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THE last time Rangers met Sporting Lisbon in European competition they went all the way to the final in Spain and returned with the Cup-Winners' Cup in the kit hamper.

Yesterday in Nyon the Ibrox side were drawn against the Portuguese outfit in the quarter-final of the UEFA Cup and inevitably thoughts raced ahead.

Different competitions, yes, but could history be about to repeat itself? Should Rangers, who survived almost constant pressure to scrape through against Werder Bremen in Germany on Thursday night, be looking for omens?

Why not? Willie Henderson, one of the heroes of Rangers' campaign of 1971-72 which ended in triumph in Barcelona, waited for news of the draw and as soon as Sporting and his old club were paired he couldn't help but wonder if the past was rushing towards Rangers' future.

As his mind sprinted back to '71-72 his face broke into one of those famous wide grins. He said: "It's all coming back to me. Honestly, what a campaign, and what a night that was when we played that second leg in Lisbon.

"One minute we thought we were dead and buried after losing a penalty shoot-out and the next we were hitting the roof. Mistakes had been made and we were through.

"I doubt if the same drama will ever be repeated but Rangers can do it again. They can also get to another European final because Walter Smith is working wonders with this team."

Even allowing for the "Smith factor" which seems to be growing more important by the match, Rangers still have an awful lot to do before they can emulate the '72 mob which boasted Greig, McKinnon, Jardine, Stein and, of course, Henderson. Smith's side are only two ties off the UEFA Cup Final, which will be played at the City of Manchester Stadium but they are still so far away Smith won't allow any of his players to dream or think about getting their hands on a European trophy.

The supporters can, though, and Henderson started looking ahead by turning back to that incredible night of November 3, 1971 in Lisbon.

Rangers won the first leg 3-2 at Ibrox with Colin Stein (two) and Henderson the scorers but Sporting hit back in the return and with the score standing at 3-2 in their favour after 90 minutes the tie raced into extra time.

Stein had scored both Rangers' goals in normal time then Henderson found the net in 100 minutes.

At 3-3 they were heading into the quarter-finals but Perez scored a fourth for Sporting in 114 minutes and the Dutch referee, Laurens van Raavens, insisted on the penalty shoot-out even though Henderson was trying to tell Rangers manager Willie Waddell that they should be going through.

The away-goals rule had just been introduced but the referee had forgotten and Sporting won the shoot-out. Henderson said: "It was unbelievable. We were sitting in the dressing room with our heads in our hands. There was something in my head about away goals but it seemed we were out.

"We were in a deep depression because of the result also because big Ronnie McKinnon had suffered a really bad leg break.

"It was hellish and we were all low but there was a knock at the dressing room door.

"The manager opened it and one of the Scottish pressmen was standing there. He and the manager went away and were in some kind of conversation.

"We didn't know what was going on but after what seemed like an eternity the manager came back in and said we were through.

"Well, we just went wild. It was a night to remember because one minute you think you're out and the next you're going through."

Waddell listened to the pressman and then consulted UEFA officials who confirmed Rangers should go through on the new away-goals rule but it remains one of the most bizarre incidents in the game's history.

And Rangers' surge to the final and victory over Moscow Dynamo in the Nou Camp is enshrined in the club's legend. Smith will never admit he thinks or believes his side can get to the final but the way they defend and with Allan McGregor pulling off saves which have to be described as miraculous anything is possible.

However, it's unlikely any of the Sporting Lisbon players who will arrive in Glasgow on April 2 for the next day's first leg - the return will be played on April 10 - will come bearing gifts as one of their predecessors did back in '71.

Henderson said: "When they touched down in Glasgow their left-back, Hilario, had this huge box with him and the pressmen were all trying to find out what he was bringing in.

"Turned out that Eusebio, one of the world's finest ever players, was a friend of mine and because he also knew Hilario he'd asked him to bring over a gift for me. So Hilario had to lug this big box full of bottles of Mattheus Rose.

"I thanked Hilario very much and then went out and scored against him. I did the same thing in the second leg and I remember Eusebio phoning me up to ask if I liked the gift and he told me Hilario had said the closest he ever got tome during those two matches was when he was handing over the wine."

No one will be handing Rangers wine this time but Smith's group just might be drinking champagne on May 14, the day of the UEFA Cup Final.