The Rangers manager Steven Gerrard welcomes a former adversary to Ibrox on Thursday.
The Rangers manager Steven Gerrard retains fond memories of his previous encounters with Jaap Stam.
Stam brings his Feyenoord side to Rangers’ Ibrox home on Thursday.
It will be the young bosses’ first ever dugout meeting, but far from their first overall.
They were also rivals as players, most notably when Gerrard was Liverpool’s talismanic central midfielder and Stam was starring at the heart of Manchester United’s defence.
But their most famous battle came arguably – and certainly in the Rangers manager’s opinion – during the 2005 Champions League final, after the Dutchman had moved to AC Milan.
It was Stam who was caught out as the then-Liverpool captain headed home John Arne Riise’s cross to make the score 3-1 to Milan in a game the Reds went on to win on penalties.
Asked if he is looking forward to facing Stam again, Gerrard told the official Rangers Youtube channel: “Always.
“I was lucky enough to play against him. He was a top player. One of the best defenders in the world when he was at his peak. Fortunately enough for me, he switched off for one second in one game and I had one of the biggest moments of my career.
“But I’ve got nothing but respect for him as a player. I admire the fact that he’s gone into management and he’s testing himself and taking on all kinds of different challenges.”
Rangers fans – who will come out on top at Ibrox?
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