The Special One Jose Mourinho is set to bring Fenerbahce to Ibrox after drawing Rangers in the Europa League.
The legendary Portuguese manager, 62, last visited Ibrox whilst Chelsea boss during a famous 2-0 Rangers friendly victory way back in 2007.
But the ex-Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United boss has never taken a team to face Rangers in a competitive competition.
That’s all about to change with Rangers fans to get a glimpse of Jose Mourinho as the manager looks to add to his array of European trophies with Fenerbahce.
Rangers might be trying to stop the Mourinho in his Europa League tracks, but the former Porto manager remains a legend at Ibrox for overcoming Celtic in the same competition way back in 2003.
How Jose Mourinho became a Rangers legend
Jose Mourinho’s famous FC Porto side broke Celtic hearts in Seville back in the UEFA Cup Final of 2003.
In a famous encounter in Spain, Porto won the match 3-2 AET after Henrik Larsson scored a double for Celtic and Bobo Balde had been sent off.
It’s a moment which made Rangers’ legendary 02/03 treble triumph all the sweeter and a match which continues to stick in the craw of Celtic fans.
Not least because they believe – unsurprisingly – that the result was somehow unjust.
As quoted by BBC Sport, Celtic manager Martin O’Neill criticised Mourinho and his Porto team after the match, claiming the Portuguese team displayed ‘poor sportsmanship’ by ‘rolling over’ and ‘time wasting’.
We’re well used to Celtic never being fairly beaten in Scotland, the Parkhead side always the moral winners, but Jose Mourinho wasn’t buying it.
The Portuguese instead pointed to Celtic’s over-physicality, something which eventually led to Balde’s dismissal.
“I’d prefer to ask whether the behaviour of the Celtic players was normal in your country,” Mourinho said post-match. “What Balde did to Deco in front of me could have ended his career.
“The referee wanted to end the game with 11 against 11 and I think maybe he was a bit afraid to send anyone off. There was a lot of commitment in Celtic’s game, commitment, toughness and aggression. I’m tempted to use another word – but I won’t.”
Rangers fans ‘still thank Jose Mourinho’ for Celtic final
This was Jose Mourinho’s first ever European triumph and catapulted the manager into the stratosphere.
Porto went on to win the Champions League the following season and the Special One moved to Chelsea, on to Inter Milan and the rest is history.
But Jose Mourinho has previously claimed that Rangers fans have never forgotten that Porto triumph over Celtic and to this day, continue to thank him.
“Now, what I find in the streets of London and other places, is still the Rangers fans thanking me for that final,” Jose told TalkSPORT in 2021, as quoted by the Scottish Sun.
“‘Oh Jose thank you very much for that final’.”
