Almost 6000 miles away in Guangzhou, China, Jean-Paul van Gastel settles down to watch a Rangers game on TV. In a corner of Hooley’s Irish Pub, the Dutch coach is eager to see how his best mate is getting on at Ibrox. And perhaps wonder what might have been if had he followed his pal to Glasgow.
In November last year, van Gastel took a call from Giovanni van Bronckhorst who offered him the job as Rangers’ new assistant boss. After all, the pair hadn’t just played together at Feyenoord they had also led the Dutch side to an Eredivisie title in 2017, with Gio as gaffer. Van Gastel was torn. Between the prospect of continuing their successful partnership in the dugout at Ibrox or following his dream of being a manager in his own right. And his decision to choose Guangzhou over Govan is one of the toughest he has ever had to make.
Last season, instead of being embroiled in a sensational run to the Europa League Final and a Scottish Cup triumph with Rangers, he had to settle for a place in his local bar. Van Gastel, who was Van Bronckhorst’s right-hand man, has spoken for the first time since rejecting the role at Gers. In an exclusive interview with Record Sport , he said: “Gio called me to see if I was interested in assisting him in the Rangers job. For me, it was a case of, ‘Wow’. The thought of working with Gio in Glasgow, at such a big, famous UK club, was a nice opportunity.
“But then I had to make a choice. I was dealing with my first year of being a head coach myself. So I had to think about what I was going to do. It was a tough decision but I chose to stay in China for a few different reasons.
“The offer Gio made really triggered me. So it was difficult, a really hard choice for me to make at that time. Obviously, we are still in touch. We’ve known each other for so long. So we’re texting all the time.
“I watch the Rangers games here in China. Because of the time difference, I go to the Irish pub in Guangzhou. I sit down with all kinds of British people from Scotland, England and Ireland – I don’t know where they all come from! One will be wearing a Celtic jersey, the other a Rangers jersey. I watch the games in the pub with them.”
Van Bronckhorst is gearing up for his first full season as Ibrox gaffer after replacing Aston Villa-bound Steven Gerrard midway through last term. Rangers might have relinquished their Premiership flag to Celtic.
But they excelled in the Europa League under the Dutchman, getting to within touching distance of the trophy, only to lose on penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt. Van Gastel had no doubt Van Bronckhorst would achieve success at the club.
Given where Rangers were a decade ago, the former Holland midfielder believes their remarkable run to Seville shouldn’t be underestimated. Now van Gastel says his mate can do even better with a full campaign in front of him
Ahead of Gers’ Premiership opener against Livingston on Saturday, he said: “I wasn’t surprised at the job Gio did in his first season at Rangers. He won the Scottish Cup and unfortunately lost the Europa League Final. But that was still an incredible achievement when you consider where Rangers have come from as a club.
“They built again under Gerrard. He had his own people and they made Rangers champions again in 2021. But Gio in his own way made little differences to the team’s playing style last season and that helped take them to a European final.
“They lost the match in Seville but I think everyone connected to Rangers was proud of reaching that level again. Especially when, as a club, you’ve not been on that stage for many years. For all the people who support Rangers, it must have been amazing for them.
“And I know it was a fantastic experience for Gio too. Now he can start at the beginning of the season with his own playing style, his own vision. Everything is from him at Rangers now. So it will be interesting to see what happens this season.”
When van Bronckhorst and van Gastel worked together at De Kuip, their first season ended with a domestic cup win. In their second year, they led the Dutch club to their first title in almost two decades. So is van Gastel sensing a case of deja vu for Gio at Ibrox this term, with the club desperate to wrestle the title back off Celtic?
He says that will depend on whether the Rangers boss manages to recruit players of the same quality as the ones he’s lost in the likes of Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey who have moved on to Southampton and Ajax. He said: “I see that Rangers have lost a few players because of the good performances of the team in Europe last season.
“Some players got to a level where they can move to a different club for a lot of money. And I don’t know if the investments Rangers have made in their replacements are at the level of the players who have left.
“So it’s difficult for me to say how it will go in the new season for them. I don’t know if Rangers will be stronger or weaker after the transfer window. But, yes, in our first season at Feyenoord we won the Dutch Cup and in the second we got the title.
“So it could be similar for Gio at Rangers. At Feyenoord, we analysed why we became champions in 2017. And one reason was that we knew early in the transfer window that we already had our squad together. We worked with the same group for a long time in the pre-season.
“I’m not sure if that’s how Gio feels now at Rangers. But that was a key point for us at Feyenoord after that second year. It was stable from day one and we managed to win the title.
“It was a special time for us. If you look at Feyenoord’s history, it’s not like they win the title every year. They had waited for 18 years from when I was the captain of that team.
“For myself and Gio, we have a big heart for that club. Gio is a child of Feyenoord, he came through the academy. So for us it was a dream come true to be part of a title win.”
That earned the coaching duo and Feyenoord a crack at the Champions League. But they came up short in a daunting group that contained Manchester City, Napoli and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Van Bronckhorst wants to be back there with Rangers but faces a tough qualifying round tie against Union St-Gilloise, before a play-off. If he can get there, van Gastel says it could take the club – and the manager – to a different level.
He said: “It would be so big for Gio to manage Rangers in the Champions League because it’s the highest platform you can perform on It also makes a lot of money for the club so it’s very important.
“The players get to play at the highest level so they can develop more quickly. And for Gio to be in the Champions League again, it’s also very good for his development as a coach.”
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