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A Rangers icon has been ranked amongst a hall of Birmingham City greats.
A Rangers legend has been named in the greatest-ever Birmingham City XI - paired with Jude Bellingham.
Aa build-up ensues for the English Championship club’s 150th anniversary fixture against Norwich City - who recently hired ex-Ibrox boss Philippe Clement as head coach - supporters were handed a chance to vote for the Blues’ best ever team. It has now been confirmed that Barry Ferguson has made the cut to start in this star-studded XI.
Famed for two stints at Rangers, Ferguson also featured for Birmingham City between 2009-2011. While it was not a lengthy stay, the midfielder who had an interim stint as Rangers manager last season was part of the side that won the English League Cup versus Arsenal in the 2010/11 season. That has helped etch him into the hearts and minds of fans at the St Andrews’ club, as he takes a spot in their iconic XI.
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Alongside him in midfield is Jude Bellingham, who burst onto the scene as a teenager and has now solidified himself as a Real Madrid superstar. Others on the list are one-time Rangers trainee Kenny Burns, Seb Larsson and Steve Bruce is the manager, with the Light Blues hero in a midfield pairing alongside Bellingham.
While at Rangers, Ferguson won 15 trophies across two stints. Ferguson told Birmingham Live last year of his time at the Blues: "Obviously I always look out for the Rangers' result first, but Birmingham is another result I always look out.
“I had a fantastic time there, I loved it. The people around the club and the fans were amazing to me when I was down in Birmingham. For me, Birmingham is a Premier League team. Seeing them in the Championship was sad, but to go down into League One, I couldn't believe it.
Barry Ferguson on time at Birmingham City
“But it's great to see they've got new investment from America. It's clear that they're putting the money into the club. I was actually down there in pre-season when Birmingham and Rangers played. I was down at St Andrews again and I got a brilliant welcome, so it's a club I've got a lot of time for. I still keep in contact with some of my ex-teammates.”
“When you leave a club the size of Rangers and you go to Birmingham, you're not expected to maybe win another trophy and I managed to do that. With Birmingham we won the League Cup, we beat Arsenal at Wembley. We were getting written off coming up against Arsene Wenger's Arsenal team who were full of top quality players, there’s no doubt about it. But we had a really good team, we had a real togetherness in that squad we had at Birmingham.
"We had a game plan to go and try and nullify Arsenal, to stop them from dictating the game, and it worked. The plan that Alex McLeish put out worked perfectly. And there's no better way to win a cup final than to score with the last kick of the ball, and we certainly celebrated after it."
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