Sasa Papac insists Light Blues were treated unfairly by league chiefs

[ian1964 10,581]

Former Rangers star Sasa Papac insists Light Blues were treated unfairly by league chiefs in the lead up to 2008 UEFA Cup Final

Gers were forced to play an SPL league game against Dundee United just four days before the Manchester clash.

 

IT all happened ten years ago next month.

But if Sasa Papac remembers nothing about the 2008 Uefa Cup Final itself, he remembers plenty about the unfairness of it all.

The 38-year-old Bosnian has said little in public since retiring from football in 2012.

He lives a quiet life in Mostar, with his new hobby of fishing and bringing up his four children occupying his time.

But he spoke to Inside Sport about Rangers’ defeat to Zenit St Petersburg in Manchester in 2008.

Walter Smith’s side asked for their SPL match against Dundee United four days before the final to be rescheduled to give them extra time to prepare for the City of Manchester Stadium crunch.

That request was turned down, prompting Ibrox chairman David Murray to blast: “All over the world, people will laugh in disbelief at this decision, no more so than in Russia, where the association have done everything they can to assist Zenit.”

Dick Advocaat’s Russian side had three league games postponed to aid their preparations and they cruised to a 2-0 win over Gers.

But Papac recalled: “My memories of the final are very strange. It was a big game, a massive occasion. But I remember practically nothing about it.

“The game passed me by. I couldn’t describe the Zenit goals to you.

“I was substituted after their first goal, because Walter Smith wanted Nacho Novo on to try to rescue the game.

“I can remember sitting on the bench and seeing Rangers supporters behind the dugout in tears. “One guy shouted ‘Sasa, what happened?’ and I couldn’t give him an answer.

“I’ve never watched the game since. Not the whole game, not even the goals we conceded on YouTube. It’s as if I’ve blanked it from my memory.

“It was the biggest disappointment of my career, for sure. The game was our 19th European game that year and we had a really difficult end to the season.

“We were in two cup finals and we were fighting Celtic for the title until the last game of the season. Then we had the European games on top of it all.

“We had a lot of games and in the end it was too much.

“I still think we were treated unfairly. If the SPL had given us a free week to prepare for the Uefa Cup Final, we still might not have defeated Zenit.

“That was a golden age for them. They had great players like Andrey Arshavin and Anatoliy Tymoshchuk in their team.

“But they had time to prepare properly for the game and we didn’t.

“It would have been great if our association had treated us the way the Russian authorities treated Zenit.

“When I look back, the two-leg games that season seemed to suit us.

“We had a good run to the group stages of the Champions League, then in the Uefa Cup we played top clubs like Panathinaikos, Sporting Lisbon and Fiorentina.

“We didn’t beat any of them at Ibrox, but we always managed to find a way to get through.

“It seemed as though games over 180 minutes suited us. Over two legs we felt we could beat anyone.

“After the Final we went back to the team hotel and I remember the chairman David Murray addressing the squad and telling us he was proud of us and that we had to keep going because we had league games and the Cup Final to play for.

“We went on to lose the league on the last day but win the Scottish Cup, but because of Manchester, it was the biggest disappointment of my career.”

Papac’s consistency was such that earlier this year, when former Ibrox boss Smith was asked to name his all-time Rangers XI from his two spells in charge, the unassuming Bosnian was his selection at left-back.

But it could all have been so different. Within a year of Paul le Guen signing Papac from Austria Vienna in 2006, he had lost his first-team place and seemed set for a move to St Etienne.

He revealed: “St Etienne actually tried to sign me twice, but both times I said no. I knew quickly after moving that Scotland was where I wanted to play.

“Who wouldn’t? We were trying to win the league every season and we were playing in the Champions League. I’d had to wait for my chance to go to a club like that and I wasn’t going to give up.

“I had no interest in going to St Etienne or anyone else.

“At Austria Vienna, Rangers had signed my team-mates, Libor Sionko and Filip Sebo, then the coach told me they had come back in for me.

“I was excited about it immediately and I was delighted when the transfer happened.”

Papac won eight trophies, including three titles, in six seasons in Scotland.

And working under Smith left a lasting impression.

He said: “There are people you work for who are great managers and people who are great men. Walter Smith is in both categories.

“He wasn’t just my best gaffer, he was a life mentor to me, almost like a second father. I learned so much about life experience from him and I had six very happy years in Scotland.

“I have four kids and none of them were born in Scotland — the two oldest were in Austria and the two youngest in Bosnia.

“But the youngest is two years old and he says he’s a Rangers supporter!”

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/2472117/former-rangers-star-sasa-papac-insists-light-blues-were-treated-unfairly-by-league-chiefs-in-the-lead-up-to-2008-uefa-cup-final/

[Unicorn 206]

It was a ludicrous decision.  The team was practically dead on their feet for that final.  

[der Berliner 3,444]

The whole end to that season was as massive a farce as there will ever be. And to think that much of that came from the Yahoos' "already booked" but never-done tour to Japan - who the f@ck cares about friendlies at the SFA & SPL??? - and the compliant authority chief makes my blood boil even more.

 

And the icing on that cake was them debating "sporting integrity" then and raping it as much as 4 years later.

Edited April 8, 2018 by der Berliner

[Bill 13,717]

It was official cheating, nothing less. The football authorities who would later crucify Rangers in 2012 did everything they could to have us fail. It was the birth of the farce called sporting integrity.

[RANGERRAB 3,390]

The difference between what the Russian FA did to help FC Zenit compared to what the SFA did to hinder Rangers was unforgivable. Even Advocaat said at the time Scottish football was still in the dark ages. He was dead right.

[MacK1950 2,277]

The team were treated abysmally by the SFA as were the fans by the Manchester plod,not a time to remember.

It is nice to hear that Sasa has fond memories of his time with us as he gave us so many memories himself.

Edited April 8, 2018 by MacK1950
spelling

[compo 6,502]

Ah mention of Sebo bad Silonko made me think of Mike and Bernie Winters  another rather poor double act .