By Wale Mustapha
Nigerian defender Leon Balogun believes Glasgow Rangers will approach their Europa League quarterfinal first leg against Athletic Bilbao with a renewed mentality, despite recent domestic struggles.
Rangers have been inconsistent in the Scottish Premiership, suffering a 2-0 defeat to Hibernian last week, which has effectively ended their title hopes for the season.
However, Balogun remains optimistic about the team’s prospects in Europe.
“We are all fairly clear that we are now in a quarterfinal. It’s separate from what’s happening domestically, and we need to focus on that,” he said.
The 33-year-old emphasized the importance of the upcoming match, describing it as a massive opportunity for both the players and the club.
“The last two days have been pretty positive; everyone is aware of the domestic side, but we can focus on that after tomorrow night,” Balogun added in an interview on Rangers’ official website.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
