AliousFor Rangers supporters who prioritize club over country, the international break can feel like an unwelcome pause in the action. With 11 first-team players currently scattered across various national squads, the fortunes of these Ibrox stars have been a mixed bag.
Standout moments include Nicolas Raskin earning a cap for Belgium, Hamza Igamane making his senior debut for Morocco, and John Souttar delivering a stellar performance for Scotland against Greece. Elsewhere, Ianis Hagi and Nedim Bajrami featured for their nations but tasted defeat, while Mohamed Diomande made a brief appearance for Ivory Coast.
For fans less captivated by these international exploits, the break offers a chance to ponder a more entertaining distraction: assembling Rangers’ ultimate five-a-side dream team.
At first glance, picking a five-a-side squad seems straightforward—select the club’s finest talents and call it a day. But with only five spots and over 150 years of Rangers history to sift through, the task quickly becomes daunting. Legends like Derek Johnstone, Jim Baxter, Sandy Jardine, and John Greig could all stake a claim, yet narrowing it down to a modern-era lineup offers a compelling challenge.
Starting between the sticks, the goalkeeper choice feels almost predestined. Allan McGregor came agonizingly close to being Rangers’ all-time greatest, perhaps only a league title or Europa League triumph shy of that mantle, but his unease with ball-playing duties rules him out. Other luminaries like Chris Woods and Stefan Klos fall short for similar reasons. Instead, Andy Goram emerges as the undisputed pick.
A Rangers icon, Hall of Fame inductee, and peerless shot-stopper, Goram’s credentials make him the ideal guardian for this compact pitch.
Defensively, the criteria shift: a player must marry solidity with stamina, ball control, and a knack for goals—no easy feat for a traditional center-back.
Madjid Bougherra stands out as a rare exception among out-and-out defenders, but the nod goes to a versatile star in Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Initially a central midfielder at Rangers, he later redefined himself as a world-class left-back with Barcelona and the Netherlands. His fitness, pinpoint passing, tenacity, and ability to score—capped by captaining his country in a World Cup final—make him a perfect fit for the relentless, end-to-end nature of five-a-side.
The midfield pairing demands flair and firepower, sidelining the temptation to opt for gritty ball-winners like Graeme Souness, Barry Ferguson, or Steven Davis—however effective they might be. In five-a-side, goals reign supreme, and Paul Gascoigne is the first name etched in stone.
At his peak, Gazza was a force of nature: a dribbling maestro with strength, deceptive pace, and an unmatched ability to dominate games. Complementing him is Mark Walters, a wing wizard whose exploits might require a YouTube deep dive for younger fans.
Walters tormented defenders with his two-footed flair, rifled in goals, and thrived on rough pitches in an era of bruising tackles. Together, Gascoigne and Walters would leave opponents scrambling to regain possession.
Up top, the choice of striker sparks debate. Ally McCoist, Rangers’ record goalscorer, seems an obvious contender—until Brian Laudrup enters the frame. The Danish maestro’s blend of silky skill and clinical finishing would make him a nightmare on a tight five-a-side court, edging out McCoist’s more traditional poacher’s instincts.
Michael Mols, another nimble option, falls just short of Laudrup’s dazzling peak. Still, swapping Laudrup for McCoist—perhaps dropping the Dane into midfield alongside Gascoigne—hardly weakens the side, offering flexibility without sacrificing quality.
This lineup—Goram, Van Bronckhorst, Gascoigne, Walters, and Laudrup—distills Rangers’ rich legacy into a five-a-side juggernaut, blending resilience, creativity, and lethal finishing. For fans enduring the international lull, it’s a lineup worth dreaming about.
Alious
