Rangers' last European semi-final against Fiorentina relived
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Rangers players celebrate in front of their fans in Florence after edging past Fiorentina to reach the 2008 Uefa Cup final
Walter Smith lost track of the shootout score. Barry Ferguson feared he'd blown Rangers' hopes. And when it was all over, Ally McCoist burst into tears of unbridled elation.
One unforgettable night in Florence 14 years ago Rangers defied the odds, a sending off, and stomach-churning tension to reach the Uefa Cup final.
The class of 2008 were part of the inspiration for Giovanni van Bronckhorst's Ibrox side on Thursday as they overturned a 1-0 deficit against RB Leipzig and reach the Europa League final.
Here, BBC Scotland revisits the club's previous European semi-final second leg...
Defensive defiance
Then, as now, Rangers headed into the game smarting from failing to win an Old Firm derby. A 3-2 loss at Celtic Park made it back-to-back league defeats to their greatest rivals as manager Smith sought to refocus minds on the mission in Florence.
They arrived in Italy with the tie on a knife-edge after a goalless first-leg draw at Ibrox. Goalkeeper Neil Alexander, deputising for injured Allan McGregor, had made an assured European debut in a depleted side and would soon be thrust into the limelight.
Rangers' run to the last four was built on defensive fortitude and counter-attacking savvy. It earned them plenty of admirers, as well as some high-profile critics.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi, having been stymied in a 0-0 Champions League group-stage stalemate, branded Rangers' style "anti-football". Smith later accepted the jibe as a badge of honour.
His team had finished behind Barcelona and Lyon to drop into the Uefa Cup knockout rounds and embark on a remarkable journey.
Panathinaikos, Werder Bremen and Sporting Lisbon were all dispatched, with Rangers conceding just two goals, scoring five and keeping four clean sheets across those six matches.
"That team was typified by staying in the game and making it difficult for the opposition," midfielder Kevin Thomson tells BBC Scotland.
"We never scored loads of goals in Europe but we were horrible to play against. And the previous tie, winning 2-0 in Lisbon, showed we could be lethal on the break."
Daniel Cousin was sent off in extra-time of Rangers' second leg in Florence
Another defensive masterclass was looming. In the land of catenaccio, Rangers frustrated a Fiorentina side featuring the talents of Adrian Mutu and Christian Vieri, who came off the bench to miss a handful of attempts. His miserable night was just getting started.
Calm minds were required as Smith's men - with Thomson and Barry Ferguson back in midfield after serving first-leg suspensions - pushed their aching limbs to the limit in extra time as they repelled purple waves of attack.
To make the task even more fraught, Daniel Cousin had a rush of blood and headbutted Fabio Liverani to earn a second booking with 10 minutes to play.
The spirit-sapping red left his team-mates hanging on - but they battled on to penalties. After 210 minutes and not a single goal, it all came down to which side would hold their nerve from 12 yards.
Anguish, confusion, then shootout jubilation
Smith, who had returned to Rangers a year previously for his second spell in charge, handed responsibility to assistant McCoist and first-team coach Kenny McDowall to decide Rangers' penalty takers. Once compiled, the list still had to pass Smith's arched-eyebrow scrutiny test.
"Walter turns to me and says 'Who is taking them?" McCoist, speaking in 2020, recalled.
"I said: 'Ferguson, [Steven] Whittaker, [Nacho] Novo, [Sasa] Papac and [Brahim] Hemdani.' Walter looked at me and went: 'Hemdani? He won't reach the goal from a penalty.' I went, 'We'll need to wait and see, gaffer.'"
Ferguson was first up, but could only watch in dismay as Frey leapt to his right to claw away the well-struck penalty. It proved a scarring experience for the future Rangers captain, who later said, external the mere mention of a shootout still makes his "blood run cold".
"Walking back to the half way line was the longest walk of my life," added Ferguson. "I couldn't bring myself to look up at the rest of the boys. The rest of the penalties were just a blur. My head was gone."
While Ferguson was lost in his own thoughts, Zdravko Kuzmanovic and Riccardo Montolivo converted Fiorentina's opening two attempts, with Whittaker and Papac replying for Rangers.
Then came Alexander's heroic moment, springing to his left to deny Liverani with a terrific save. Hemdani - despite Smith's reservations - made no mistake to put Rangers 3-2 ahead before Vieri stepped up and blazed over the bar.
It meant Nacho Novo had the chance to fire Rangers into a Manchester showpiece with Dick Advocaat's Zenit St Petersburg, the Ibrox club's fourth European final and first since 1972.
His team-mates held their breath, some dared not to look. But not everyone was aware of the significance riding on the spot-kick.
"Wee Nacho was to go up and Walter actually turned to me in the dugout and said: 'What's the score?'," said McCoist.
"He said: 'I'm not kidding you, what's the score?'. I looked at him and said: 'If wee Nacho scores this penalty, you're about to find out the score.'"
Rangers' stand-in goalkeeper Neil Alexander saves from Fabio Liverani in the shootout
Even when Novo sparked delirium by coolly slotting into the corner, sending Frey the wrong way and propelling Rangers to the final, it didn't immediately sink in with some.
"I thought they still had one penalty to go," Alexander admitted. "I had to do a double take, I saw the boys running and thought: 'I've got to catch up with them!'"
Rangers players and staff raced towards Novo, swamping the Spaniard. Then they congregated in front of thousands of their ecstatic fans packed into the corner of the stadium.
McCoist described it as his most emotional moment in football. He embraced Thomson and the tears came spilling out.
Thomson says: "I've still got the Coisty picture, him giving me a big smacker on the cheek.
"I probably would have been next on the list of takers, so I was very thankful wee Nacho scored. I think my celebrations were more relief than anything."
The gargantuan effort had taken a gruelling toll. "I just remember the changing room being, not flat, but just in disbelief," Thomson added. "Everyone was sapped of energy and emotion."
Ally McCoist savours the most emotional night of his career as Rangers reach the final