The Telegraph
13th August 1999
AFTER under performing dismally in Europe for half a decade, Rangers yesterday relished the satisfaction of having inflicted damage on formidable opponents. Parma the UEFA Cup holders, were greeted by a barrage of criticism on their return to Italy following Wednesday night's 2-0 defeat at Ibrox in a European Cup third round qualifier.
The Parma coach, Alberto Malesani, came in for particular abuse for his response to the dismissal of the Italian international defender, Fabio Cannavaro, just under half-an-hour into the match.
Although Parma switched from three at the back to a four-man defensive formation, Rangers opened the scoring before the change was made. 'Cannavaro Sent Off - It's A Landslide' was the headline in Gazetta dello Sport which reported: "Rangers unleashed themselves and Parma got an attack of the shakes. A big task now lies ahead of Parma in the second game and a lot of hard work will be needed if they are to go forward."
Another paper squarely blamed Malesani. "Why did the coach wait 12 minutes before replacing Ortega, who was terrible, with Torrisi? Parma now face an uphill task in Europe and could miss out on the very rich stage of the competition."
The theme was extended by La Republica, which declared: "Parma, a team who play in yellow, now have the blues. Their Champions' League campaign risks finishing before it has begun. The absence of players like Amoruso, Crespo and Lassissi does not justify the team's failings last night. Malesini's team must improve in the return game if they are to overturn a 2-0 deficit."
For all the bile directed at Parma and the praise which has been heaped on Rangers since Wednesday night, the Ibrox manager, Dick Advocaat, has been prudently cautious in his assumptions about the ultimate outcome of the tie. "Anyone who thinks this tie is over is wrong and nobody at this club will have that attitude. The sending-off of Cannavaro made a big difference and who knows how the game would have finished had they had 11 men throughout. They will also have some important players back in action in the second leg so we can expect an extremely difficult time in Italy.
"But we know - and I think they suspect - that we are capable of scoring over there." Should Rangers succeed in getting another goal in Italy the tie could not go to extra-time and Parma would require to score four to go through to the Champions' League, a virtually impossible task.
Advocaat must be aware that his team needed some luck at the right time. Tony Vidmar's opening goal took a deflection off the outstretched leg of Lilian Thuram to beat Gianluigi Buffon, for example, but Rangers also believe they can improve in the return leg, for which the Dutch international defender, Artur Numan, should be available.
Neil McCann, too, was evidently not fully fit but if he is restored to his sprightly self by Aug 25, Rangers can justifiably believe that they can progress in Europe's premier club competition.
Claudio Reyna, scorer of Rangers' second goal, who signed from Wolfsburg for £1.4 million, was congratulated by the US national coach Bruce Arena by phone within hours. Reyna and Arena were friends at the University of Virginia.
The Telegraph
12th August 1999
Champions' League Qualifying: Rangers make Parma pay for indiscipline
By Roddy Forsyth
Rangers (1) 2 Parma (0)
RANGERS gave their hopes of qualifying for the European Champions League with this impressive victory over highly-rated Parma in the first leg of their third qualifying round tie.
When these sides met in the third round of the UEFA Cup - which Parma, of course, went on to win - it was the dismissal of Sergio Porrini which swung the tie out of Rangers' reach when they were leading 1-0 in Italy and on aggregate overall. On this occasion, another Italian defender, Fabio Cannavaro, was to be shown the red card and again the reduction in numbers had a dramatic effect on the proceedings.
Cannavaro's departure, for a foul on Rod Wallace which constituted his second caution of the evening, boosted Rangers just as they looked as though they might be losing momentum after a bright and inventive opening. As early as the first minute, a superb move linking Tommy Mols, Neil McCann and Giovanni van Bronckhorst ended in a cross which found Rod Wallace arriving blindside and unmarked on the right of the penalty area.
He took a touch on the ball, looking to strike it with a stride closer to goal but Gianluca Buffon responded by moving smartly off his line to block. Parma replied instantly when Ariel Ortega and Michele Serena combined to find Paolo Vanoli with a cross at the back post, Stefan Klos took the ensuing header comfortably, but Rangers had been offered a warning about the consequences of failing to attend to their defensive duties with appropriate concentration.
The half unfolded according to expectations with Rangers enjoying the bulk of possession and Parma sitting tight, five strung across the middle, looking to inflict damage on the break. Rangers, though, began to look perplexed but remedy was at hand when Cannavaro got his marching orders for blocking Wallace as the Englishman made a solo break towards the Italian box.
Even so, the Scottish champions almost conceded the opening goal from their own free kick because when it was cleared the ball fell to Marco di Vaio with Ortega spurting clear through the unguarded middle on a lung bursting sprint. The Argentinian was seen by his colleague but di Vaio failed to get his pass away and the danger was cleared to the relief of the outraged Rangers manager, Dick Advocaat.
Thus reprieved, Rangers resumed business in more considered fashion and Buffon was forced to intervene decisively once more with a fine save after Mols and Wallace had set Claudio Reyna up for a close-range drive. Two minutes later, Rangers achieved their breakthrough, albeit with a touch of good fortune. Barry Ferguson found van Bronckhorst in central midfield and the ball was shuttled on to Vidmar, who cut in on his right foot to strike a drive which deflected off Lilian Thuram and swung over the bemused Buffon.
Despite such a dispriting turn of events, a side of Parma's quality were never liable to be cowed and after switching to a back four, with Ortega taken off so that Stefano Torrisi could take up station on the left side of the Italian defence, they continued to box clever. The tactics almost paid off after an hour when Vanoli's run and cutback found di Vaio but van Bronckhorst did enough in covering back to see the final effort go wide.
Rangers broke once more through Wallace, his meandering run taking him to the end of the box and his persistence was rewarded when McCann turned his pass back into the path of Reyna, who drilled it through a throng of players low into the net.
The Times
12th August 1999
Rangers rise to the occasion
BY PHIL GORDON
Rangers 2 Parma 0
RANGERS gained revenge for their exit from Europe last season at the hands of Parma by defeating the Italian side at Ibrox last night to gain a strong foothold in the more important, and lucrative, European Cup Champions' League.
A raucous Ibrox greeted thunderous goals from Tony Vidmar and Claudio Reyna, which gave Rangers a deserved triumph and handed the Scottish champions a crucial lead to take to Parma for the second leg of this third qualifying round tie.
That was an advantage denied to them a season ago, when they went out 4-2 on aggregate in the Uefa Cup after drawing 1-1 in Glasgow. Parma found this task too great, especially after Fabio Cannavaro, the defender, was sent off in the 24th minute for his second bookable offence in trying to police Rod Wallace.
The match was being televised live but that had done nothing to dilute the passion inside Ibrox. The only chunk of blue seats not occupied in the 50,000-capacity stadium was the block housing the knot of Parma fans who had travelled from Italy.
Dick Advocaat, the coach, had issued a pre-match plea to the Rangers supporters to rediscover their high decibel level and act "as a twelfth man to pressure Parma and the referee." They followed those instructions to the letter, their mood greatly improved by the news that Neil McCann, the midfield player, had overcome a knee injury that had forced him to miss the past three matches.
As Advocaat said, Rangers needed all the help they could muster. Scottish clubs have won only five out of 24 meetings with Italian opposition and Rangers needed to back to 1978, when they knocked Juventus out of the European Cup, to recall a triumph.
However, the Italian job might have been easier had Rod Wallace scored inside the first minute after Giovanni van Bronckhorst had picked out the former Leeds United forward with a delicate chip over Cannavaro. Wallace took the ball out of the air with a deft touch, but only had the time to stab a weak shot into the arms of Gianluigi Buffon, the Parma goalkeeper.
Parma, whose Uefa Cup success last season was their third European trophy in six years, hinted early on that they were seeking a quick away goal, but it was Rangers who gradually took control of the game.
Cannavaro and Lilian Thuram, the Parma central defenders, had to be alert as well as physical to keep a tight rein on Wallace and Michael Mols. Cannavaro, though, stepped on the wrong side of the law to meet his task, and his caution, in the fifteenth minute, for taking Wallace down from behind, was to prove crucial.
Nine minutes later, the Italy defender tripped Wallace again on the edge of the box and the only verdict possible was a red card. A man down, Parma thought about re-organising, but soon Tony Vidmar forced the Italians' hand completely.
It would be fair to say, that Alberto Malesani, the Parma coach, had probably identified Vidmar as the least of Rangers' threats to his team's goal, but the Australia forward put his team in front in the 32nd minute with a goal of stunning execution. After controlling a wonderful crossfield pass from McCann, Vidmar went outside Sartor, then inside, before driving a right-foot shot high into the net that unleashed an explosion of noise inside Ibrox.
Only the agility of Buffon prevented the impressive Reyna doubling the lead with a low drive from the edge of the area just before half-time.
Parma, who had withdrawn Ortega just before half-time and replaced him with Torrisi, a defender, betrayed their intention in the second half to cut their losses and escape with a single-goal deficit. Only Di Vaio was left up front. Rangers sensed an opportunity, and had McCann been able to profit from Wallace's pass, the lead would have been stretched. Sadly, McCann's lack of fitness allowed Thuram to catch him before he entered the penalty area.
Paolo Vannoli, the Parma midfield player, had a clearer sight of goal seven minutes later, after skipping past Moore, but Stefan Klos, the Rangers goalkeeper, parried the fierce shot. Vannoli was soon cautioned for a reckless challenge on Ferguson and was then joined in the book by Jorg Albertz, who had come on as a substitute for Vidmar in the 63rd minute, for diving as he tried to win a penalty.
Rangers began to go flat and only the brilliance of Klos, who saved from Boghossian, prevented Parma seizing an away goal in the 72nd minute. The value of that would be underlined by Reyna's splendid goal just minutes later.