Ianis Hagi names the missed Rangers chance he is determined to recover from as European hangover lingers
Ianis Hagi can take satisfaction from the face he helped set Rangers’ ball rolling on the run to Seville.
And the Ibrox playmaker reckons his team are building a similar head of steam to the surge that took them to within a whisker of Europa League glory three years ago. Injury robbed the Romanian of the chance to take part in the later stages of that adventure. A devastating knee ligament rupture meant Hagi was left stranded on the sidelines as Gio van Bronckhorst’s daring outfit stormed past Borussia Dortmund, Red Star Belgrade, Braga and RB Leipzig to set up that date with destiny against Eintracht Frankfurt.
It was a deflating period for Hagi as he missed out on that thrill ride across the continent. But the 26-year-old still looks back proudly on the goal he netted against Brondby to earn a 1-1 draw in Denmark, a result that kept the side on course to qualify for the knock-out stages.
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While Hagi felt he could rightly claim to have played his own key role back then, he can’t say this same about this year’s Euro bid having been left out of Philippe Clement’s UEFA squad list following a summer contract wrangle. Despite having to do without his defence-splitting abilities, Rangers still managed upset the odds by claiming a slot in the last 16 - with a clash against either Anderlecht, Bodo/Glimt, Twente or Fenerbahce to come next month.
And that means there’s still time for Hagi to make a contribution to this year’s cause having brokered a peace deal with the Ibrox paymasters. Hagi - certain to be one of three names Clement is allowed to add to his squad for the knock-out stages - said: “I've always enjoyed a European night and hopefully I can help the team in those nights as well and not only in domestic games.
“It's difficult when you don't play at all. In any type of game, not only European games. I want to be on the pitch for a full 90 minutes. That's my mentality. That's what I'm focusing on.
“I'm probably speaking for every player in the dressing room. They want to be there as much as possible on the pitch. I think it goes without saying that I want to be there.
“Having missed out on the road to Seville, is there a part of me that really wants to sample those big nights? Yeah, obviously. I think that European run was fantastic considering how we started with the Alashkert game here.
“Going down to 10 men after 40 minutes and still getting into the group stages. I think everybody did his own job back then.
“Obviously myself in the group stages. I got injured but I scored that goal away in Brondby which kept our chances alive to get out of the group stages and then everybody did his own job until the final.
“It's definitely special when you get that momentum. I feel like we're having that this season. You never know what can happen.
“We just have to take it game by game. Obviously a fantastic performance by the boys to put us in the top eight. So I’m looking forward to playing in the last 16, definitely.”
Hagi’s most memorable moment in a blue jersey came on one of those famous European nights in March 2020, when he inspired a heroic comeback from two goals down against Braga. He scored twice in a 3-2 triumph but got a major slice of luck as his winner took a wild deflection before bouncing into the net.
And Hagi admits he was left with flashbacks to that epic evening on Sunday as a similar set-piece ricochet sealed his second goal in a 4-0 hammering of ropey Ross County. Smiling, he said: “Yeah, look I've been really unlucky with my free kicks since that Braga game.
“Here and also with the national team, I’ve hit the post quite a few times. So on Sunday, finally the luck was on my side and hopefully now I can keep adding them up because I really trust my free kicks.
“I hope I can give a good competition to Skip [James Tavernier] because he's a fantastic free-kick taker. It's good when you have different options in the team and hopefully we can score together as many as possible.
“Since I've been back in the team, I’ve been in and around the queue for the free kicks. I told him ‘I feel like I'm quite hot today’ after scoring the first goal.
“My respect goes to Skip, everybody knows he's huge. Hopefully when I get my chances I can score them and everybody at the end of the day will be happy.”
There is certainly a chirpier mood around Ibrox this week. Thursday’s win over Union Saint-Gilloise capped off a memorable Euro league phase campaign while Sunday’s victory over Saints means it’s now four straight Premiership wins. All that has staved off a repeat of the protests Clement was forced to stare down only last month.
But Hagi isn’t getting too carried away just yet. He said: “I think we’re in the part of the season when it’s really important to focus on the next game.
“During my injury, I learned this saying - ‘Never get too high with the highs and never get too low with the lows’. I think that describes us right now. Just keep it cool, have a balanced life and see where that takes you.
“Obviously we’re happy we have this moment where we are winning but we have to keep it going. Does all this strengthen our mentality? 100 percent. I think that's how you build teams.
“You want it as quickly as possible. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. It's football. But one thing is for sure that there were games this season against really tough oppositions where we actually showed our quality and our talent in the team. Consistency is probably the word for us and that's what we're focusing on.”
