Mourinho not shocked by Rodgers’ accomplishments at Leicester

boss used to be an academy coach in the mid-2000s, when

Jose Mourinho

was in charge of

and the two have had a good relationship ever since.

Rodgers has been a great mentor for

and

before joining Leicester in 2019. On Sunday, Rodger’s side will go against

and a victory will put the Foxes past Spurs.

“

I’m not impressed, I know how good he is,

” Mourinho said. “

When I met him as a young coach in the academy, and coming to join us in the first team and sharing with us many moments, I understood that he was a young guy with a great future.

“So anything he’s doing in his career is not a surprise for me, not at all. He’s very talented, he was and probably still is a guy who likes to study, learn and improve. He’s creative, he knows what he wants.

“He’s a very good coach. Period. He’s a very good coach so it’s not a surprise for me.”

Mourinho reveals how difficult it is for him to go into battle with an old friend.

“

Honestly, after the game when I play against my friends, when I win or my team wins of course I’m happy, of course I’m very happy, but there is a space for feeling sorry for your friends and the opposite I believe it is exactly the same,

” he said.

“

So for example with Manchester United, when I beat, we beat Middlesbrough, where my brother (Aitor) Karanka was on the other side, I was very happy.

“I jumped, we scored in the last minute. I was sorry for my brother.

“When (Carlo) Ancelotti at Everton, they won against us. I believe that Carlo was super happy but I also believe that inside of him was a little bit of space for, ‘I’m sorry for Jose’.

“So I think this happens. Not before the game, not during the game but after the game that between people that have strong connections I believe there is that little space.

“I think you understand what I mean about that. No friends during the game but friends after the game so there is space for these feelings.”

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