GODS’ GIFT
Carlo’s wise words were manna from heaven .. now Bren eyes a second helping
Carlo Ancelotti once told Brendan Rodgers the footballing Gods were on his side.
Now he’s hoping the faith of the Bayern Munich boss was good for more than just one game.
The Celtic manager knows his club have been pitched in with European royalt y in their Champions League group and believes both Bayern and Paris St- Germain will see themselves as genuine contenders to lift the iconic trophy in Kiev come May.
So he won’t try to convince his men they’re a match for Neymar, Edinson Cavani, Julian Draxler, Robert Lewandowski, James Rodriguez or Thomas Muller.
But he is convinced his squad can make life hard for all of them – despite operating on a tenth of their resources.
And as he prepared to test his own abilities against a titan of the management game in Ancelotti, he said: “I know him reasonably well. I was at the League Managers Association awards one night and we were sharing a taxi together along with Paul Clement.
“It was a Wednesday night, I was with Swansea and we had the play-off final against Reading on the Monday.
“Carlo turned to me and said, ‘ You will win on Monday’. And I said, ‘ What makes you think that?’ His reply was, ‘ It’s the footballing gods’.
“I asked what he meant and he said, ‘You’re playing the team that sacked you so, for sure, you will win. I had the same when I was with AC Milan against Juventus. We were playing them after they had sacked me and I was told we would win because of the footballing gods – and we won’.
“After we got out the taxi I thought, ‘Please be right!’ and he was. So hopefully when we meet in the Champions League this time the footballing gods will be telling him it’s Celtic all the way.”
Rodgers has had unrelenting success with the Parkhead squad he inherited last summer, turning good players into great ones with the help of a couple of pieces of class recruitment.
However, even he admits he’s incapable of turning water into wine. Asked about inspiring those players to go toe to toe with the best Europe has to offer, he said: “You can’t kid players.
“Two of the teams in our group would class themselves as potential Champions League winners. Both have made that pretty clear in their goals that’s where they want to be.
“PSG keep making steps closer and closer each year. What you have to do is recognise and acknowledge where they are at as players because that is why they’re there. That’s why they’re at that level and playing consistently at that level.
“But I write it in my programme notes every game – ‘without fear’.
“You have to believe always – that has always been the trait of teams I’ve always tried to put out.
“Yep, they are going to have players who are on 200, 250 grand a week and if you give them time and space they’ll show you that.
“But I don’t care what type of player you are, the level you’re at – it’s not nice if you’ve got someone right there for a lot of the game.
“You make it di f f icult and be hard to beat. And if you’ve got 11 players like that and a squad that’s fighting and not easily beaten then you give yourself a chance.
“Of course there is always that apprehension. You are playing against so- called world-class players, which a lot of the guys we will play over the course of the Bayern Munich and PSG games will be.
“But you can make it really, really difficult for them and there is the spirit we’ve fostered as well as the level of our game.”
The players aren’t the only ones whose juices will be flowing at the challenges ahead of them.
Rodgers added: “I still get
excited. From time to time you’ll sit down and have a think about the stadiums you’ve managed in.
“It gives you great pride because you have to arrive there somehow. There’s a way to get there. I’ve been fortunate enough to have worked in some of the biggest arenas in the world and be involved in it. And to now go to Bayern Munich, PSG and Anderlecht, again will be another part of the story.
“When you are a football person you take on board where you are. It means that little bit more to you – it’s not just a game of football, it’s an event.
“Obviously your focus on the game is there but you are getting to work – if that is what it’s called. To ply your trade in these arenas is absolutely fantastic.” Locking horns again with Neymar when the group opens at home to PSG is one of a number of fascinating subplots of their campaign. His quarter-of-a-billion pound move from Barcelona has made him Europe’s biggest marked man.
Rodgers said: “Neymar was one of the players Lee Congerton looked at over in Brazil when we are at Chelsea. He was at the same age as Philippe Coutinho and Alexandre Pato. They were a top Under-17 team.
“We watched him but he was always staying in Brazil. You could see he was a standout even back then.
“And the money involved won’t change him. My experience of working with these players is it doesn’t matter what you pay them. They are in love with football and they come out to work.
“The financial package is astronomical but he’s Brazil’s No.10. He’s used to playing with pressure every day.
“From what I saw of him as a young boy at 16, he has coped incredibly well with it. And maybe being the main man away from Messi and Suarez motivated him but it’s always about the team.
“Messi is a huge influence at Barca with Luis but the three dovetailed really well.
“Neymar has gone to PSG and there is a f inancial element to it all. Game time and money, that’s what it’s about. At PSG he might also be next to Kylian Mbappe, who is a fantastic talent, and Cavani.
“He has made his mark at Barcelona and most players stay there until they are moved on. He has decided to go in a dif ferent direction but there is no denying he’s one of the world’s best.”
Hopefully when we meet the footballing gods will be telling him it’s Celtic all the way