| Christian Nerlinger |
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Birth Place:
Birth Date:
21/03/1973
Playing Position:
Midfielder
Signed:
26/06/2001
International
Honours:
Germany (6 Caps)
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RANGERS paid a bargain £1.8million for the talented German midfield star, who was to add both steel and skill to the Ibrox squad.
However a foot injury sustained in only his third game for the club kept him out for seven months and he only returned to action in March.
Nerlinger is vastly experienced, having spent eight years with Bayern Munich where he won two Bundesliga titles, the German Cup, and the 1996 UEFA Cup.
That kind of pedigree elevated Christian into the German national squad and also earned him a move to Dortmund in the summer of 1999.
Sadly, an injury in the second half of that season denied him the chance of appearing at Euro 2000. He played against Rangers that season, though, when Borussia knocked the Ibrox men out on penalties after a 2-2 aggregate scoreline in the third round of the UEFA Cup. Nerlinger missed his spot-kick, but it didn’t matter.
Maybe Dick Advocaat got an idea that night of what Nerlinger could offer, although Jan Wouters knew him too from playing beside the midfielder at
Bayern.
Inevitably, some fans saw Nerlinger as a direct replacement for compatriot Jorg
Albertz, but he is a different kind of player.
Although not renowned for goal-scoring, Nerlinger scored on his debut in Slovenia against Maribor and then against Aberdeen in his first SPL game.
He followed that up with two goals in only the second game of his comeback from injury against Partick Thistle in the Scottish Cup semi-final.
Unfortunately he picked up another problem in the pre-season friendly win at Linfield and has missed every competitive match so far. The good news is Christian is almost ready to return to full training and his experience will be needed by Alex McLeish with so many crucial games ahead.
| Appearance Stats: [Starts, subs, goals] | | Season | Club | SPL | TSC | CIS | Euro | Total | | 2001/02 * | Rangers | 7 | 1 | 1 | | 1 | 0 | 2 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | 0 | 1 | | 10 | 1 | 4 | | 2002/03 * | Rangers | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Total | 6 | 1 | 1 | | 1 | 0 | 2 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | 0 | 1 | | 10 | 1 | 4 |
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