He was elbowed by an ox otherwise known as Ally McCoist; he quaked as a raw 20-year-old exposed to a throbbing atmosphere; and he stared disbelievingly as a team-mate fell victim to the Graeme Souness method of getting your retaliation in first, and asking questions later.

Popescu had just broken into the Steaua Bucharest team in 1988, when they were drawn against the Scottish champions in the European Cup quarter-final.

Inspired by Gheorghe Hagi, a 2-0 victory in Romania had them in control of their destiny come the second leg in Glasgow. When Marius Lacatus silenced Govan within the first few minutes, Steaua seemed to be coasting towards the semi-finals.

What followed remains etched on Popescu's retina, so much so that when Galatasaray come to Ibrox on October 17 they will have been warned by the veteran to expect an atmosphere as deafening as Istanbul.

'We scored early in the second match at Ibrox to take a 3-0 lead on aggregate, but Rangers came back so strongly to win 2-1 on the night and they almost turned the tie around,' said Popescu, who successfully walked a yellow card tightrope in Wednesday's 3-2 win for the Turks to avoid suspension.

'They were such an aggressive team and I found myself marking McCoist. He was incredibly strong and spent the whole match elbowing me. He was a brilliant player though and scored that night with a penalty. I think he is the best striker Scotland has ever had.

'The other player I will never forget, of course, is Souness. He committed a tackle on Dimitri Rotario which nearly killed my team-mate and none of us could believe it.

'It was horrific, over the ball and one of the worst tackles I have ever seen and by that stage the atmosphere was very intimidating. I have since played all over the world but the noise that night was deafening and I expect it to be similar when I come with Galatasaray.

'But we are back in the race for qualification after beating Rangers and if we can take something in Glasgow our chances will improve even more.'

Popescu's knowledge of all things Rangers includes counting forgotten defender Daniel Prodan as a personal friend. The pair were together several years ago at Steaua but the partner-ship was forged during six years together in the Romanian national team.

He dreadfully laments the misfortune which has left Prodan, back home again now, fighting to resume his career.

'I feel so sorry for Daniel,' said Popescu, who himself won 101 caps. 'I know that if you are injured for three weeks then you feel terrible about missing out on games and training, but if it is one or two years that is unthinkable.

'He has to deal with that and Rangers fans may never know what they have missed. We played together for six years for Romania and he is a very strong defender.

'He is good in the air and would have been perfect for British football. It is a tragedy what has happened.'

Prodan won't fill the gap left by a ban for Lorenzo Amoruso when Galatasaray visit with their own talisman, Hagi, able to play after his five-match suspension was reduced on appeal by UEFA to two.

Stemming his influence could be significant on the night Jardel comes 'home' to the stadium where he might have scored many goals, had Walter Smith not given up on a transfer from Gremio tangled in red tape.

The tall Brazilian does not look the most accomplished footballer ever but the compensation is enough goals to invariably win him Golden Boots. His strike the other night was his 26th in Europe with Porto and Galatasaray in 38 games.

Jardel had them chanting litanies in 'Hell' but the truth is the Ali Sami Yen stadium owes much to myth. The atmosphere pre-match and after the Turks scored was passion and fervour at its best rather than its worst.

Rangers found more intimidating circumstances in Athens against AEK, in Salonika against PAOK and, some years ago, against Red Star in Belgrade.