Fernando Ricksen has long been misunderstood. The Dutchman possesses the self-destructive traits of Paul Gascoigne but has endured with a fraction of the natural talent.

He was the unreliable right-back who evolved into an inspirational, league-winning captain mining goals from central midfield. Ricksen was also a loose cannon; a man who lived his life in cartoon caricature then complained when his folly was relayed in banner headlines. He was sent to the Gulag by Paul Le Guen and has since taken the road to perdition, or rather St Petersburg.

Ricksen is a standout of Dick Advocaat's Zenit, but only because he has emerged from a harsh Russian winter with a Californian glow.

His teeth are whiter than his team-mates' bodies and he is now decorated with more tattoos than the Leopard Man. Oh, and since heading east he has accumulated enough money to live as extravagantly as an oligarch.

His erratic behaviour and impetuous personality have won him few friends but, at 31, he is having the last laugh on his seemingly endless procession of critics.

Against all odds, he has found contentment in a country that has taken debauchery and excess to new levels since the abandonment of communism.

Against all odds, he was also welcoming to a handful of Scottish journalists less than 48 hours after declaring he would never again so much as breathe the same air.

"People laughed at me when I went to Russia, I know they did," said Ricksen. "They said I was just going there for the money and that upset me a little. I'm not going to go to a club just to fill my pockets. If I wanted to fill my pockets, I would have gone back home to Holland and put my feet up.

"Things ended badly for me in Scotland and I needed a change of direction. I chose a club with potential. Dick Advocaat told me his plans and I could see the potential of Zenit."

By all accounts, he could see very little after his flight from Glasgow to South Africa for Paul Le Guen's first and last pre-season at Rangers. The rarefied air at 36,000ft, not to mention a liberal drinks trolley, contrived to end Ricksen's career under the new man before it started.

The chameleon has reinvented himself again.

He is no longer a first pick of Advocaat's, but retains a close affinity with the coach who regards him as an occasionally errant surrogate son. "I had a great six years in Scotland and for the most part I really enjoyed it," Ricksen began, solemnly. "But that chapter is closed and I've turned the page. People have said I don't care about my Rangers past, but I do. I have great memories of the fans and I hope they still think fondly of me," he added, although that is wishful thinking since his villainous return last pre-season, when he was booed off for clattering Chris Burke.

"I always had good times with the Rangers fans and I was sorry how my time there ended. It was controversial, but it happened and I can't change that. Fan-wise, Rangers should always play finals, they should always enjoy the big occasions."

And what of jumping on the anti-football bandwagon, Fernando? His stance, like his propensity for mayhem, has softened. "Do you want nice football or do you want results? In this day and age, results are the most important thing," he said, diplomatically.

"Rangers, in 2008, play very defensively. They play like an Italian team. That is not the Rangers I remember, but you have to say that tactically it works for them.

"If you look at things on paper, then you would have to say Rangers are favourites. They are by far the biggest club, they are well organised, they have a huge support and an incredible history."

Fernando Ricksen: from Russia, with love.