While we might not always see eye to eye, it was a pleasure to see Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho pay tribute to our captain this afternoon.
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The Blues boss described Steven Gerrard as one of his ‘favourite enemies’ ahead of the pair’s final meeting at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
In fact, Mourinho was overwhelming with his praise for our iconic midfielder, who has just three games remaining ahead of his summer move to the MLS, where he’ll join LA Galaxy.
He accredited Gerrard with making him a better coach and admitted that he tried to sign him on three separate occasions – once while in charge of Chelsea, again at Inter Milan, and for a third time while at Real Madrid.
Nonethless, Gerrard stayed put and has now surpassed 700 appearances for the Reds, scoring almost 200 goals. His most recent strike was the winner against Queens Park Rangers last weekend; he’d no doubt love the opportunity to add one final goal against Chelsea to his record as well.
Speaking ahead of the game, Mourinho was quoted by ESPN journalist Miguel Delaney. He said: “Speaking of Liverpool, it’s my time to honour a champion, to honour Steven Gerrard.
“It’s because of opponents like him, I am the manager I am. I learn from the best opponents, with problems they give. It’s the way they make me think, the way they make me analyse them. Gerrard is for sure one of my favourite enemies.
“I’m very sad this is the last time I play against him. It’s people like him make me a very good coach. I’m sad. I tried to bring him to Chelsea, tried to bring him to Inter, tried to bring him to Real Madrid.”