Born: Monchengladbach (Germany), 29/1/1971

Jorg Albertz was a £4 million buy in the summer of 1996 from German Bundesliga side Hamburg.

Albertz, born in Moenchengladbach, was spotted by local glamour team Borussia at the age of eight and for 10 years developed through their schoolboy and youth teams

However, the club let him leave before he turned professional and he joined Second Division Fortuna Dusseldorf. He stayed for three seasons, scoring four goals in 58 League games.

He was snapped up by Hamburg where he was to become captain and in almost three full seasons he never missed a game, scoring 22 goals in 99 League appearances.

It was at Hamburg that the left-sided midfielder built a reputation for scoring spectacular goals, earning his nickname The Hammer. An Adidas speed test measured his shooting at 80 mph.

In his last season at Hamburg he was made captain and the club finished fifth in the Bundesliga, securing a UEFA Cup slot.

Signed by Walter Smith, Albertz soon displayed the power and accuracy of his shooting, particularly from free-kicks, scoring 10 League goals in each of his first two season.

He made his international debut coming on as a substitute against Portugal in February 1996 and became the first Rangers player to be capped by Germany when he played against Romania in September 1998.

Albertz is passionate about the club and his adopted country - considering himself an honorary Scot and always kissing the badge on his shirt whenever one of his specials rockets into the net.

What does he think of Scottish football? "Scots will run after the ball and try to score goals for 90 minutes," he says. "In Germany, if you're two up, they'll take the pace out of the game."

Albertz got the winning goal in this season's League Cup Final as Rangers beat St Johnstone 2-1.

And he scored his first hat-trick for the Club in the 6-1 League victory over Dundee at Ibrox in February.

He continued his good form throughout the season and finished second in the Ibrox scoring charts with 19 goals in 50 appearances. His return of goals from midfield has made him a valuable player in Advocaat's revolution.

He further demonstrated that with strikes against both Bayern Munich and a vital winner in Eindhoven.

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