Ryan Naderi has revealed his family connection to Czechia after scoring Rangers' winner against Jablonec.
The German forward struck the decisive goal in Thursday night's 1-0 Conference League play-off first-leg victory at Ibrox, giving Derek McInnes' side a narrow advantage to take into the return fixture.
The victory was Rangers' second in succession after they thrashed St Mirren 5-1 in the Premier Sports Cup on Sunday, with Naderi also getting on the scoresheet in that match.
More importantly, the Jablonec victory delivered Rangers' first clean sheet of the season.
Rangers striker's Czech links
Naderi will now return to the Czech Republic for next Thursday's second leg with a personal connection to the country.
The Rangers striker explained that his mother is from the Czech Republic, while his grandmother still lives there.
“My mom is from the Czech Republic. My grandma lives there,” he revealed post match.
Naderi also revealed that he spent time in the country during his school years and can speak Czech.
“When I was in school, I was there for a while. I speak Czech, not as good as it used to be, but it's okay.”
The European tie will therefore give Naderi the opportunity to return to a country which has played a part in his family life, with his relatives also expected to be in attendance.
He is also eligable for the Czech national team, and should his form continue, he may be in line for a shock switch of allegiences.
Naderi focused on second leg
However, despite the personal significance of the trip, the 23-year-old insisted his focus remains firmly on Rangers' objective of reaching the league phase stage of the UEFA Conference League.
“So for me it's a nice match, I enjoy it. I'm glad that my family will come too,” Naderi explained.
“But as I said, it's a match like any other. And it's one on one.”
Rangers given extra time to prepare for Jablonec
Rangers will not have a Premiership fixture this weekend, with their scheduled league meeting with St Mirren postponed ahead of the European trip.
That gives McInnes and his squad additional time to prepare for the second leg in Czechia next Thursday.
It also means Rangers head into the weekend on the back of two consecutive victories, having followed Sunday's emphatic cup success with the narrow win over Jablonec.
The defensive improvement was particularly significant, with Thursday's clean sheet the first of the campaign.
Naderi has now scored in both of Rangers' last two victories and will be hoping to continue that run when McInnes' side travel to the Czech Republic next week.
However, they will be without Cammy Devlin, who was sent off last night just six minutes after replacing Vanja Dragojevic as a substitute in the second half.
Add us as a preferred source on Google