With the play-offs sorting the wheat from the Europa League chaff, Rangers finally discovered the identity of their last-16 opponents in Friday’s draw.
Jose Mourinho will travel to Ibrox for the very first time in a competitive sense – his one and only previous coming in a friendly clash with Chelsea in 2007 – after his Fenerbahce side secured a 5-2 aggregate victory over Belgian outfit Anderlecht this week.
Fener’s bitter rivals Galatasaray are out. As are Mourinho’s former employers FC Porto, two of the pre-tournament favourites exiting early.
FC Twente’s campaign also came to a rather brutal end. A calamitous defensive showing away to Bodo/Glimt scuppered Twente’s chances of a last-16 meeting with Philippe Clement’s Rangers, while denying Sam Lammers, Danilo, Vaclav Cerny and one-time Enschede skipper Robin Propper the chance to embrace an emotional return to their old stomping grounds.
- READ MORE: Rangers Europa League Record Since 2017
Rangers set for Fenerbahce clash as Robin Propper-less FC Twente bow out
Sam Lammers scored a stunning equaliser at Manchester United to kick off Twente’s European campaign in style back in September.
Five months on, after a spell on the sidelines with injury, Lammers was powerless to prevent his team from freezing in the Arctic Circle as Bodo/Glimt rattled off five goals in front of their frost-tipped fanbase.
To quote Twente reporter Leon ten Voorde, meanwhile, Robin Propper’s departure to Rangers left a ‘huge hole’ in the heart of Joseph Oosting’s side. The experienced centre-back was not only their most reliable defender, after all, but also their captain.
The man who led by example and held the spine in place.
Twente’s dreams of Champions League qualification were shattered by Red Bull Salzburg late last summer, conceding five times across the two legs shortly after Propper’s £1.5 million switch to Ibrox was confirmed.
Whether he would have made much of a difference as Bodo/Glimt hit Twente for six across 210 minutes of nail-biting action is anyone’s guess.
But, while Robin Propper has saved his best Rangers performances for European competition thus far, Twente’s backline looked badly short of leadership and organisation.
Celtic misfit Gustaf Lagerbielke – brought in to replace Rangers’ number four – was all at see while Propper’s old centre-back partner Mees Hilgers scored an own goal in the 92nd minute of normal time as Bodo/Glimt snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
No one made more clearances per game at Twente last season than Propper.
And reporter Jan Van Alst could not help but highlight the gaping holes at the heart of Oosting’s backline in the absence of the man who usually took it upon himself to deal with the danger head-on.
Twente were right to fear Propper exit despite mixed start at Ibrox
“Defensively, you see two or three players get into position. But it’s about the execution, which is not good. The defending is not good,” Van Alst told Ziggo Sport. “I hate ‘zonal’ dfending so much. Nobody takes responsibility.
“It goes doubly wrong.”
“Ultimately, you leave the tournament with your head held high. We simply did an excellent job in Europe,” Oosting says, determined to take sample the sugar despite a sour ending. “That is also the harsh reality of top football.
“If we don’t defend a corner well three minutes before the end, we suddenly find ourselves behind. It’s very sour that we then lose the match deep into extra time. We were very close.”
From a domestic standpoint, with Propper, Twente conceded only 36 goals in 34 Eredivisie games last season. Without him, they have already breached the 30-goal mark with only 22 matches played.
Questions may linger over Robin Propper’s suitability at Ibrox. Or his long-term future, for that matter.. But those who feared that FC Twente would be worse off without him have most certainly seen those concerned justified.
