Following Rangers’ impressive Europa league revival to qualify for the play-off round of the competition under Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, there were certainly mixed reviews when Rangers were drawn to face off against German giants, Borussia Dortmund.

Many were bemused that we were up against arguably the best team in the entire competition, giving ourselves a supposedly extremely slender chance of advancing to the next round. However, many saw the side that we would be facing off against one of the European heavyweights for the first time in years, giving Rangers the chance to strut their stuff in a ‘glamour tie’.

Coming into 2022, this fixture could really act as the main attraction to our footballing calendar for the year. With Rangers having been on a gradual rise in quality over the previous few years, to the point we now line up with a team laced with international quality, and a highly respected manager in GVB, being in the position to be ready to fight in such an exciting double-header marks the year 2022 as one which could be filled with even more glory for Rangers.

With the German side being the second-best team in Germany only behind European elites Bayern Munich, and having a team glistening with world class players like Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Marco Reus, it is undoubtedly the most high-profile clash Rangers have been involved in since our return to the top flight of Scottish football.

As Rangers are set to resume their footballing duties for the season, 6 points clear at the top of the league and set to kick off their Scottish Cup campaign, the year shows signs already of what could be a very successful spell for Giovanni’s men, and the prospect of a mouth-watering tie against Dortmund really sits as the icing on the cake for what is an exciting 2022.

After all, you can never write off Rangers on a European night at Ibrox.