Manchester United will welcome Fenerbache to Old Trafford tonight, and a lot has changed in the 12 years since the last time we saw this fixture played out. That time it was the Champions League, this time it's the Europa League.
The match will always be remembered as it was Wayne Rooney's Manchester United debut, and the young England striker bagged a hat-trick to send the fans into a frenzy. Coming off the back of a seriously impressive Euro 2004, Rooney burst onto the scene in a Man Utd shirt as he took the Fenerbache game over.
But he wasn't the only one out on the pitch that day.
No, Manchester United fielded a lineup containing names that will be sure to raise a chuckle from fans now that they don't have to put up with watching them actually play anymore... The midfield (Ryan Giggs apart obviously) is particularly funny.
Manchester United:
Look at that midfield four; David Bellion, Eric Djemba Djemba, Kleberson, Ryan Giggs. The only way it could have been better would be if Liam Miller wasn't wasted on the bench. What did that Ryan Giggs ever do to keep him out of the team?
Roy Carroll and Mikael Silvestre will be two names to make United fans feel uneasy, while Gabriel Heinze was on course to be a club legend before he lost his place to Patrice Evra and tried to force through a move to Liverpool.
We should mention that although Kleberson was an undeniable flop he did get the ball rolling in this game with a sublime assist for Ryan Giggs. David Bellion bagged a goal for himself too, fair play to him.
Fenerbache:
Some great names for Fenerbache too.
Aside from war-paint-loving goalkeeper Rustu Recber, Fatih Akyel was a bit of a madman.
The player listed as 'Sunli' on MUTV's pre-match graphic is actually Tuncay Sanli who everyone will remember from his time at Middlesbrough and Stoke City. He didn't score easy goals, but he did score when these sides last met.
Pierre Van Hooijdonk too is a familiar name, a notorious name for Premier League fans due to his issues at Nottingham Forest where he even went on strike, he also played for Celtic and could absolutely bang a free-kick.
There was Alex the Brazilian too, he was from Brazil.
You can't help but wonder who will be playing tonight that we'll look back on and laugh at over a decade later. United finished second in their group behind Lyon in 04/05 before being knocked out by AC Milan in the round of sixteen. Crazy to think about how dangerous those teams were and where they are now.
You can watch 25 minutes of highlights from Wayne Rooney's debut thanks to 'Wazza TV' on YouTube:
