Jose Mourinho praises the Celtic successes that 'people forget'

By Lewis Laird

May 5, 2022

Roma boss Jose Mourinho has praised the former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers for his forgotten success in Scotland.

Both managers know each other well from their time spent with Chelsea and are set to go head-to-head when Roma and Leicester City face off in the Europa Conference league semi-final tomorrow evening.

Rodgers has enjoyed a somewhat successful spell with Leicester since he departed Parkhead in 2019, during the club’s push for the Treble Treble.

In the lead up to the semi-final tie, Mourinho has been full of praise for his work at Leicester, where he has picked up an FA Cup and Community Shield.

However, he was also keen to stress the job that Rodgers has done in Scotland, picking up several trophies along the way, which doesn’t get enough attention according to Mourinho due to the focus on the Scottish Premiership.

Mourinho said [as quoted by the Daily Record]: “Brendan doesn’t surprise me. With Liverpool, people forget what he did with much, much fewer resources than Liverpool has now.

“He did amazing, and then the Scottish history (with Celtic), people forget because people don’t focus much on Scottish Premiership.

“To win the FA Cup with Leicester and even the Community Shield, the stability in the club, the way they play, their recruitment, it is a perfect fit, Leicester and Brendan; very, very good.”

Rodgers left Celtic under a bit of cloud given the circumstances. However, there is no denying how big a success the 49-year old was in Glasgow.

And yet, some of his most significant achievements will be noted as south of the border despite going on a trophy-laden run with Celtic.

As supporters of this club, we are used to the snobbery of English fans by now. But it is nice to hear a manager of Mourinho’s stature mention the brilliant success Rodgers had at Celtic.

In other news, Scott McDonald says rivals “failed” at Celtic Park as he sets derby narrative straight.