This is totally new ground for Tim Wiese: “This is the first time that I will play up here in Scotland”, admitted the keeper - there are a number of other Green-Whites who have made acquaintance with the British Islands. Diego and Hugo Almeida have the most recent experience, from their visit to play Rangers with FC Porto on 13.09.2005. After an exciting tie, the hosts ran out 3:2 winners on that occasion - a result that Diego feels can be avoided with the right recipe: “We will have to play cleverly, with the correct balance between passion and coolness.”
Jurica Vranjes has also suffered defeat at Ibrox Park - a 1:2 with VfB Stuttgart back on September 9th, 2003 but the midfield man is looking forward to another shot at Rangers: “Us Croatians are used to how things are at Ibrox Park, the action gets going from the first minute there, just like on the big derby days in Croatia.” Frank Baumann has very different memories: “I have stood on the pitch there but then it was in total silence”, remarked a grinning captain who went on to explain: “It was the final training session with the German national team before the World Cup qualifier against Scotland. We played the next day at Hampden Park.”
Glasgow has some positive memories for Klaus Allofs too. Werder’s general manager seems to recall winning against Rangers “Sometime between 1981 and 1987” with 1. FC Köln, or “At the very least we progressed in a tournament against them”. The facts state that Allofs was a part of the side from Cologne that turned over a 1:2 from the first leg of a tie in Glasgow with a 5:0 win at home during the 1982/1983 season - a constellation that the Green-Whites could certainly live with. They would all like to crown their visit to Scotland with one extra aspect - a win!