Steven Gerrard’s Glasgow Rangers lock horns with Legia on Thursday before hosting them at Ibrox next week in the Europa League.
Glasgow Rangers fan, son of Ibrox legend Mark Hateley and Polish Ekstraklasa champion Tom Hateley has shed some light on Rangers’ next Europa League opponents, Legia Warsaw, including who their dangermen are.
The 29-year-old played an integral role in the Piast Gliwice side that shocked Legia last season by winning the title, which has been compared to Poland’s version of the Leicester City fairytale of 2015-16 (Glasgow Evening Times).
Hateley, whose father Mark used to take him to Ibrox during matchdays when he was on Rangers’ books, is therefore well placed to comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the Light Blues’ next opponents, having already conquered them in the league.
According to the former Motherwell and Dundee player, Legia sold “probably their best player” Sebastien Szymanski in the summer, while last season’s top scorer Carlitos has fallen out of favour, so at present, they lack a prolific 30-goal-a-season striker – but he did warn Rangers about their midfield.
“Midfield is definitely their strongest area,” said Hateley. “They have a really tidy player in there, Valeriane Gvilia, who is a typical European central midfielder. He’s small, but he is neat in possession, a good technician, and has a great passing range. He’ll try to dictate the tempo, so Rangers need to make sure they don’t allow him to do that.
“Beside him they usually have a couple of Portuguese players, Cafu and Andre Martins. Cafu was on loan from Metz last season and they’ve just bought him for a decent fee, so he’s a good player. They all have decent pedigree, but Rangers have a strong midfield too and I’d expect them to more than hold their own.”
Rangers travel to Legia on Thursday before hosting them at Ibrox next week, while on Sunday the Light Blues will head to St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
