Turkish international midfielder Tugay was being hailed last night as the new Franz Beckenbauer by his Rangers team-mates after his performance as sweeper in the 1-0 win over Monaco last night.
Ibrox coach Dick Advocaat used the Turk in that role and saw him gave a masterful performance against the French champions on a night when Rangers consolidated their position at the top of their European Champions League group.
After the match, the man who scored Rangers goal, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, declared: ''We are now calling Tugay the Turkish Beckenbauer because of what he showed in the game tonight. We knew that he was going to be played at sweeper after the coach used him there in training. He was very, very good in the role and that helped us to this win.''
Fellow Dutchman Michael Mols added: ''He is going to be called Beckenbauer from now on. It was a superb performance from Tugay and we are now in with a very good opportunity of qualifying from this group.''
The praise for Tugay showered from all quarters in the Monaco stadium last night with Ronald de Boer adding: ''He has the touch and the intelligence to play in that position. I think that we surprised Monaco in the first half.
''We won the tactical battle by playing Tugay there and while they put us under serious pressure in the second half we were in command for the opening 45 minutes.
''I am confident that we can go through from the group now. The other result - Sturm Graz winning 3-0 against Galatasaray - was the right one for us too. It did not surprise me. I saw Sturm Graz beating Feyenoord and they looked a good team, then. Yes, we scored five goals against them but we played very well last week and now we have managed to follow that up with this result.
''But, you know, I thought that Rangers were unlucky in the tournament last year. At Barcelona we watched their games, and were impressed. So this is not a surprise for me that we are in this very strong position.''
The Rangers manager, Dick Advocaat, was naturally more cautious, warning: ''The prizes are only given out at the end. There are no prizes for us yet but we are in a strong position and we can be happy at this result tonight.
''We are talking here of the French champions, you must remember, and while we did not play as well in the second half of the game as we did in the first I thought that we still deserved to win. We controlled the first half completely.
''It was only after they changed things that we found some problems but tactically I felt that we were ahead. It is an important win and now we are in a good situation at the top of the group but we know that there are difficult games ahead for us and we still have to go and win them if we are to go through.''
The one goal of the night, from van Bronckhorst, came in the seventh minute and the player admitted: ''I caught the ball very sweetly with the outside of my foot and was able to put a swerve on the shot. I think that maybe this is the best goal I have scored for Rangers since signing for the club.''
Rangers now have six points from their two games with Galatasaray, whom they meet in Istanbul next week, and Sturm Graz sitting together with three points each while Monaco, the group seeds, trail behind with not a single point to celebrate.
Around 4000 Rangers' supporters remained behind in the stadium to sing their victory anthems realising that serious European success is on hand. Advocaat will always preach caution but even the Dutchman will recognise that his side is in a powerful position today.
Mols went off in 58 minutes to be replaced by Neil McCann but the striker insisted after the game: ''There is nothing to worry about. I felt the knee a little bit - but no more than I expected. It is a part of the recovery process. I know that I am fit again and almost back to being l00 per cent ready for the team.''
Meanwhile, Austrian underdogs Sturm Graz surprised even themselves by beating 10-man Galatasaray 3-0 in an ill-tempered Champions League match on Wednesday.
Suat Kaya was sent off in the sixty-ninth minute only a week after the UEFA Cup holders had two players, including veteran Gheorghe Hagi, shown the red card in their group D opener against Monaco.
Goals by Sergei Yuran, Markus Schopp and Markus Schupp gave Sturm a welcome boost after they were thrashed 5-0 by Rangers last week and lost their last five Austrian league matches.
Sturm took control after an opening 20 minutes in which neither side stamped their authority on the game.
The thirty-first minute opener came after a shot by Iranian internationalist Mehrdad Minavand had deflected off a Galatasaray defender and hit the post before bouncing directly to Yuran's feet.
Galatasaray stepped up a gear after the break but Sturm increased their lead from their first scoring opportunity of the half.
Schopp netted from Minavand's pass in the sixty-fourth minute. Kaya was sent off five minutes later after hauling down Sturm's Andres Fleurquin.
A solo run by Ramiz Mamedov set up Sturm's third in the eighty-second minute. He passed to Schupp who lifted the ball over Claudio Taffarel.
Galatasaray coach Mircea Lucescu said: ''Sturm deserved victory. They took advantage of our errors, especially in the midfield.
''My players underestimated Sturm. That was the main problem.''
Match report Page 38
Group D
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Rangers2200606
Sturm Graz2101353 Galatasaray2101353
Monaco2002240
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