The summer of 1995 may have been dominated by the arrival of Paul Gascoigne but Rangers were also delighted to secure the services of Serbian central defender Gordan Petric from Dundee United for a fee in the region of £1.5m. Whilst Petric had not exactly endeared himself to the Rangers support during his time in Scotland to date, the fact that he turned down the advances of Celtic to join the Champions meant all was quickly forgotten.
Gordan had arrived in Scotland less than 18 months earlier, leaving his homeland to join fellow compatriot Ivan Golac at Tannadice. His performances for Dundee United soon caught the eye and none more so than when he played in a surprise 3-0 win at Ibrox shortly after his arrival. Whilst it was a day to forget for Rangers, there was no doubting that ‘man mountain’ Petric had proved a tough nut to crack. An altercation with Ian Ferguson saw the Gers midfielder correctly red carded with Petric immediately becoming a target for the home support. Rangers would again draw a blank against Petric and United in the Scottish Cup Final later that same season.
With thoughts of NIAR now becoming a strong reality, Rangers entered season 1995/96 as clear favourites for the title but there was no denying that Celtic were finally building a side capable of providing a real challenge. A change to the formation saw Rangers move to play 3 central defenders which meant that Gordan’s opportunities increased significantly. He possessed many of the attributes required to succeed in Scottish Football, extremely physical and dominant in the air whilst also fairly comfortable on the ball. He could play out from the back even if he was, perhaps, not the quickest on the turn.
His competitive debut came in the high pressure ECL qualifier with Anorthosis Famagusta in August 1995. Rangers managed to secure the required goalless draw in Cyprus which would see us progress to the Group stages thus improving the finances greatly. He would line up in a back 3/5 with Alan McLaren and Richard Gough and former Dons fullbacks Stephen Wright and Davie Robertson at either side. Whilst the European campaign would prove to be a slight disappointment (given that both Laudrup and Gascoigne were now in the side), the domestic season was another success.
With a rejuvenated Celtic pushing Rangers all the way, the matches between the two sides drew even more significance. Rangers would knock their rivals out of both Cup competitions as well as securing the only win from the 4 league clashes. Gordan played in all of those matches as Rangers made it ‘8 in a Row’ whilst securing the Scottish Cup with an emphatic win over Hearts (Petric was an unused Substitute in the Hampden final).
A vital goal in the 1996/97 ECL qualifying round win against Alania Vladikavkaz at Ibrox provided some breathing space for what would be a second leg rout and Gers were once again through to the Group stages.
Rangers dominated the Old Firm league clashes and Gordan again featured in the first three of those victories including the memorable 3-1 at New Year with the side struggling badly due to a flu epidemic. With the Ibrox NIAR celebrations thwarted by a stubborn Motherwell side, Gordan returned to the side as the title was secured at the home of his previous Club. That moment alone would ensure that Gordan’s time at Ibrox would be remembered positively.
He would play less frequently during 1997/98 and would feature once under new manager Dick Advocaat before heading to England with Crystal Palace.
In all, Gordan made 97 appearances whilst scoring 4 goals. During his time in Glasgow he won 2 League Championships, 1 Scottish Cup and 1 League Cup.
