Thomas Buffel remembers the warm glow he felt after finally winning over the Rangers support.
And he reckons Fashion Sakala is ready to catch fire now he has lit the fuse on his own Ibrox career.
The Zambian was serenaded off the pitch on Sunday by travelling the Gers faithful after bagging a first career hat-trick in the 6-1 mauling of Motherwell.
If proof was needed that he has now been fully accepted by the Ibrox fanbase, it was provided by the rousing rendition of the new ditty - sang to the tune of Shakira’s Waka Waka hit - that was belted out in his honour from the Fir Park stands.
It’s taken time for the summer recruit from Oostende to make his mark for Steven Gerrard’s team after a transition period disrupted by covid complications and groin injury.
But he looked plenty pleased with himself judging by the toothy grin he flashed the away support as he strode off the pitch carrying the match ball at the weekend.
Buffel had his own settling in troubles when he joined Alex McLeish’s Gers back in January 2005.
A debut defeat to Celtic didn’t do much to ingratiate him with the Govan locals but once the fans were brought onside, the Belgian remembers there being no better feeling.
He told Record Sport : “I remember my fourth or fifth game was against Dundee United at Hampden in the semi-finals of the League Cup.
“We won 7-1 and I played a good game. From that time on I started to play well and had a good spell.
“We won the league and the cup that season and I got a lot of compliments.
“I remember sitting down with our assistant manager Jan Woulters after we’d won the title. We were having a beer and he said, ‘Thomas it was good we had you as a signing because it really helped us in the last months to take the championship home’.
“That was such a big honour for him to say that to me. It made me so happy to be at Rangers.
“I saw that Steven Gerrard and the fans gave Fashion a big ovation at the weekend after his hat-trick and that will have the same effect.
“It was fantastic. Those things mean everything to a player. It’s your payback.
“It’s so important to be appreciated. I know that now even all the years after leaving the club, I see it when I go back and meet the Rangers fans.
“You can’t put a price on that.”
Former Feyenoord, Genk and Belgium ace Buffel retired in 2019 aged 38 but before hanging up his boots he came across Sakala, who had just signed for Oostende after a frustrating spell in Russia with Spartak Moscow.
The clash against Buffel’s Zulte Waregem gave the former Gers ace a close-up view of saw Sakala and his potential, which was underlined when the African ace netted his first goal in Belgian football.
He ended his first season with six goals, netted nine the next before his third and final year with the West Flanders outfit saw him set a new single-season scoring record for the club with 16 goals.
Sakala now has four in Scotland having also netted in an Ibrox draw with Well back in September.
But if he wants to keep his new fan club off his back, Buffel says that tally will have to grow.
“I remember Fashion when he was at Oostende doing well,” he said. “He was an important player for them, an important goalscorer.
“He has the speed and the ability to create something out of nothing.
“I don’t think he is always involved in every moment of the game but at the right moment he is always ready, like all good strikers have to be.
“It’s a big step for Fashion to jump from Oostende to Rangers, with the atmosphere and pressure at Rangers.
“Yeah there was pressure at Oostende but nothing like you get at Ibrox, where you have to win everything.
“It’s good to see that he’s adapting there.
“The longer he was at Oostende, the better he did.
“A lot of people expected him to go from Oostende to a top Belgian team but he chose to go to Rangers.
“I don’t think he will regret that decision, especially with the atmosphere you get at Rangers.
“From there he can maybe make a new step if he does well and continues to score.
“Working with Steven Gerrard, who has such huge experience from being a top football player will help too. It can only be to your benefit to work under his supervision.
“Moving to a club like Rangers is always difficult but staying there is even harder.”
Sakala’s arrival marks the third time Gerrard has plundered Belgium’s Jupiler Pro League, having also signed Ianis Hagi from Genk and Kemar Roofe from Anderlecht last year.
And Buffel believes it is a market Gers should be looking to plunder again.
He said: “The Belgian league is making major steps forward in the development of youth players and scouting.
“You can see that from the Belgian team it’s mostly players who have started their careers with Belgium clubs before moving abroad. There are a few good examples in the Premier League too.
“It’s a good breeding ground right now. I think I should become an agent!
“I think it’s a league Rangers should look to recruit more from - but it’s not always easy because there’s a lot of players attracting attention and they are in the shop window for bigger leagues.
“But Belgian football has a good eye for young talent, even if it’s not players who come from Belgium.
“There’s a lot of foreigners coming in at a young age like Wilfred Ndidi, who has moved from Genk to Leicester.
“But if you can get in there early, maybe after one year, you can still lure them to Rangers.”
