Rangers to face Nurnberg on pre-season tour

Published on Friday 12 June 2009 23:18

RANGERS will meet Nurnberg in a friendly as part of their pre-season tour of Germany next month.

Walter Smith's men will take on the side recently promoted back to the Bundesliga at their 47,500-capacity Frankenstadion on Sunday, 26 July.

The Clydesdale Bank Premier League champions will also play regional sides Sportfreunde Lotte 1929 and SC Wiedenbruck 2000 as preparation for the 2009/10 season.

However, their clash with the 2007 German Cup winners is the high-profile match of their three warm-up fixtures. Nurnberg won a two-legged play-off against Energie Cottbus 5-0 on aggregate to secure their passage back to the top flight.

Under coach Michael Oenning, they are hoping to recapture the form that saw them reach the last 32 of the Uefa Cup less than 18 months ago.

Sportfreunde Lotte 1929 – Rangers' first opponents of the tour – are a team Smith took his side to play last summer in the North Rhine-Westphalia area

The match with Lotte, who were tenth in last season's Regionalliga West – the German fourth tier – is on Friday, 24 July at 7pm local time.

After the trip to Nuremberg, Rangers will complete their schedule with a game at SC Wiedenbruck 2000 just 15km from their Marienfeld base.

Co-managed by Englishman Marc Hunt, Wiedenbruck play in their country's fifth tier and the match is on Tuesday, 28 July.

It also kicks off at 7pm locally, while the starting time for the Nurnberg friendly has yet to be confirmed.

Meanwhile, the agent of former Rangers player Gennaro Gattuso has quashed reports his client will leave AC Milan this summer.

The Rossoneri fans are fearing an exodus of players after Kaka's big-money move to Real Madrid earlier this week.

World Cup-winning Italy midfielder Gattuso has been linked with a move to Chelsea, where former Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti has taken the reins.

But his agent, Andrea D'Amico, has played down such talk.

He said: "I have never said that Gattuso will leave.

"There could be offers for him by clubs because who wouldn't want a player like Gattuso?

"Rino (Gattuso) was saddened to see Ancelotti leave because he has a special relationship with him. (But) his mission is at Milan and he wants to stay."

Gattuso, who missed most of the season with a knee injury, is currently on international duty with Italy in South Africa, preparing for the Confederations Cup.