Danilo’s spell with Rangers will always split opinion, but I can’t get away from one simple point: he never really got a clean run at it. When a striker’s momentum gets stopped by bad luck and long-term injury, it’s not just fitness you lose, it’s sharpness, confidence, timing, all the wee things that make forwards look like forwards.
It’s not about being “too weak” for Scotland
I’ve never bought the idea that Danilo is somehow too light or too soft for our league. That line gets thrown about any time a player isn’t bulldozing centre-halves for fun, but football’s a bit more complicated than that. He’s played in the Netherlands and, whatever way you dress it up, you’re coming up against defenders who are comfortable on the ball and teams that want to play with tempo.
The claim that the Eredivisie is a higher calibre than the SPFL isn’t exactly wild either. It’s a stronger environment for developing attackers, and if you’ve already shown you can score there, it’s not a stretch to say you can do it again if the body allows.
Connections matter, and so does the rhythm of a team
There’s also something to be said for familiarity. The mention of his Jong Ajax links and those Dutch connections is a fair point, because players do click quicker when the patterns and the football language are already there. If you’ve played with boys like Cerny and others at that level, you already know the movements, the triggers, when to go in behind and when to drop off.
That’s why I wouldn’t be shocked if, in the right setting, he looks like a real bargain again. Not because there’s some magic fix, but because the fit can make a massive difference.
Injuries can ruin strikers, and it’s nobody’s fault
The brutal truth is injuries have ended or dulled plenty good forwards. If you’re unlucky enough to take a nasty one at the wrong time, it can change everything. And that’s where I’m at with Danilo: I don’t see a player who “didn’t care” or “couldn’t handle it”. I see a player whose run got wrecked by misfortune.
Before all that, his scoring record in Holland suggested there was a finisher in there. So if he’s back in the Dutch top flight and gets his rhythm again, good. He deserves that chance. Rangers fans can be harsh, but most of us can also recognise when a lad’s had a rough hand and just needs a fresh start.
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