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Ufa v Rangers

When Rangers were drawn against FC Ufa in the Europa League Playoff Round, the city of Ufa prepared to host perhaps the biggest sporting event in their history. A match which could send their modest club to the group stages of a European competition for their first time. The icing on the cake? Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard recently became their manager.

The hype among the locals in the build up to the second leg, after a narrow 1-0 1defeat at Ibrox in front of nearly 50,000, was unprecedented. Despite ticket prices being almost double than a normal match, general director of the club Shamil Gazizov expected a near sell-out.

Families, children, the regular fan groups – all were expected in big numbers, not to mention the potential for travelling Rangers fans. In their previous away legs, the Scots had travelled out to Slovenia and Croatia and caused quite the stir. However, with travel and visa costs for a lengthy trip to Russia, the visiting contingent was expected to be small.

As Rangers arrived in Ufa the night before kick off, the excitement was building among the locals. At the Sheraton hotel, where some Rangers fans had already arrived, Bashkir natives bearing Liverpool shirts and holding up signs in English swarmed the lobby and pavement outside, awaiting their hero.

As kick-off approached the following day, it became clear that around 60 Rangers fans had made the long trip out to Russia, making several connections on the way. Dedication indeed. While the Ufa fans set flares off as their team coach set off for the Neftyanik Stadium in the north of the city, the Rangers fans made their way on special coaches set up by the home side. A nice touch.

The match itself was a thrilling affair. Rangers grabbed a huge advantage with an early goal, but then sat off as Ufa had to score three times in order to progress. A goal before half-time, paired with a Rangers red card, set the tie up for a tantalising second 45. The home fans got behind their team, as Ufa went on to have a total of 26 efforts on goal. A second red card for Rangers meant that they were forced to sit in and defend for their lives.

Ufa pushed on, and despite hitting the post twice and having a late goal disallowed, were not able to find the back of the net again. The home side were out, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of many. Hundreds of fans gathered outside the stadium waiting for Gerrard to reappear. When he did, the rush of fans meant he spent just a few moments to take selfies, before heading back inside his coach – halting any potential crush.

Джеррард вышел к фанатам pic.twitter.com/FeSgFAEjiQ — Denis Taipov (@denis_taipov) August 30, 2018

Among all this furore were the Rangers fans, who after celebrating their goal loudly, had not been seen at all during the match. The hardy bunch included Andy Mac, who told RFN about his experience in the city.

I come to Russia often for work, so the game was perfect for me. Obviously it is much smaller than Moscow, but I was pleasantly surprised for Ufa.

We managed to sort a bus to get all the supporters to the game and back, so all worked perfectly. Of course the weather is perfect right now, which always helps.

When asked about the Ufa fans and locals, Andy was complimentary, echoing the reception felt by fans during the World Cup, which Ufa was not a part of.

The locals were great, they could not have made us more welcome. It was funny to see all the people in Liverpool shirts desperate to see our manager, they were permanently outside the hotel.

The Neftyanik Stadium where the match was held is over 100 years old, but was modernised when Ufa were promoted to the RPL.

Yes, the stadium was pretty basic and they fenced us in a kind of pen – as there were only 53 of us – I guess for our safety. The plastic pitch didn’t look great and you could see our players struggling with it.

The atmosphere was great. They seem to have a fairly “family” club. It was Good to see a lot of youngsters there. We had zero issues, and the locals clapped when we went past them on the bus to the stadium.

While Ufa did drop out of Europe, it’s a day that will live long in the memory of the locals, as will as the Rangers fans no doubt. The Russians got a once in a lifetime chance to see a legend, while Rangers – under the management of said legend – qualify for the Europa League for the first time since their reform.

Ufa now get the chance to fix their league form and aim to try and get back to Europe next year, though the busy schedule at the start of the season has left them in the relegation zone after their first six rounds. One thing is for sure, the locals will have the taste for European football now.