LONG before Eintracht Frankfurt reached the Europa League final and before his younger brother Runar signed for Hibernian earlier this year, Jens Petter Hauge knew all about Rangers.
The Norwegian internationalist, who has been on loan at German outfit Eintracht from Italian giants AC Milan this season, is an avid follower of football as well as a fairly useful player.
He has been tuning in to the Ibrox club’s matches for years and has watched them become a force both in Scotland and Europe under Steven Gerrard and Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Rangers’ victories over Borussia Dortmund in the knockout round play-off and RB Leipzig in the semi-final may have been unexpected – but those results did not come as a huge shock to the winger.
The 22-year-old, who is hoping to get the nod to start for Frankfurt in the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium in Seville on Wednesday night, appreciates his side will need to be at their very best to avoid suffering the same fare as their league rivals.
“I have watched Rangers quite a lot,” said Hauge. “They did well when Steven Gerrard took over. He has been building up this team. I am not surprised they have reached the final.
“The derby with Celtic is always fun to watch. Football is a joy to watch and when you see teams like that it is great. Gerrard was building a great team and I just like to watch good football and top teams.
“They have played really well in Europe and last season they won the Scottish league. They are a strong team with a lot of qualities. But we will be prepared for them.
“As we know from the Bundesliga, Dortmund and Leipzig are super teams and so strong. They are teams with a lot of quality players. But Rangers used the strengths they have to beat them. We know we will need to perform well and we will be ready.
“West Ham (who Eintracht beat in the semi-final) had a lot of quality players and were a really physical and strong team. The final might be a bit similar. Rangers are a strong team. They are like us, they run and fight for each other. It will be an exciting game.”
Despite his impressive knowledge of Rangers, Hauge confirmed he has been in touch with his sibling in an attempt to glean more information on the Glasgow side in the build-up to the Europa League final.
Runar, the 20-year-old winger who Hibs signed from Bodo Glimt back in January, has only made two first team appearances for the Easter Road club this season and neither of them were against the defending champions.
However, he has seen Van Bronckhorst’s side in action up close during his time in this country and backed up his brother’s suspicions about how they will approach the game this week.
“He told me they are a strong team with a lot of fighters,” he said. “He said they also have amazing fans. We know it will be a tough game with a lot of emotions. I will speak to Rune again over the coming days.”
Hauge revealed that Runar will fly to Spain to watch him play and expressed hope the experience will inspire him. He is confident the youngster can be a big player for Hibs in the future.
“He is coming over with my family and friends,” he said. “I am sure he will enjoy it and I hope he will take this as a big motivation.
“He has a lot of potential. He just needs to get the confidence and the trust from a coach that believes in him. If that happens, I know we will get big things from him.”
The eight-times capped Scandinavian thinks Eintracht, whose European displays have been as impressive as their domestic form has been disappointing, are more than capable of beating Rangers in Seville and lifting the trophy.
He will be returning to the Walstadion next season and is hopeful that he will have Champions League football to look forward to when he does.
“This group has a lot of potential,” he said. “We have struggled in the Bundesliga in the second part of the season, but we have shown in Europe that we have a good team, a really strong team who can perform well when it matters. It will be a great night and for sure we will play our best football.
“It gives you a lot of confidence, as a player, as a team and as a group when you beat a team like Barcelona in Spain. When you play matches like that and you perform and believe then it shows you can beat one of the best teams in the world.
“When we started this European campaign we knew we had a strong team who could go all the way. We kept building that confidence and that has been important.”
Hauge added: “Victory would mean we would also be playing in the Champions League next season. For me, as a player it has always been one of my goals in football.
“That would be one part of the success and the other would be to win a European trophy. There aren’t many of them who pick up a major medal like this when they finish their careers. It would be amazing.”
Hauge saw the incredible scenes at Ibrox when Rangers beat Dortmund and Leipzig and knows James Tavernier and his team mates will have a large and vocal support cheering them on this week.
But he feels Eintracht’s fans have been key to their unexpected run to the final too and would like to repay them for their backing with victory.
“They give us a lot of belief and really believe in us,” he said. “They support us in big numbers home and away and for me and the rest of my teammates it means so much. They give us confidence and we want to give something back to them because they deserve more than we have given them in the Bundesliga this season.”
