Matchday With The Manager – Forging An Incredible Atmosphere & José Mourinho’s Stature

Brendan Rodgers says the onus is on Leicester City’s stars to help ignite an ‘incredible atmosphere’ on Filbert Way when AS Roma travel to England for the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League Semi-Final.

2022-04-28T06:00:00.000Z

by Richard Mellor

Published

28 Apr, 2022

Matchday With The Manager – Forging An Incredible Atmosphere & José Mourinho’s Stature

Brendan Rodgers says the onus is on Leicester City’s stars to help ignite an ‘incredible atmosphere’ on Filbert Way when AS Roma travel to England for the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League Semi-Final.

Richard Mellor

2022-04-28T06:00:00.000Z

Matchday With The Manager – Forging An Incredible Atmosphere & José Mourinho’s Stature

Brendan Rodgers says the onus is on Leicester City’s stars to help ignite an ‘incredible atmosphere’ on Filbert Way when AS Roma travel to England for the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League Semi-Final.

Richard Mellor

2022-04-28T06:00:00.000Z

Matchday With The Manager – Forging An Incredible Atmosphere & José Mourinho’s Stature

Brendan Rodgers says the onus is on Leicester City’s stars to help ignite an ‘incredible atmosphere’ on Filbert Way when AS Roma travel to England for the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League Semi-Final.

Richard Mellor

2022-04-28T06:00:00.000Z

Matchday With The Manager – Forging An Incredible Atmosphere & José Mourinho’s Stature

Brendan Rodgers says the onus is on Leicester City’s stars to help ignite an ‘incredible atmosphere’ on Filbert Way when AS Roma travel to England for the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League Semi-Final.

Richard Mellor

2022-04-28T06:00:00.000Z

A sell-out crowd will descend on Leicester City Stadium for what promises to be a mouth-watering showdown with a team under the tutelage of one of Rodgers’ former colleagues, and a household name for every football fan, José Mourinho.

Those in attendance will play their part. The Foxes have never faced Roma, who boast a wealth of European pedigree and, according to Rodgers, have one of the greatest managers of the modern era in 59-year-old, two-time UEFA Champions League winner, Mourinho.

On the eve of matchday, Rodgers welcomed journalists from up and down the country and across the globe to a packed King Power Centre media suite, where he would be quizzed about the obstacles his side will face, and the fortitude they must display against I Giallorossi.

“To get to the final, we’re going to have to work really hard like in the other games against Rennes and PSV Eindhoven,” he said. “Roma have got a great manager and fantastic players, so we’re going to have to be at our best over the two games to reach the final.

“Of course, you want to bring an advantage if you can, but we showed in the last round that you don’t need to, and against Rennes, we played two really tough games, different types of games against Rennes and PSV, but you would like to have a good performance and take a result there which is important.

“But then the second leg, however the first leg finishes, it finishes on the evening. For us, we want to perform, it will be an incredible atmosphere, so we’re looking forward to that, the crowd can really help us. Let’s bring our tempo and football to the game and see where we’re at.

“It’s so important, the supporters can really get you over the line in games and that’s up to us, we have to generate that on the field. That intensity, that tempo, that energy, and then the crowd feed off that. Hopefully that combination can see us get a good start in the first leg.”

Rodgers and Mourinho have worked alongside each other and also faced one another in the dugout over a spell that stretches nearly two decades. Both have gone on to win multiple major honours as managers, and have built highly respected reputations within the sport.

“There’s a lot been said about José Mourinho over many years,” said Rodgers of his counterpart. “For me, he is such a special manager, one of the greats of our generation.

“When I was a young coach and I look back at all managers I worked with, probably none of them would say that they felt they were mentors to me, but certainly what I did was consciously I would assimilate as much of their great knowhow and work, and observe, and watch and learn and study.

“For me, at that time, if you think of José back in 2004 when I joined Chelsea, he had just joined in the summer, José was the guy everyone wanted to be like.”

Mourinho arrived at Stamford Bridge in the mid-2000s having guided FC Porto to an incredible Champions League triumph. Rodgers’ time as a youth coach in the capital coincided with the Portuguese’s tenure, and the Northern Irishman recalled the influence he had when taking charge of the Blues.

“You think, everything back then was all about the players, but José came into the UK having been a European champion and everyone wanted to be like José Mourinho,” Rodgers continued.

“It gave young coaches hope they could have that charisma and quality. I always felt, back then, when people used to ask me about José, they’d say: ‘What’s he like? What does he have?’ For me, he just had the ‘X factor’.

“It wasn’t one single thing, he was just brilliant in so many aspects of the game, he was detail-orientated, his man-management with players, his understanding of tactical adaptations within the game and how he could promote that with players.

“He had a special quality that I was able to see in my formative years as a young coach, that he could bring people along with him.

“I have nothing but admiration for him. I then grew and became a manager in my own right and then it becomes a little more distant because you are busy in work, but I’ll never forget what I gained from him as a young coach.

“I studied him and watched him, and I was in pole position for that. At that time at Chelsea, it was a really special period. He’s one of the great managers. He has nothing ever to prove to anyone. He’s a winner, he’ll always be a winner, he’ll always prove it to himself. I can’t speak any more highly of him.”

Among a squad of international stars, Mourinho has at his disposal England striker Tammy Abraham, who has scored 26 goals in 50 games for club and country in 2021/22. The 24-year-old spent 15 years at Chelsea before sealing a permanent move to Stadio Olimpico last summer.

Rodgers commented: “He’s done very well, Tammy. Looking at some of the games and his numbers over the season, goals and assists, he’s done very, very well. For him, it looks a great decision.

“Over last few years, we’ve seen some young British talent go into Europe to play to get regular game time, it was difficult for him at Chelsea to play regularly, or as maybe as much as he wanted to.

“He had the courage to go away, go into a different culture, life, style of football, but he’s shown up very well. He’s a threat. He knows the British game as well, and we have to keep an eye on him.”

The quality on show from both outfits on Thursday, Roma’s charismatic manager, the Blue Army’s unwavering support and the nature of a European semi-final will all contribute to a behemoth night at the home of the Foxes.

“It’s a fantastic occasion against a top-class team, a great manager,” Rodgers added. “That whole combination over two legs, to be able to get to the final, of course we will be doing everything we can to do that.

“It’s another symbol of our growth here as a club. When I arrived here just over three years ago, apart from the title winning season, I think every supporter would tell you it’s important to stay in league.

“Our mentality and determination to change that way of thinking and make this a club that by the end of this season, you have something to play for, that was what I wanted to do coming into here, so we arrive here now in this season with a possibility of arriving at a final. That shows that we’re progressing and progressing with the culture of the Club and its mentality.

“The opportunity to do that is a great one for us, but we know we have to earn that. That’s all we’ve ever wanted to do, you’ll never be given the opportunity to get to a final. You’ve got to create it, you’ve got to earn it. Hopefully, we can do that over the two legs.”

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