It was 14 years ago to the week that Kevin Thomson experienced a brush with history, a near miss in Manchester the likes of which he thought impossible for any Scottish side to repeat.
But, as the clock ticks down towards kick-off in Seville on Wednesday night, the former Rangers linchpin is now convinced that the class of 2022 is about to go one better.
In fact, Thomson believes Giovanni van Bronckhorst and his players are about to achieve something so spectacular and of such enormous magnitude that they’ll be remembered forever as the greatest Scottish team of all time.
And, yes, he is perfectly aware of how this will go down on the other side of Glasgow.
“I’m not just saying this to be controversial - that’s not the way I am.” Thomson says with the hint of a wince.
“I’m respectful to both clubs because they both have incredible histories. But, for me, it would be the best achievement ever by any Scottish club.
“You have to consider where the club has been since 2008. Dropping down the leagues. Having to rebuild. Winning a 55th league title and then making it to a European final the next again season?
“Someone told me the other day they were playing against Stirling Albion nine years ago! That’s what you’re dealing with here. It’s incredible.
“So, yes, if they do get their hands on that trophy they will, in my opinion, be the best bar none.
“I know what the Lisbon Lions achieved in 1967 was amazing and I’m not trying to take anything away from them.
“But when you consider how far this Rangers team has come and the size of the financial disparity across European
football these days, this would be an unbelievable achievement.”
It’s also one Thomson could never envisage after reaching the UEFA Cup Final and falling at the last hurdle, beaten 2-0 by Zenit St Petersburg on a night he would rather forget.
Which is why he’s so desperate for the current Rangers side to seize their own moment when it comes against Eintracht Frankfurt.
He goes on: “In 2008 I thought it was impossible for anyone else to get to where we had got to but this group have now done the impossible.
“I genuinely thought back then that this was as close as Rangers could possibly get. I was convinced no Scottish club would ever get there again.
”So it’s hard to explain just what an achievement it is. You have to understand how special it is to play in a game like this. It’s every player’s dream.
“That’s why you sign for a club like Rangers – you dream about making your mark.
“And it’s why, 14 years on, I still get invited back to Ibrox to cover games for Rangers TV and I still get remembered by the fans.
“Memories like this last for a lifetime. It makes you proud to think you were a part of the club’s history. So these players have to embrace every moment. I’d give my right arm to be a part of this. In fact, I’d probably give my right leg as well for all the use it was to me!
“They have to realise how lucky they are because this is what dreams are made of. They have to go one better than we did. I really do believe they will.”
That Thomson still feels the pain of that defeat tells its own story.
He nods: “I suppose that sums up the mentality of that group of players. Looking back, it was a brilliant time in the club’s history but we were all devastated to fall at the final hurdle. We were going for a quadruple and we wanted to win everything.
“People like Walter Smith and Barry Ferguson drummed that into us. Losing any game hurt hard, never mind losing a UEFA Cup Final. You don’t get over that easily.
“After the game I was in a daze. I was selected to go for a drugs test so I didn’t even go into the dressing room. I just remember taking a bottle of water and a Powerade and then spending the next two or three hours trying pee in the same room as Anatoliy Tymoshchuk.
“So I missed what Walter said to the lads afterwards. I didn’t even make it onto the team bus back to the hotel. They had to send a car for Doc Jackson and I to travel back on our own.
“My head was gone. The emotion was overwhelming. We had given everything.”
Thomson bristles at the mere suggestion that, compared to the current lot, his Rangers team could be a hard watch.
He says: “Yes, there is a difference in style but we were a very good Rangers team too.
“I don’t like comparing teams from different eras but it would be a right good game between both. People seem to think all we did was grind to that final.
“But Barry is probably the best Scots player in two decades. Steve Davis went on to have an unbelievable career – so good he’s part of the squad in Seville.
“The big difference between the two runs is that we started off in the Champions League. We were robust, well organised with a great togetherness and will to win but we took two off Werder Bremen, scored twice in Lisbon, took three off Lyon in France, beat Stuttgart 2-1 in the Champions League and drew 0-0 with one of Barcelona’s greatest sides.
“Maybe the perception that we just parked the bus on the way to Manchester is a wee bit unfair.
“But I fancy the current team to go one better than we did and bring the trophy home. I’ll be their biggest cheerleader if they do the impossible because that’s what this should be – impossible.”
