Rangers’ next preparations take them to the Midlands, where they will play Birmingham City on what promises to be a moving occasion for both teams. The game honors the late Trevor Francis, the first football player in Britain to earn £1 million, who passed away last year. The striker started his professional career with the Blues, making 280 appearances and scoring 118 goals before making a record-breaking move to Nottingham Forest after a loan with Detroit Express. He scored the winning goal in the 1979 European Cup Final victory over Malmo in Munich, heading home on his European debut. After stints with Man City, Sampdoria, and Atalanta, Francis joined the team in 1987.
He sadly passed away a year to the day of the game, suffering a heart attack at his Spanish home near Marbella. Philippe Clement now takes his team to the Second City for the game in Francis’ honour, but also to further fine tune his squad’s fitness and match sharpness during what as been a turbulent summer in Govan.
Leave a Reply