Gio van Bronckhorst and the Rangers transfer Back to the Future plan that could pay huge dividends
dailyrecord.co.ukGiovanni van Bronckhorst arrived at Ibrox as part of a multi-million pound, multicultural spending spree under Dick Advocaat in the summer of 1999.
Advocaat recruited from Van Bronckhorst’s Feyenoord to Fiorentina and Atletico Madrid to Auxerre. There was South American flair in Gabriel Amato and a goalkeeper with a World Cup winners’ medal in his bag in Lionel Charbonnier.
They all helped kickstart the Ibrox revolution under the Dutchman with Van Bronckhorst and compatriot Arthur Numan leading the way.Yet midway through that first season Advocaat looked just the short journey across the M8 to Edinburgh for the signing that would give his squad a timely boost.
At just £1.6 million, Neil McCann was far less expensive than many of the imports but no less effective. McCann had played his part in ensuring Advocaat and Van Bronckhorst got off to a losing domestic start in Scotland with a 2-1 win for Hearts on the opening weekend of the league season.
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