Eric kept the Wolves from door

Apr 27 2008 By Gavin Berry

RANGERS head to Florence this week aiming to reach their fourth European final in the club's 135-year history.

Walter Smith's men must edge out Fiorentina to book their place in the UEFA Cup showpiece at the City of Manchester Stadium on May 14.

If they pull off the Italian job it will add to their European Cup Winners' Cup final appearances of 1961, '67 and '72. They twice suffered heartbreak before beating Dynamo Moscow at Barcelona's Nou Camp in '72.

The Fiorentina crunch is Gers' sixth European semi - they lost to Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1960 European Cup and Newcastle in the '69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Here MailSport looks at their three triumphs:

1961 Cup Winners' Cup - Rangers 2 (Brand, Scott) Wolves 0. Second leg: Wolves 1, Rangers 1 (Scott).

Eric Caldow got quickfire revenge on the English by helping dump Wolves just days after he captained Scotland during a 9-3 thrashing by the Auld Enemy.

Ralph Brand and Alex Scott scored in the first ever Anglo-Scottish meeting in Europe. And when Scott then netted away from home Gers were on their way to the final.

Caldow said: "We were so embarrassed by the 9-3 defeat but restored a bit of pride.

"Wolves had won the league three times in the 50s under legendary boss Stan Cullis and came to Glasgow thinking they would give us a hiding but we showed them."

Fiorentina deniedGers glory over two legs in the final but beating Wolves was still a great achievement.

Harold Davis recalled: "I got injured so was put on the right wing and had a great game. The Wolves boss thought it was a tactic."

1967 Cup Winners' Cup - Slavia Sofia 0, Rangers 1 (Wilson). Second leg: Rangers 1 (Henderson), Sofia 0.

Ibrox icon Willie Henderson reckons this triumph should rank among the club's greatest results.

The Bulgarians were European heavyweights in the 60s but Henderson's second-leg strike sealed a 2-0 aggregate win.

However, there was agony in the final as Gers lost to Bayern Munich.

Henderson said: "This tie isn't talked about much but it was a great result in Rangers' history.

"Sofia were one of the top clubs in Europe, an excellent side. I'll never forget my goal in front of 80,000 at Ibrox."

Henderson believes victory in Bulgaria was a far bigger achievement than away wins nowadays because of the culture shock his mates faced in the Communist state.

He said: "Getting there was hazardous and the food wasn't whatwe were used to. Behind the Iron Curtain was alien to us - but the obstacles just made our result all the greater."

1972 Cup Winners' Cup - Bayern Munich 1, Rangers 1 (Zobel og). Second leg: Rangers 2, (Jardine, Parlane) Bayern Munich 0.

Euro rookie Derek Parlane achieved instant legendary status by scoring the clincher as Gers avenged their final defeat five years earlier.

Parlane said: "That match at Ibrox really kick-started my Rangers career. I was just a kid and had never played in European competition.

"I couldn't believe it when Willie Waddell said I was playing and told me to mark Franz Roth who had scored the winner against us in '67.

"It was an amazing night and beating Bayern 2-0 was one of Rangers' best ever Euro results."

Waddell's troops went on to claim the club's only European trophy with a 3-2 victory over Dynamo Moscow.