Jump to content

 

 

Recommended Posts

[h=2]A Special Night For Fernando[/h]WRITTEN BY NEIL SMITH


 

33b5461297b045e11af9807754b39b7f_XL.jpg

 

FRIENDS and former team-mates travelled to Sittard in Holland on Sunday to take part in Fernando Ricksen’s Testimonial and help raise awareness of Motor Neurone Disease.

 

The 37-year-old former Ibrox star is currently battling with the illness and he couldn’t hide his emotions on a special night in which so many players and fans turned up to show their support.

Over 200 Rangers fans made the journey to the Dutch city to salute their former captain and they got to watch several familiar faces in action with Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, Ronald de Boer, Nacho Novo, Shota Arveladze, Thomas Buffel and Ronald Waterreus pulling on their boots again.

Former Holland stars Michael Reiziger, Nordin Wooter, Mark van Bommel, Danny Lanzaat and Roy Makaay also joined Ukrainian legend Anatoly Tymoshchukin in Fernando’s Select side that went on to beat his first club Fortuna 5-2.

The score of course was irrelevant although it was fitting that with just a minute left to play Ricksen made a substitute appearance and he netted his side’s fifth goal from the penalty spot. Nacho Novo also marked the occasion with a brace which included a terrific lob from the half-way line.

At the final whistle Ricksen was swamped by both sets of players and carried shoulder high in front of fans who then dropped massive banners of him from the roof of a stand which will be renamed in his honour.

Van Bronckhorst was delighted to be there for his close friend, he said: “Fernando was a well-liked player, he was loved by the people he played for and by the fans of the clubs he represented.

“We all turned out because he meant a lot to us as a former colleague and it was a very nice tribute to him to hold the match.

“We were colleagues of his at Rangers and I have good memories of that time.

“It was a nice gesture that supporters travelled across from Glasgow to be here for Fernando.

“The pair of us will always hold Rangers as a special club in our careers.”

http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/6994-a-special-night-for-fernando?

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.


×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.