Former Rangers forward Cedric Itten has revealed he still can't believe the day he saw his hero Steven Gerrard slide across a booze-soaked Ibrox dressing room floor.
Itten returned to his homeland in the summer in a £1.5 million move to Young Boys. He scored just six league goals for Rangers in 33 appearances, although only eight of those were starts.
However, he's flourished in the Swiss Super League where he is second top scorer this season and his form has won an international recall for Switzerland. But Itten cherishes his memory of his time at Rangers and their celebrations when they won their first title for ten years with Gerrard in charge.
Itten said: "As a kid, I often went to Greece on holidays with my parents. I was allowed to buy a football shirt and I always picked a Gerrard one. He was one of my great childhood idols and then to be able to speak to him personally was incredible. It's even more incredible when he tells you that he really wants you in his team at Rangers. You can hardly say no, even if you have offers from the German Bundesliga
"Steven Gerrard had two sides as a coach. During the week he is meticulous, observes everything, demands a lot from the team and insists upon a high level. At the weekend, on the other hand, it gets very emotional and motivating. He knows how to grab a team. I will always remember him when Rangers won the league in 2021. The whole dressing room floor was wet from the alcohol thrown around and the first players started to do a dive across it.
"Suddenly Gerrard was standing next to us and also started to dive. Everyone in the room roared!" And Itten admits he still has nightmares about the physicality of Scottish football and their defenders."
He recalled: "From a sporting point of view, looking back, the defenders in Scotland were the biggest change for me. In Scotland, the trash talk is extreme. I was really shocked because of the words that were used. But my teammates just laughed about it and said 'that wasn't even a bad insult...the real insults are still to come!'
"The defenders there might not be technically gifted, they are just big and wide. A duel between players in Scotland cannot be compared to Germany or Switzerland. I remember a situation where I dribbled past two opponents, but the third player knocked me off my feet. But instead of giving a penalty, the referee allowed play to continue.”
And Itten admitted he knew he had to leave Rangers because Alfredo Morelos remained at Ibrox. In an interview in Switzerland, Itten explained: "Contrary to expectations, Alfredo Morelos did not move clubs, so I knew I had to do something. I had to play, otherwise I would jeopardise my place in the national team, so I decided to switch to the Bundesliga on loan at short notice.
"The mood was not great at Greuther Furth because we lost every week. Then when I returned to Rangers, I suffered from a mysterious infection. The doctors initially found no explanation and suspected that it was the aftermath of Covid. I felt weak and tired for weeks. I lost over ten pounds because I could only eat soup and had no appetite. You have a lot of thoughts running through your head, but giving up was never an option.
"But I have certainly been reborn as a player at Young Boys."
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