22 February 2007 - Rangers Ride The Comeback Trail

On 22 February 2007, Rangers stormed back from a 2-1 first leg deficit to defeat Hapoel Tel Aviv 4-0 in the second leg of the UEFA Cup Round of 32.

Playing before a crowd of over 46,000 at their home stadium, Ibrox, Rangers were determined to avenge their first leg upset loss, played one week previously at Tel Aviv's Bloomfield Stadium. Pride was not the only thing at stake, however--a loss or a draw with the Israeli club would elminate Rangers from the tournament.

As it turned out, the Glasgow side need not have worried. They dominated the second leg from start to finish, taking a 2-0 lead into the break with goals from their captain, midfielder Barry Ferguson (24'), and striker Kris Boyd (35'). The match proved just as one-sided after halftime, with Ferguson (pictured) scoring his second to extend the lead to 3-0 in the 73rd minute before 90th-minute substitute Charlie Adam capped the victory with a goal in the third minute of stoppage time. The only black mark on the day for Rangers was the 74th-minute sending off of their goalkeeper, Allan McGregor, after he fouled Hapoel's Luciano De Bruno.

The 5-1 aggregate win preserved Rangers' hopes of playing in the Final, held that year at Glasgow's Hampden Park, but they were eliminated from the competition by Spanish side Osasuna in the next round.

16 June 1927 - The Real Hebrew Hammer

On 16 June 1927, Yaakov Hodorov was born in Rishon LeZion, Palestine. Remembered as one of the best goalkeepers of his generation, he played for the Israeli national team from 1949 to 1964.

Hodorov began his professional career in 1942 at the age of 15 with his hometown club Maccabi Rishon LeZion, but moved after a couple of years to local rival Hapoel Rishon LeZion. In 1947, he moved again, this time to Hapoel Tel Aviv, where he spent the majority of his club career and won his first major honors - the Israeli league championship in 1957 and the Israeli cup in 1960.

One of Hodorov's most memorable matches was a World Cup qualifier against Wales on 5 February 1958. At the time, Israel was playing in the Asian Football Confederation and almost qualified for the 1958 World Cup without playing a match. Israel's first scheduled opponent was Turkey, who refused to compete in the Asian group, allowing Israel to advance. Israel's opponent in the second round, Indonesia, withdrew from qualification after FIFA rejected their request to play Israel on neutral ground. Israel was then scheduled to play Sudan in the third round, but the Sudanese refused to play.

Israel would have qualified automatically, but FIFA ruled that, apart from the hosts and the defending champions, no team could qualify without playing a match and thus drew Wales for a special playoff against Israel. After Wales won the first leg 2-0 in Israel, the teams met in Cardiff on 5 February 1958. Wales again won 2-0, but Hodorov drew high praise for making several outstanding saves and playing after suffering a broken nose in a collision with Welsh striker John Charles.

Hadorov reportedly received numerous offers to play for European clubs including Arsenal, Dundee United, and Fenerbahçe, but chose to play his entire career in Israel.

In 2006, the Israeli government awarded him the Israel Prize for excellence and contribution to sports. He had a stroke shortly before the presentation ceremony, however, and was unable to attend. He died on 31 December 2006 at the age of 79.