Sasa Papac might live 2000 miles away but distance has only made his heart grow fonder.
And he never passes up on the chance to pull the Rangers jersey over his head despite leaving the club more than a decade ago. The former Bosnia international was a hugely popular figure in Walter Smith’s team that reached the UEFA Cup final in 2008 and will be a major target for autograph hunters who flock to Bury’s Gigg Lane on Saturday as a Rangers Select take on a team of former English pros based in the North West in aid of the Lee Rigby Memorial Foundation.
Now living in Mostar with his wife and four children, the 43-year-old can’t wait for a reunion with many of the friends for life he made in his six years at Ibrox and Papac is convinced that the new generation of Rangers players being brought to the club by Michael Beale will also quickly pick up on the standards demanded of anyone wearing that blue shirt. The former left back credits Smith with having a profound effect on not only his career, but his life, after being signed by previous manager Paul Le Guen from Austria Vienna.
He told Record Sport: “I might be a couple of thousand miles away, but I live in a household where we still have a great love for Rangers. Every time there is a Rangers game on TV we watch hoping for three points. Every day I keep up to date with what is happening at Ibrox. That news is still very important to me. I like to know what’s going on because the six years I spent at Ibrox were the best and most fulfilling of my career. My other clubs were fantastic but my time at Rangers pushed me to become a much better player and that is something I will always be thankful for.”
Le Guen signed Libor Sionko and Filip Sebo from the Austrian outfit but it was his third capture in August 2006, Papac, who made by far the biggest. He admitted: “I spoke with Filip and Libor regularly and they told me of how magical it was at Ibrox. When they spoke of the stadium and the atmosphere it really got me. Because I had heard so much about Rangers I couldn’t wait to see it all for myself, and when I walked into Ibrox my reaction was just WOW!
“Suddenly everything stepped up two or three notches. Everything, from the quality of player, to the stadium, the size of the crowd, the atmosphere. I had been playing in front of eight, maybe 10,000 fans, but Ibrox was off the scale with 50,000 at each game. That brings its own pressure. At Rangers only one thing matters. Well, three things, and that’s the points. At Rangers you must win.
“We had a great squad so whether it was a league game or a Champions League tie, drop your standards and you suffered the consequences. It wasn’t an option. I came to the club as a centre back but Walter told me that if I wanted to play more it would be better for me to become a full back. I was okay with that because in Scotland you need your centre backs to be strong and physical. The move definitely suited me and I slotted in pretty quickly. I played a couple of games there and it soon became permanent.”
Papac credits Rangers’ iconic boss, Smith, with helping to shape not only his playing style, but also his outlook on life. "There was one time when we beat Celtic 4-2 at their ground,” he said. “After the game we were celebrating wildly in the dressing room. Walter came in and told us to calm it down a bit, and to show our opponents some respect. He was big on respect, and single-handedly taught me to respect our club, its supporters, my teammates, the journalists, in fact everything and everybody. It was an excellent life lesson that I carry with me to this day. I had five great years working with Walter and it was the best time of my life.”
It would be easy to point to the UEFA Cup final as a low point. Rangers went all the way to the final, where they played Zenit St Petersburg, in Manchester. They lost, but it was the fixture pile-up foisted upon them that irks Papac to this day. Of course it was a major disappointment; the low point of my time at Ibrox,” he admitted. “To lose any final is upsetting, but a European final? I always believed the Scottish football authorities would want to give one of their members the best chance possible to win the trophy.
“But we were hit with so many games around that period and, of course, it all became too much. We were asked to play four games in nine days, which wasn’t great. By the end of the season we had played 68 games. But the way I look at it, I had so many great times at Ibrox and that’s what I choose to focus on. Three successive league titles was a fantastic achievement, and I was so proud to be a part of that. We had a great team spirit, which is worth its weight in gold. The quality of the footballer is important, but the character of the man even more so.
“These days I keep in touch with Rangers and like to know the news. I go to the occasional Champions League game, but I’m not involved with football in any official capacity. I like it that way. What I achieved at Ibrox no one can ever take from me. I have the medals and the memories and that’s the perfect way to remember it.”
Tickets for the Lee Rigby Memorial Cup, on Saturday, June 24, at Gigg Lane, Bury, involving a Rangers Select v North West Superstars, are available from buryfcss.merlintickets.co.uk
The Rangers team includes favourites such as Nikica Jelavic, Trevor Steven, Marco Negri, Sergio Porrini, Roy Carroll, Alex Rae, Andy Little and many more. Matt Le Tissier and Paul Merson will guest for Rangers.
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