When Jose Mourinho first arrived in British football with Chelsea, he already had a UEFA Cup and Champions League to his name from his time at Porto.
As one of the finest managers of the modern era, The Special One didn’t quite have a style of play for which he became famous, more a club ethos and aura.
At Fenerbahce, he has built the same siege mentality, and Rangers will need to be at their Europa League best to make it to the quarter-finals.
The Fenerbahce players Rangers need to be wary of
There are similarities with the Ibrox outfit, however, Barry Ferguson as interim Rangers manager, won’t face many tests tougher than one of the continent’s most decorated bosses.
The Turks are top heavy in that goals and assists come from three key players, two of which have seen plenty of success, silverware and personal plaudits throughout their lengthy careers.
Dusan Tadic, 36, and Edin Dzeko, 38, might not be in their prime anymore, however, between them, they have 30 goals and 22 assists for the season.
A tally ably supported by Morocco international forward Youssef En-Nesyri’s 26 goals and five assists.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that the experienced trio are the danger-men in terms of end product.
Add the experience of Sofyan Amrabat, Fred and Talisca, and it is easy to see why Fenerbahce have done well in the Europa League.
They have experience, tactical nous and players who can score goals with either Athletic Club or Roma awaiting the winners.
How have Fenerbahce performed in the Europa League?
Fener saw off Anderlecht 5-2 on aggregate in the play-off round, having drawn with Man Utd and Lyon at home and Midtjylland and Twente on their travels.
They beat Slavia Prague and Union Saint Gilloise, but lost to AZ Alkmaar and Athletic Club.
The proverbial mixed bag with a fixture list that was marginally weaker than Rangers’ in terms of UEFA rankings.
Both teams are capable of competing with the best teams in the Europa League and are evenly matched, if Thursday night Rangers turns up that is.
