Fernando Ricksen insists Zenit St Petersburg will be more than a match for their opponents in the Champions League next season after clinching the UEFA Cup.
Dick Advocaat's men defeated Rangers 2-0 in the City of Manchester Stadium on Wednesday night to claim their first ever European trophy.
The triumph followed Zenit's Russian Premier League success, their first title for 23 years, which means they will now make their debut in the continent's top club competition.
An impressive UEFA Cup run - particularly the 5-1 aggregate thrashing of Bayern Munich in the semi-final - has already forced most of Europe to sit up and take notice and Ricksen insists Zenit need fear no-one.
He said: "We will have to see who we get in the group but I think this is one of the best teams in Europe.
"I'm not saying that just because we won this cup but also because of the way we play. If we play as well as we can play, I think there are not many people who will beat us."
Zenit fans were outnumbered both in the stadium and on the streets of Manchester, with around 150,000 Rangers supporters estimated to have made the journey from Glasgow.
But former Ibrox star Ricksen pointed out: "I'm very, very happy for Zenit and there will be about five million people back in Russia waiting to meet us - just as many as there are in Scotland. It will be crazy."
Among those who will be waiting to provide a heroes' welcome will be newly inaugurated Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who like his predecessor Vladimir Putin, is from St Petersburg and also is a fan.
"That's special," admitted Ricksen. "I can't believe I have come from Holland to Scotland and then to Russia and now I get to meet the president of Russia."
Goals from Igor Denisov and Konstantin Zyrianov sealed the win for Zenit but Ricksen was keen to praise former club Rangers for their brave efforts.
The Dutch defender, who spent six years at Ibrox, said: "I thought they played excellently. They played the way they can play and at the end they had the better chances.
"But we controlled the game, we had more ball possession, and we tried to play more football. Eventually, the better team won."
Goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev agreed that the more deserving team lifted the trophy.
He said: "We didn't play that well in the first half because we were nervous. There was an improvement in the second half by both teams who played better but we deserved our victory.
"I don't know if it is a better feeling than winning the Russian league - it's hard to separate the two."
