Franz Beckenbauer gave me starry eyes as Rangers teenager and I thought epic Bayern victory at rocking Ibrox was a dream

Derek Parlane could rhyme them off one by one.

The Bayern Munich side that stood in the way of Rangers and their path to the 1972 Cup Winners’ Cup final were household names to the then 18-year-old. The nervous Ibrox kid found himself standing in the tunnel ahead of his first-ever game in Euro competition staring at a line of faces he found more recognisable than even his own. But for all the star power, the strutting confidence and ego of Sepp Maier, Gerd Muller and Paul Breitner, none could match the aura of Franz Beckenbauer.

Germany’s iconic World Cup-winning skipper and boss passed away on Sunday with his status as a global legend long secured. He needed no introduction to the Ibrox faithful when his team rolled up for that famous semi-final – five years earlier he had guided the Bavarian big guns to Cup Winners’ Cup success over Scott Symon’s Gers in Nuremberg. With Celtic lifting the European Cup in Lisbon just six days earlier, that night in the Municipal Stadium was a chance to see Glasgow crowned as the continent’s undisputed footballing capital. But it wasn’t to be as both Beckenbauer and his team edged it 1-0 after extra time, Der Kaiser lifting the first of four European titles.

Fast forward to April 19, 1972 and Beckenbauer was looking to land another killer blow against the Light Blues. But this time Parlane emerged as the unlikely Rangers hero with a goal that sealed victory and a place in the Nou Camp final. For one rare moment, the great Beckenbauer found himself overshadowed.

“I remember standing in the tunnel as an 18-year-old, ready to make my European debut,” Gers legend Parlane told Record Sport. “I turned round to see the away dressing room open and out walked the Bayern Munich team. It was star