IN his five years at Ibrox, Artur Numan won ten major honours and became a hero to a generation of Rangers supporters. The Ibrox crowd left their own mark on the Dutchman, too.

Numan enjoyed several memorable days under the guidance of Dick Advocaat and Alex McLeish before he retired from the game in 2003 having also made 45 appearances for his country.

Here, the former Gers full-back tells SportTimes about two famous afternoons at Hampden and the disappointment of the European achievement that slipped through their grasps.

Aberdeen 0-4 Rangers

May 27, 2000

Hampden

Scorers: van Bronckhorst, Vidmar, Dodds, Albertz

It was a special occasion because it was the 100th trophy that Rangers won and it was the ‘Oranje final’. To captain the team on that day was very special for me.

I was over in Scotland the other week and spoke about that final. I remember walking out of the tunnel and I couldn’t believe the number of orange jerseys that were there. It felt like I was playing for the national team in Holland.

I remember Jim Leighton getting injured early in the game but Aberdeen didn’t have a goalkeeper on the bench so Robbie Winters, probably the smallest guy on the park, had to go in goals. I must admit, he had a good game.

It was a great day to captain Rangers to that trophy in the ‘Oranje final’. We had a lot of players of different nationalities and we had a terrific squad. I was over for the Old Firm game and I met Claudio Reyna. I hadn’t seen him since 2002 so we caught up and spoke about the period we played together.

We had so many nationalities in the dressing room but we all got on well, we went out for dinner and it was nice to be around the table with guys from Denmark, Italy, Germany, right across the world.

We had so much quality on the park and it was a great time to be at Rangers. Days like that were very special for us all.

Celtic 2-3 Rangers

May 4, 2002

Hampden

Scorers: Lovenkrands (2), Ferguson

There is always so much build-up to an Old Firm game and the lead up to that one, with it being the final and the last game of the season, was incredible.

You always want to end the season with a win before you go away on holiday so there was so much at stake that day. It was a fantastic atmosphere.

You come out of the dressing room and you have 25,000 Rangers fans to the left and 25,000 Celtic fans to the right and that creates a fantastic atmosphere. I keep telling people that nothing beats the Old Firm game.

I don’t like it when there is a track around the park because the stands are too far from the pitch but there was a lot of noise at Hampden that day. It really fired us up and to win it was great.

It is always a great feeling when you beat them and we got to hold the trophy after the game as well. When you look at the teams from that time, both Rangers and Celtic were very good sides and the quality on the park was fantastic. The Old Firm could compete with anyone in those days.

When I was at PSV, I played against Barcelona a couple of times and it was fantastic to play in front of 100,000 people at the Nou Camp. But, atmosphere wise, it is in the shade of the Old Firm game. When you play in front of the Rangers fans, it is tremendous and it is very special.

You treasure moments like that. Even now the supporters come and talk to me about my time at Rangers, the days when we won the league and the cups.

They say it was a great time, we played some great football and it is nice to hear that people appreciate it. I was proud to be part of that team.

Bayern Munich 1-0 Rangers

November 3, 1999

Olympic Stadium

When we played in Europe, the atmosphere was always fantastic. The evening games under the lights at Ibrox were very special. I have spoken to players who have played for big clubs across Europe and they mention the atmosphere when they play against Rangers.

From the moment the supporters arrive in the stadium to the last minute they are behind the team, they cheer and they are singing. That is very special when you are on the park.

In ‘99, we thought we could qualify for the next stage. We went to Bayern Munich but unfortunately we lost 1-0 when we only needed a draw to qualify.

We played some great football over there and I think we were the better team. We hit the post, we hit the bar and we felt that we could beat them.

It was the night that Michael Mols got injured and that was very disappointing for him and the team. It was a real blow for us.

But I will never forget the support that the fans gave us that night. We had the belief that we could get a result against one of the best sides in Europe and get through to the next stage of the Champions League.

We knew Bayern were a great team but so were we. Unfortunately luck was not on our side. It just wasn’t to be.