Buffel in demand abroad

PERHAPS Hearts should recoil at the prospect of Thomas Buffel with an extra spring in his step. Added bounce is what Alex McLeish believes his ebullient Belgian must have after the news of Anderlecht coveting his playmaker. If flattery gets you nowhere, for Rangers it would seem more beneficial were the influential Buffel to stay put this summer instead of hopping back to his homeland or jumping the dyke for anywhere else for that matter. What ultimately matters is what Paul Le Guen thinks and that is the dilemma that Buffel and his agent have been airing this week.

That Anderlecht are angling for Buffel is nothing new of course. They hankered after him at the beginning of 2005, as did Benfica and Schalke, but only Rangers were prepared to festoon Feyenoord with a £2.3m transfer fee. That money would appear to have been well spent. The slight Buffel was slighted initially with doubts over his suitability for the, shall we say, robust nature of the Scottish game. Yet in sober reflection Buffel has proved one of McLeish's best signings. It was one of the few occasions in which the manager was permitted to go out shopping with a munificent blessing. Fortunately Buffel in full flight can look magnificent.

"Any interest in you is flattering," says Buffel who has hit a purple patch, even though he is unlikely to wind up on purple Anderlecht's patch. "It means you are playing well, but first the club has to go to the Rangers board, and see what their plans are for next season. It's just speculation. There is nothing I can do about that. I am under contract and I love playing for Rangers at the moment." The contract runs until 2009 while his agent Direk Dagraen says that Anderlecht cannot afford Buffel anyway. But the manager who signed Buffel is soon to leave with another one taking his place. Will Buffel be wanted or will he be wanting away? To be fair to him any anxieties may be partly based on past experience.

Buffel was the business at Feyenoord. As well as flair, he contributed 30 goals over two seasons, a wholly impressive return for a creative type who likes to line up in the hole behind the strikers. But then Buffel suffered a whole lot of grief under Ruud Gullit. He was benched at half-time in the Dutchman's managerial debut. Sidelined, he spent a lot of touchline time warming up but being given the cold shoulder. "Sometimes managers see things differently and it's not in your own hands," explains Buffel. "Decisions are made that are not to your benefit but that doesn't mean you're a bad footballer. Occasionally it goes beyond football and you just have to be mentally strong and go on. If you've been good in the past and work hard then they won't always get the better of you."

Le Guen will have fresh funds to bring new faces to Rangers. The current squad will be wondering if their faces will fit. Despite his undeniable talent Buffel is no different in that respect. He knows of Le Guen - "obviously I know the name and that he has won some medals in France" - but he doesn't know what Le Guen will do but then who does know? "I don't know what his plans are yet, so I'm just focusing on this season, because it's too important. We need to try and finish second and then we can have a nice season next year as well, with some nice games. That is the main thing right now."

Is he happy with Rangers? "Yeah, I think so. I've been here more than a year now. I can't remember myself one year ago, so that's a good sign. It says that I've settled in well, that everything goes quickly. If you haven't settled, you'd be bored or not feeling well and it would seem like ages." It's hardly heart-on-the-sleeve stuff and doesn't sound altogether convincing but maybe it's he who needs convinced that he will have a future role with the club. Buffel has been pulling on the Rangers jersey and looking utterly convincing. "He's been exceptional in recent games," agrees McLeish. "There's a pressure on Thomas to bring something more to the team. It's what comes with being a big player and I think he's responding very well to that."

He got guillotined by Gullit but when Buffel turns out for Rangers the team succeed more often than when he's not playing. That is an incontestable truth. Though he had teething troubles early on at Ibrox he has since shown his appetite on both domestic and European fronts and if you think of that through-ball to Peter Lovenkrands against Inter Milan then you are picturing the kind of value that Buffel has added to Rangers. He has contributed a deftness of touch and a vision last witnessed with Ronald de Boer. Those may have been bad times in Holland with Gullit but Buffel learned his craft in the Dutch league and he made the same switch from Rotterdam to Glasgow as Henrik Larsson and Giovanni van Bronckhorst. The latter told Buffel that he must go to Glasgow.

"I'd had eight years in Holland," reflects Buffel. "That's a very long time. I loved playing for Feyenoord. They are similar to Rangers in that they are really a club of the people and every week there are 50,000 supporters in the stadium. The club lives among the people, like in Glasgow. That's why I felt Rangers was a good move. You're really playing for the people and that's what I'm like." From his riverside apartment, Buffel has a city view that encompasses Ibrox stadium. He has his base, but he has been shifted about the Rangers team in the past. "You know your ability and you try to perform every week at the same level. Sometimes it's not easy because the team needs something different and your role is for the team. Maybe then you don't reach the level you normally do."

Buffel is looking forward to playing a role at Tynecastle today. He expects the challenge to be a demanding one but gains satisfaction from the edge to the Scottish season and the fact that it hasn't been the banal over-familiar routine that gives the critics both here and abroad the ammunition they need. "It is good for this league, that there are teams like Hearts and Hibs playing good football, and that they are challenging at this stage of the season. It makes the competition a wee bit more exciting. Now it's up to us to handle that and do something about it. We have had a lift but we need to maintain that. It's going to be a hard game but we have the confidence to cope. We just have to go there thinking we can do the job."

Belgians are held as being more introverted than the Dutch (who are nothing of the sort). In conversation Buffel is courteous, considered and chatty. He has been no wallflower on the pitch and has bloomed. He once said that "I'll be the player I will be when I am 28," which is not as silly as it sounds. Buffel will be entering his peak football years when his current contract ends at that time. He has the guile, but you get that feeling he is looking for guidance. Rangers pushed the boat out to get him but he will surely sail off on another adventure at some point. Buffel possesses some of the gifts that make clubs feel blessed.

Buffel began at Cercle Brugge. Irrespective of Anderlecht's declarations does he envision turning full circle and returning to play in his home country? "I don't know ... you don't know how life treats you. You just have to see what comes your way and you try and do the right thing. When I was 16, I made the decision to leave Belgium. I went abroad at an early age and it turned out right. Just as Rangers has turned out that way too. It's only after that you find out whether it was right, or not. So far I think with the help of those around me I have made good decisions. It's often about a feeling, about trust, where you feel comfortable. You don't always have to leave that behind you know." Anderlecht boast the only club restaurant with a Michelin star, but Buffel has had some fine dining experiences in Europe with Rangers. He will tuck in to meat and potatoes today to try and get Rangers back on the gastronomic menu next season.

Taken from the Scotsman