In a career spanning almost 20 years, Peter van Vossen won the Champions League, made it to the quarter-finals of the World Cup with his country and won league titles in both the Netherlands and Scotland. 

Point being, it’s reductive to define his time in football by one excruciating miss. But here we are.

It’s 30 years to the day since Van Vossen missed an open goal for Rangers during a crucial Old Firm clash at Celtic Park. Leading 1-0 and with less than seven minutes remaining, the Dutch forward had a chance to seal all three points for the nine-in-a-row-chasing Light Blues. Instead, he blazed over with the goal at his mercy.

In the decades since, the spurned chance has become the benchmark by which all other misses have been measured. ‘Sure, it was bad — but was it “Van Vossen” bad?’

The man himself has seldom spoken about the events of that powder keg of a night. Until now. Living the quiet life in rural Holland, Van Vossen has given Daily Mail Sport a full account of his professional nadir.

‘I mostly remember being mad at Jorg [Albertz],’ he says. ‘I was seriously p***** off with him. Paul Gascoigne played a pass inside to me and I clipped a first-time ball in behind the Celtic defence, who were pressing high. If Jorg had just left it, I was one-on-one with the goalie and I would have fancied my chances.

‘I also thought there was a chance he might have been offside, so when you see me running through and stretching out my arms, that’s not me telling him that we’re through; that’s me telling him to leave it and get out of the way!

‘Anyway, he didn’t, I continued my run, he passed it to me and, because I was still livid when the ball arrived at me, I wasn’t paying enough attention. It took a bit of a bobble, I ended up basically hitting it with my shin and, yeah, it unfortunately flew over the bar.’

To his relief, Rangers held on for a 1-0 win to leapfrog their bitter rivals at the top of the table, albeit only after Andy Goram saved a Pierre van Hooijdonk penalty awarded moments after Van Vossen’s horror miss.

‘Walter Smith came up to me in the dressing room afterwards and said, “It’s just as well The Goalie saved that penalty otherwise I’d have f****** killed you!”’ smiles Van Vossen.

‘It was horrible but I can laugh about it now because we won the game. I wish I had scored but I didn’t, so there’s nothing I can do except try to find the humour in it.’

Van Vossen signed for Rangers in January 1996 in a swap deal that saw Oleg Salenko join Istanbulspor. He came with some pedigree, too, having won the Champions League with Ajax in 1995, a year after featuring for the Netherlands on their run to the last eight of the World Cup in the US.

At that time, Rangers, bankrolled by David Murray, were in the throes of a project designed to deliver European glory, while maintaining their dominance of Scottish football. Those two objectives, says Van Vossen, were misaligned.

‘We had a quality group of players that was far better than anything else in Scotland at the time,’ he says. ‘That made us incredibly difficult to beat in the league. But when we went into European games, we were exposed. The lack of competition in the league along with the lifestyles of some of our players was not compatible with taking on champions from other countries.

‘I always felt like we were technically a little behind. Our training usually consisted of a warm-up, a game of football, and a warm-down. That was a big adjustment for me. At Ajax, we played in a system and we worked hard on making sure everybody knew their role. In Scotland, it seemed like there was no real system. You could run anywhere you wanted. I don’t really think I learned anything in my time there.’

That’s not to say he didn’t enjoy his two-and-a-half years in Glasgow. Quite the opposite.

‘I loved playing for Rangers,’ he says. ‘Particularly that second season [1996/97]. I started really well and scored seven or eight goals in the first handful of games. I remember people being quite surprised because I had taken some time to settle. They would joke, “Who are you, Van Vossen’s better twin brother?” But I loved it.’

He reserves particular affection for Walter Smith. ‘He was a fantastic manager and a true gentleman,’ he nods. ‘He helped me through a difficult time in my personal life. When I wasn’t in his team on the weekend, for example, I would ask him if I could go back to the Netherlands to see my children. He always said yes on the condition that I was back in time for training at 10am on Monday.

‘He genuinely cared about his players. I remember Vitesse being interested in bringing me back to Holland and their coach Leo Beenhakker coming to watch me at Ibrox.

‘After the game, he found Walter and said, “We want to sign Peter, but we think £300,000 is too much”. Walter said to him, “Listen to me carefully. We don’t do business like this. First, you and I will go for a lunch, have a respectful chat and only when we’ve got to know each other, that’s when we’ll talk about money”.

‘Walter came to me afterwards and said, “Look, I know you’re not playing as much as you would like but I won’t let you sign for him. This isn’t a good manager and I can’t allow it. You’re one of my players and I care about getting you the right move, not just any move”. I really respected that.’

Van Vossen endured a much more difficult relationship with Smith’s assistant Archie Knox, a man he describes as ‘manipulative’.

‘I didn’t get on with him,’ he says. ‘People talk a lot nowadays about creating a safe space and the right culture in workplaces. To me, Archie didn’t do that. He was always shouting, always right on top of you, in your face, kicking bottles. He behaved like a madman.

‘At Ajax, the coaches wanted to know how you were feeling. They understood that being well mentally was as important as being physically fit. Archie wasn’t interested in that. He was always aggressive, but only with the players he didn’t like. He had his favourites. If you weren’t one of them, he made sure you knew all about it.’

Background tensions aside, Van Vossen’s first full season at Ibrox, 1996/97, has assumed a special place in Rangers’ folklore. They finished five points clear of Celtic to equal their rivals’ record of nine consecutive league titles, having laid the foundations with four league wins out of four over Tommy Burns’ side.

Despite his famous miss being the closest he ever came to scoring in an Old Firm clash, Van Vossen insists he relished those occasions.

‘I loved those games,’ he says. ‘The atmosphere, home and away, was unbelievable and the quality of the players on the pitch was outstanding. To be honest, there wasn’t a whole lot of football played. There were lots of mistakes, fights and loads of running. I remember feeling tired after just ten minutes. I wasn’t built for that kind of pace! But they were great to be part of.

‘The week of Old Firm matches, you could feel the pressure building. I remember being in Glasgow city centre one day and I needed a taxi. I waved one down but when it pulled up, the driver must have been a Celtic fan because he raised his middle finger and swore at me before driving away. Whereas, with Rangers taxi drivers, it was the opposite. I honestly think they would have driven me around Scotland for free.

‘That’s just what football is like in Glasgow. It’s on a whole other level to anything else. I’ve played in big derbies in the Netherlands and Turkey. Believe me, nothing comes close to the Old Firm.’

After finding his playing time limited as Rangers pursued ten-in-a-row, Van Vossen was relieved to learn that his old international manager, Dick Advocaat, would take over from Smith in time for the 1998/99 season. His joy, however, was short-lived when Murray used him as a makeweight in a transfer for Feyenoord midfielder Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

‘David Murray was a brilliant guy, but he made a huge mistake when he tried to sell me to Feyenoord behind the back of Dick Advocaat,’ says Van Vossen. ‘Dick was taking over and he was keen for me to be part of his plans.

‘I remember he was flying from Amsterdam to Glasgow when he phoned me to talk about some of his ideas. I said, “Dick, I’m sorry, but I think I’m joining Feyenoord. The deal is almost done”. He told me to stay put and said that when he got to Glasgow, he and I were going to go and see Murray.

‘I remember Dick said to him, “How can you sell players behind my back? I need to be involved in these conversations”. Murray said, “You’re absolutely right, I apologise”. He handed me a blank cheque and said, “Peter, write down whatever number you want to stay. It’s not a problem”.

‘But I couldn’t do it. I respected him for apologising to Dick, but I had lost confidence in him. I couldn’t play for somebody who would do something like that.

‘I took a 60 per cent drop in wages to join Feyenoord but they were the team I had supported as a boy and I needed to be somewhere I was wanted and where I was being treated with respect.’

Although his spell at Ibrox ended on a slightly sour note, Van Vossen recalls it fondly. ‘It was a family,’ he says. ‘Everybody had a part to play, from the players on the pitch to the ladies in the kitchen. I mean, they were incredible. I remember being on a ferry one time and I got chatting to a truck driver who told me he sold flowers. We had a good conversation and exchanged numbers.

‘When I got back to Glasgow, I got in touch with him and said, “Can you do me a favour? Can you deliver ten bouquets of flowers to Ibrox?” Sure enough, this huge truck pulled up outside the ground one day, with something like ten thousand flowers in the back. They pulled out ten bouquets and delivered them to the ladies in the kitchen. They were delighted, but it was the least I could do. They treated you like one of their own. Like I say, we were one big family.’

These days, the head of that family is one of Van Vossen’s old teammates, Derek McInnes, and he’s backing him to deliver silverware.

‘I remember Derek well,’ he says. ‘Like me, he didn’t play every game, but he always gave 100 per cent and I expect he’ll be the same as a manager. He’s a people person and I imagine he is a fantastic man-manager. I have no doubt he’ll do a great job.’

Having dabbled in management and punditry since hanging up his boots, Van Vossen now describes himself as a ‘house husband’ who dotes on wife Jojanneke and his stepchildren Sem, Lilly, Madée and Eva. He’s also currently writing his autobiography. The simple pleasures, he insists, are what matter most to him.

‘I don’t need to have lots of expensive things and a certain kind of lifestyle to be a rich man,’ he adds. ‘I’m a rich man because of the memories I have and the good times I enjoyed as a footballer.

‘If I close my eyes, I can still remember what it was like to run onto the pitch at Ibrox in front of 50,000 supporters, and it gives me goosebumps. I am very fortunate to have had that opportunity.’