Villarreal legend Marcos Senna has talked up Rangers in the run up to their Europa League tie with Rangers tomorrow.
And he should know plenty about the club.
The classy midfielder was part of the El Submarino Amarillo team that controversially dumped Rangers out of the Champions League on away goals in 2006.
The midfielder believes Villarreal will have just as big a challenge on their hands when Steven Gerrard’s team visit in 2018.
Senna said: “The game against Rangers is a great start for us because they are one of the more famous names in the competition.
“The draw was good for us because the travelling is not too bad and the weather shouldn’t be too bad.
“Rangers are a good team and we have history against them before of course. It should be a tough game for us.
No chance of complacency
Marcos Senna was a mainstay in the Villarreal side of the mid-2000s which boasted Juan Roman Riquelme and Diego Forlan. The midfielder is a club legend and played over 300 games for the club.
Despite being born in Brazil he also made 28 caps for Spain, helping them win Euro 2008.
A born winner, he doesn’t think there’ll be any sign of complacency from this Villarreal tomorrow.
“Villarreal ended last season really well. But this season has not started in the same manner of course. so it depends which Villarreal turns up.
“I believe there is a good generation of new players coming into the team and that’s exciting for a club like Villarreal.
“The players want to play in the big stadiums of Europe like Ibrox for example. There’s no question of Villarreal taking these games less seriously than La Liga.
“And I know they will want to get off to a good start against Rangers.”
New Villarreal signing Miguel Layun has also been talking up Rangers before the match.
