Daniel Candeias has taken quite the route through Turkey ever since leaving Rangers in 2019.
The former Ibrox right-winger is something of a cult hero in the southside of Glasgow given his high work rate and commitment to the cause.
There’s also a long-running joke about the club never replacing Daniel Candeias at Ibrox in a tongue-in-cheek dig at Rangers’ failure to find a consistent option on the right flank.
Having first left Ibrox for Gençlerbirliği, Candeias moved to Alanyaspor in 2021 before completing a switch to Turkish lower league side Kocaelispor last sum er.
And it’s with the second tier side that Daniel Candeias has been making headlines this week, netting a dramatic hattrick of penalty kicks for the Turkish team.
Daniel Candeias nets stunning penalty kicks hattrick
Despite falling 2-0 behind to league rivals Goztepe, Kocaelispor rallied late on the in the match to mount a stunning finale which involved three penalty kicks.
Having fallen 1-0 behind in the first half to an effort from Kenneth Obinna Mamah, a second half tap in from Kubilay Kanatsızkuş looked to have buried Kocaelispor.
But in a remarkable 16 minute spell, which ran into the 99th minute of the match, Kocaelispor turned the game on its head with ex-Rangers star Daniel Candeias the most unlikely of heroes.
Netting his first penalty in the 83rd minute, Candeias coolly slotted past the Goztepe goalkeeper after an onrushing attacker was hauled down in the box.
Kocaelispor then equalised with 90 minutes on the clock after another penalty was awarded for a handball inside the box following a lengthy VAR delay.
Candeias this time went for the opposite corner.
But the drama was not done yet as the lengthy stoppage in play led to yet another Kocaelispor penalty call.
Yet again being penalised for a handball inside the box, up stepped Daniel Candeias to complete the scoring and take the match ball with a stunning hattrick of penalty kicks.
Rangers cult hero journeyman
It’s good to see Daniel Candeias is still living up to his Rangers reputation as a cult hero whilst in Turkey.
The journeyman winger has never spent a substantial period of time anywhere in his career but in the two years he spent at Ibrox the Candyman left a solid impression.
Now 36-years-old, Rangers signed the winger from Benfica under Pedro Caixinha before he left for the Turkish Super Lig in 2019.
In total the winger played 97 games for Rangers, netting 14 goals and laying on 25 assists.
