Former Europa hero joins 5th club since Rangers exit, now playing in Slovenia

09/07/2024 07:00 AM

September 19th will commemorate the five-year anniversary of Rangers’ outstanding Europa League victory over Dutch giants Feyenoord.

A performance which helped to announce Steven Gerrard’s side as proverbial giant-killers in continental competition, with Feyenoord just one of many scalps to end up in Rangers’ impressive collection.

Allan McGregor, James Tavernier, Connor Goldson, Borna Barisic, Ryan Jack and Glen Kamara started on that that night in 2019. Six players who would form the base of that outstanding Rangers team which stunned Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig en route to the Europa League final three years later.

But while that Feyenoord triumph heralded the beginning of that European journey for the likes of Tavernier and Barisic, another of the players who shone against the 16-time Eredivisie champions would never again reach those same heights.

Sheyi Ojo joins fifth different club after Rangers exit

Sheyi Ojo, with just 23 minutes on the clock, lashed a blistering strike into the Feyenoord net.

Brought in only a few weeks earlier on a loan deal from Gerrard’s beloved Liverpool, this was supposed to be Ojo’s coming of age moment. Instead, it set a benchmark the well-travelled winger would fail to live up to throughout the remainder of his Rangers spell.

He netted only four more times before the Glasgow giants opted against pursuing a permanent deal.

“It was a massive day, not only for me but the players,” Ojo told the Official Rangers podcast after his explosion of a shot sent the Feyenoord net flying into the Clyde.

“It was special, not only to score but to help my team. It was definitely a game to look back on but I want to emulate that and produce a lot more moments like that by the end of the season.”

Ojo never would, of course.

And, nearly five months to the day, the former England Under 20 international is facing a long route back to such a lofty peak.

Former Liverpool starlet joins Slovenian giants Maribor

Now 27, joined the tenth club of his nomadic career on Thursday, and his fifth in five seasons since bidding farewell to Rangers.

After his exit from Cardiff City and following a disappointing loan spell at KV Kortrijk in Belgium, Ojo has put pen to paper on a two-year deal with NK Maribor.

The most successful club in the Slovenian Prva Liga with 16 titles to their name, Maribor are one a two year run away the summit. The signing of Ojo is viewed as a statement of intent from a club looking to re-claim their throne.

He might not have really made the grade on British soil – barring a few stand-out moments – but Ojo could yet become a big fish in a rather small Slovenian pond.

“We did what we wanted. We brought in some players who would once have been unattainable,” beams a delighted Marko Suler, the Maribor sporting director speaking to RTV Slo.

Ojo joins alongside Ghana international Benjamin Tetteh – once of Hull City and Sparta Prague – as well as former Portugal youth star Andre Sousa.

“All three new footballers mean added value,” adds Suler. “We are putting together a team that we believe can achieve the goals set in the fight for the title of national champion and cup winners.”