The £20m Rangers crowning moment that sends shivers down former star's spine every time he watches it on YouTube
Even watching it on YouTube still sends a shiver down the spine of Antonio Colak.
His goals for Rangers against PSV Eindhoven helped earn the club around £20million in the summer of 2022. But the memories he’s got are priceless. Colak’s winner in Holland got the club back into Europe’s top tournament under Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Unfortunately, the Dutch coach was sacked later that season while Colak was sold a year on by his replacement, Michael Beale. But the 31-year-old striker - now at Italian side Spezia - will never forget that night in Eindhoven.
He said: “It was one of the highlights of my career. Rangers hadn’t played in the Champions League for 11 years and I was part of getting them back to where they belong. It was an incredible moment for me. We were suffering in that game but stayed together as a team. Getting the goal was a special moment for me. I also scored in the first-leg against PSV at Ibrox. When I watch the video now and hear the crowd, it still gives me goosebumps.
“Rangers is a club that should be in the Champions League every year. When I arrived I told them I’d try to help them get there - because I’d done it the year before with Malmo when we beat Rangers and I scored. And we really did it. Unfortunately, it’s not easy to do it every year.”
Colak scored the last time Rangers faced Union St-Gilloise when the Ibrox club defied the odds in a Champions League qualifier. But now the big Croatian striker expects Philippe Clement’s side to comfortably see off the Belgians in the Europa League.
Rangers take them on in Glasgow on Thursday night, knowing a victory could book them a place in the last 16. When the clubs met in August 2022, Union won the first-leg of their tie 2-0 at home. But in front of a roaring Ibrox, Colak and Co turned things around. He grabbed their second goal after a James Tavernier penalty to level it up on aggregate before Malik Tillman’s late winner. Colak will be watching his former club in midweek and believes Clement’s men will come out on top.
He said: “In that home game against Union three years ago, the fans were incredible for us in turning the tie around. We were 2-0 down from the first game but we started the match brilliantly. Tav scored a penalty and I got the second goal to open up everything for us.
“It was a fantastic team performance and St Gilloise were a really competitive side then. They’ll be the same now but, for me, Rangers have to win next week and I’m sure they will.”
Colak was sold to Parma in 2023, and helped them win promotion back to Serie A last term. Now, he’s at Spezia trying to achieve the same this season. But wherever he goes, he’ll struggle to recreate that golden goalscoring period he had at Rangers when he first arrived. And he’s pleased that supporters haven’t forgotten it either.
He said: “The start I made there was incredible. My first goal was against Kilmarnock and then I had a feeling that every chance I got, I’d score. I was just waiting for the ball, waiting for the moment - because I knew. My confidence was so high then. It was a beautiful time for me.
“The way Rangers play was perfect for me. I still get messages from fans every week. Some of them have even come to Italy to meet me. There are Rangers supporters everywhere, it’s unbelievable.
“That shows me that I did a lot of things right at the club. The love of the fans? You can’t buy that anywhere.”
