Rangers coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst praised the courage shown by his striker Aaron Ramsey by offering to take one of the penalty kicks in the series that decided the Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt. “He has taken his responsibility”, said the former international of Orange, who with his team just failed to give the Scottish top club the first European prize in fifty years.
The game in Sevilla was decided after a 1-1 final score from the penalty spot. Ramsey, who was hired from Juventus and came on shortly before the end of extra time, was the only player to miss from 11 yards. Eintracht goalkeeper Kevin Trapp parried his effort.
“He is deep in the tip,” said Van Bronckhorst. “It’s never nice to lose. Everyone is through it. You can feel that in the dressing room. You can use or miss a penalty. Unfortunately that happened to Aaron, but you always want players who dare to take penalties.”
Rangers, formerly Glasgow Rangers, had a chance to decide the game in the 118th minute, but Trapp saved on a shot by Ryan Kent. “Of course that was a great opportunity, but just as well a good save. That is a decisive moment so close to time,” Van Bronckhorst looked back. “You have to take advantage of such opportunities, but Ryan did nothing wrong.”
“You do everything you can to win, but in the end the decision is made via penalties and that is a lottery. I can’t blame my players, after everything they have given,” said the coach, who played the Scottish team with his team on Saturday. cup final against Hearts.
