be honest with you.
Just sitting there waiting
to get an answer.
You know, "Are we going
to get the cup or not?"
And then all of a sudden,
Waddell and John Greig
was called to a,
some wee room away in the
stadium somewhere.
I'm sure that we ended up in
the Barcelona... trophy room.
There's all these officials and
I think they were all UEFA
officials that night.
and the guy, I don't, I don't
know what he said, but
it sounded as if he was saying
"1972 European Cup Winners' Cup,
winners: Glasgow Rangers,
here... now on yous go,
on your bike"
DISCO FUNK MUSIC
Till we got back to the dressing
room and we got in there,
and we handed the cup over to
the boys and the boys went
daft when they saw
the cup and that.
Well when they come in
with the cup, that was it,
we knew we'd won it, so...
it was party time.
PLAYERS CHEERING
I remember him, he just ran
into the dressing room.
we were all in the bath and he
threw the cup in the bath
and we all jumped about and
had a right a good laugh.
It was absolutely wonderful.
PLAYERS CHEERING
It was great you know, Just
everybody's overjoyed and
It's hard to put words into it,
you know you're
It's hard to put words into it,
you know you're
that excited and the
adrenaline is still flowing.
It was, it was, it was
one of the nights
you would nae, you would
nae forget.
Then we went back to...
up to our hotel.
The champagne was flowing.
Rightly so [laughs].
I can remember all the
wifes and the mums
coming back to the hotel.
My Mum had two wee
glasses of sherry
and went to bed early.
[Laughs]
Dave Smith, and Greigy,
and myself.
I don't think we went to bed.
There wasn't a drink left
in the hotel that night.
I was never a big drinker.
You know I was,
"God sake lads, I'm not...
I'm not drinking."
"I'm, I'm 18 and a half.
I don't want to drink."
And Steiny "Come on, son,
have a drink, have a drink."
Waking up in the morning
with a banging head,
which I'd never had before.
I guess that's a
hangover for you.
And what a lot of people
don't know is that
the trophy in the morning
had a dent in it.
Me and John Greig had it.
We shared a room and
we looked at the trophy and
there was a dent in the side,
but they got fixed.
We were very fortunate.
Colin Jackson's father
was on the bus.
So he drove us up, they got the
bus to take us up to the hotel.
And he asked Willie Waddell
if he could
get the players
down with the Cup
because we never seen the Cup
getting presented at the
end of the game.
John Grieg came down with
the Cup, all the players.
And I went down and got
to hold the Cup with John.
Holding the Cup with John Greig.
Highlight of my life.
Of course a lot of the fans
were still in Barcelona,
when we paraded the Cup at Ibrox
the next night.
The thing was my family
was still in Barcelona.
[laughs] So there was
nobody in the house.
FUNK MUSIC
We went back to Ibrox.
What was waiting for us?
A big limousine, weren't it.
Called a coal lorry. [laughs]
A coal lorry.
And it... peeing with rain
[laughs]
And that's the type of thing
that we were used to.
I don't know if the coal man had
just finished his shift and was
still driving. I dont know.
[laughs]
Trying to balance yourself
standing on the end.
Went round the track
with the Cup.
Class act. Hey.
"Anybody wanna bag of coal?
Anybody wanna bag of coal?"
BAGPIPES PLAYING
At the time...
it's not seen as being as
glamorous or glorious as the
as the players would've
imagined it.
There's a tatty old Union Jack
on the front of the truck
that's kind of fallen off.
But, whether they
like it or not,
that's what I grew up with.
and that's, you know,
as Rangers supporters
we've taken that to our heart.
That kind of chaos.
You know, the chaos of
the Sporting game,
The chaos after the final,
you know,
not being able to get the
trophy, and it's part of
what we love about the club.
UPLIFTING ORCHESTRAL MUSIC
The supporters, you know,
are eveything
to-to Rangers Football Club.
To get a Cup... a European Cup
and bring it back to them,
well that's the pinnacle innit?
The pinnacle of your career.
And as we got to the
Broomloan Road end
there was a guy standing there
and it was pouring with rain,
he was standing there
waving his scarf,
and it was Bobby Shearer.
Bobby Shearer used to be
the captain of Rangers.
He was in the crowd.
It hit me at that point,
there was a legend.
Not in the stand or, or
in the... directors box.
just standing on the terrace,
waving a Rangers scarf.
You know.
An out and out legend.
That's when it hit me
like, you know.
The players enjoyed it.
There's no doubt at all
the players enjoyed it.
I mean, it was the biggest,
the biggest day in
most of their lives,
the day in biggest in my life,
and this club's life, winning
a European Trophy.
CROWD CHEER
When you pull theat
jersey over your head,
it's a tremendous experience.
And it's not about you,
as Willie Waddell says
"The millions and millions of
people all around the world
who are sitting and waiting on
that result on that day like,
you know, it's about them.
It's about the people
on the terracing."
I think winning,
meant everything, meant so
much to the supporters
after everything that
had gone before.
But it just gave a...
hope, a sense of pride.
Oh I certainly think the
Rangers supporters needed it.
I needed it.
And the players that played
in the '67 needed it.
The club needed it.
There's no question about that.
What is that moment
that you're going to be
remembered for,
for all time, what
in 50 years time are
you going to be
looking back at thinking, "Yeah,
I did that.
I was part of that."
And, and there's very few
people probably in the world
that are lucky enough
to have that moment.
And I look at... you know, for
example, my Dad. Eight years,
more than 300 games,
that 90 minutes in Barcelona,
is, is it.
That's what his life, his
career, is, is defined by.
And there's lots of
players in that team
who went on to win
lots more leagues, trebles,
cups momentous occasions,
scored so many goals,
but they'll still be forever
defined by Barcelona
and that's... special.
It's quite remarkable.
You can go through a lifetime
and you don't know
in that that moment in
time that this is what's,
what's going to define you.
But it does.
REFLECTIVE PIANO MUSIC
I look back and I'm thinking
it was just yesterday.
You wonder where the 50
years has gone because
it doesn't seem that long ago.
We didn't think an awful lot
that we could maybe
do it again but,
things have changed.
As you know.
You don't want to be
just an 11 or
19 players involved.
You want other players
to get the, the,
the feeling of doing it as well
you know because it's
it's with you for life.
You know,
naebody can take it
away from you.
You never come down from that,
you know that remains with you,
you've won that
trophy and it's...
it's special.
I was playing football and
what could be better in life
than getting paid for doing
something you'd be doing
if you weren't 'been paid.
I just loved it.
You know,
you don't realise you know, that
we're just ordinary people.
I'm just happy I've done it,
been there, seen it.
Barcelona 72's about a
moment in time that...
changed a club forever.
Change a city. It's 90
minutes that made heroes,
made legends.
MUSIC:'Here's to My Old Friends'
by Ellen Smith
They'd had an awful lot
of different experiences they'd
shared together, some good,
some really, really, painful and
poignant experiences together
and I doubt there's
another group of players
that have been through
what they went through together.
# Here's to my old friends #
# I miss you every day #
# I miss you every day #
Peter McCloy, the gentle giant.
'The Girvan Lighthouse.'
It was me that named him that,
you know being so
tall obviously
Mr. Sensible.
Good lad Peter.
Big Ronnie,
'Clint Eastwood', I
used to call him.
Very calm cool lad, you know.
I couldnae say anything bad
about him, great guy.
Ah my mate, my mucker.
my roommate for best
part of ten years.
Only 18, 19 year old to play,
playing in a European Final.
Must have been
tremendous for him.
# So here's to the old times #
'The Quiet Assassin'
I call Willie.
Think he was an
unsung hero Willie.
Very, very underrated
football player.
Willie Henderson.
He's still the same wee
arrogant boy he was then,
and a nicer wee guy you'll
never meet in your life.
Wonderful little lad.
Everyone played there
part in that campaign,
incluiding: Penman,
Fyfe,
and Denny
Parlane, good player, always
played well against Celtic.
Good in the air, could
pass a ball,
Derek was an overall
good player.
Super guy.
Dave Smith: 'Mr. Quiet Man'.
He was just exceptional,
and he was a good talker as
well to the players around him.
Davie used to take players
on in our penalty box.
I'd be screaming at him,
"Get that ball out of there,
get it out of there!"
Tommy McLean, could land
a ball on a six pence.
It was unbelievable
to watch him.
He was a good man to
have in your team,
he was a good lad as well.
Doddie aye, a great wee person.
'Mr. Slide Tackler' I call him.
Typical little Glasgow guy.
If you cut the wee mans arm,
he'd bleed blue blood.
Rangers through and through.
Alfie Conn was a great
midfield player,
good lad off the park as well.
Alfie was an awful nice lad.
Is still an awful nice lad.
Colin Jackson.
He was the best
center-half we had,
he was solid, a great marker.
A good defender and
a real Ranger.
He was the life and soul
of the dressing room,
not in ways that you'd
want him to be.
Because he'd be a pest.
One of my best friends
from football.
Ahh...
I love him.
# Here's to my old friends #
Great personality, and one
of my best friends.
He was a top character,
you know.
A wonderful lad to be
beside, great company.
He still is to me,
probably one of the best
young players that's
ever been at this club.
# Here's to the old times #
We used to be like
two brothers really,
we shared a room for many years.
He would have run
through brick walls John.
That's just the way he was.
He was a tremendous leader
on the park and...
he drove us on.
Sandy, Sandy was a class act.
He really encapsulated
everything
He really encapsulated
everything
that a Ranger should be.
Difficult to find words
for Sandy because
we traveled together for
so many years together.
It's hard for us to accept
he's gone, you know.
I wished he was here.
# But you'll still live
as hopeful as #
# the days we had together #
Willie Waddlle said to us after
the game, "You won this trophy.
In 50 years time they'll
be talking about this."
He was good for Rangers
there's no question of about it.
He knew what he was doing,
He knew what he was doing.
Although he appeared a
hard person,
he had his soft sides as well.
# So here's to my old friends #
he was always very,
very good to me.
I feel I owe him a
debt of gratitude.
[Director] If you could say
something to Waddell now,
What would it be?
If I could say something
to Waddell?
I'd say, "Willie, why did you
not turn that light to green
more often when I was
coming up to talk to you?"
First thing I would say to him,
"You never gave me the
10 rise you offered me."
[Laughs] That'd be a starter.
What would I say to him?
Firstly I'd say
"How's it going?"
"What were your feelings,
actually, when we won that cup,
and you realised we were the
first Rangers team to win it?"
Quite simply I would just say
"Thanks for everything Boss."
"Thanks."
He definitely changed me,
you know.
# Miss you every day #
I would say "Thank you."
A big thank you.
To say well he gave me a
good break, you know, and I...
can't say enough about
Willie I don't think.
[whispers] Oh dear.
He certainly made me a player.
There's not much I
can say because...
he changed me.
# And leave our faces changed #
"I miss the arguments Boss."
That's what I would say
to Willie Waddell.
"Well done, Mr. Waddell.
and I miss the arguments."
That's what I think I would say.
# Leave our faces changed #
# But we'll still live
as hopeful #
# as the days we had together. #