JOSE MOURINHO will manage a team at Ibrox in a competitive game for the first time tonight.
But it will NOT be the legendary boss’ first visit to Rangers‘ iconic stadium.
Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce trained at Ibrox[/caption]
He’ll be looking to avenge last week’s defeat in Istanbul[/caption]
Mourinho was Porto boss when he first visited Ibrox[/caption]
The former Chelsea, Man Utd and Tottenham manager takes his Fenerbahce team to Ibrox looking to overturn a two-goal deficit.
Barry Ferguson‘s Rangers stunned the Turkish giants in their own back yard last week.
An early Cyriel Dessers strike and Vaclav Cerny double inspired the Light Blues to a famous 3-1 triumph in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 showdown.
Despite that two-goal deficit, 62-year old Mourinho reckons his side have a chance of turning things around in Govan.
The Champions League-winning boss has managed Ibrox once before.
He was the Chelsea manager when his side fell to a 2-1 pre-season defeat in 2007.
But that wasn’t his first visit to the stadium!
In 2003, Mourinho headed to Glasgow on a secret spying mission.
He took in an Old Firm game at Ibrox in the build-up to his Porto side’s Uefa Cup Final showdown with Celtic in 2003.
While Mourinho couldn’t remember the exact date or score, it’s likely it was the game that saw the Hoops win 2-1 at their great rivals’ home – a game that saw their fans arrive with several beach balls and sombreros in tow ahead of their Euro final in Seville.
The Hoops had reached the showpiece event just a few days before after seeing-off Boavista.
Mourinho headed for Ibrox to watch as Alan Thompson and John Hartson fired his Porto side’s final opponents to derby day glory.
This was before Mourinho was a household name and he’s revealed how he was able to walk among the fans before and after the game without being bothered or noticed.
Mourinho said: “My best memory here of Ibrox, you don’t know because I was hidden, but was a Rangers/Celtic.
“I came here for that match. That was good.”
Asked what the score was, he added: “I don’t know! It was a couple of weeks before I played the final against Celtic. So it was 2003, something like May 2003.
“Nobody knew me at that time, I could come, I could walk.
“I finished the game and I walked with the crowd. Good times for me!”
That was Mourinho’s first experience of the Ibrox atmosphere at its best.
And he’s urged his players to take it in their stride tomorrow night.
He continued: “I think they have to enjoy. Even if it is hostile, hostile in the sense of they want to Rangers to win.
“I think they have to enjoy because the best place to play football is in the UK.”
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