Red Star Belgrade boss Dejan Stankovic looking forward to Ibrox experience
Red Star Belgrade boss Dejan Stankovic is relishing the sight and sound of a packed Ibrox in Thursday night’s Europa League tie against Rangers.
The stadium will have around 50,000 fans packed in for the first leg of the last-16 clash, with the overwhelming majority cheering on the Scottish champions.
After the soulless experience of playing behind closed doors during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, Stankovic looks forward to a traditional European night in Glasgow.
Speaking through an interpreter at Ibrox, he said: “It’s also part of our motivation considering that Rangers will have 50,000 people here.
“We will try everything in our power to have a good result so that we can provide to our supporters.
“We expect around 60,000 (at home) to have the opportunity to push us to go through.
“What’s really important for us is that we can play in front of the supporters.
“In the last two years, we didn’t have spectators and we couldn’t enjoy that atmosphere.
“We played AC Milan in an empty stadium (Europa League, 2021). It’s something we missed a lot so we will enjoy every possibility that we can play in front of that.”
Strahinja Erakovic revealed that team-mate Aleksandar Dragovic has shared his experience of playing at Ibrox on a European night.
The defender said: “Dragovic played here two years ago with Bayer Leverkusen and he said the atmosphere was fantastic so I am looking forward to experiencing it.”
Stankovic recognised similarities between his side and Giovanni Van Bronckhorst’s as he looked to take a positive result back to Belgrade for the second leg.
He said: “Giovanni does a great job with Rangers and he has a similar way of playing like Red Star.
“He hides information, because you never know whether he will play three defenders, five defenders, three in midfield, or five in the middle, it depends on the situation. Our approach is similar.
“But we never speak about individual players or focus on the special players. Obviously if someone is fast we will try and stop him.
“But, generally, Rangers are a really hard, tough team with great offensive transition and we will try to stop them in those areas.
“We always try and play our game. It’s not up to us to play offensively or defensively, if there’s an opportunity to attack Rangers we will, if we need to defend we will defend as a team.
“This is a big step for us, given the jackpot. But we don’t feel pressure, we came here to play.”
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Rangers v Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade boss Dejan Stankovic is relishing the sight and sound of a packed Ibrox in Thursday night’s Europa League tie against Rangers.
The stadium will have around 50,000 fans packed in for the first leg of the last-16 clash, with the overwhelming majority cheering on the Scottish champions.
After the soulless experience of playing behind closed doors during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, Stankovic looks forward to a traditional European night in Glasgow.
Speaking through an interpreter at Ibrox, he said: “It’s also part of our motivation considering that Rangers will have 50,000 people here.
“We will try everything in our power to have a good result so that we can provide to our supporters.
“We expect around 60,000 (at home) to have the opportunity to push us to go through.
“What’s really important for us is that we can play in front of the supporters.
“In the last two years, we didn’t have spectators and we couldn’t enjoy that atmosphere.
“We played AC Milan in an empty stadium (Europa League, 2021). It’s something we missed a lot so we will enjoy every possibility that we can play in front of that.”
Strahinja Erakovic revealed that team-mate Aleksandar Dragovic has shared his experience of playing at Ibrox on a European night.
The defender said: “Dragovic played here two years ago with Bayer Leverkusen and he said the atmosphere was fantastic so I am looking forward to experiencing it.”
Stankovic recognised similarities between his side and Giovanni Van Bronckhorst’s as he looked to take a positive result back to Belgrade for the second leg.
He said: “Giovanni does a great job with Rangers and he has a similar way of playing like Red Star.
“He hides information, because you never know whether he will play three defenders, five defenders, three in midfield, or five in the middle, it depends on the situation. Our approach is similar.
“But we never speak about individual players or focus on the special players. Obviously if someone is fast we will try and stop him.
“But, generally, Rangers are a really hard, tough team with great offensive transition and we will try to stop them in those areas.
“We always try and play our game. It’s not up to us to play offensively or defensively, if there’s an opportunity to attack Rangers we will, if we need to defend we will defend as a team.
“This is a big step for us, given the jackpot. But we don’t feel pressure, we came here to play.”
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