Slavia boss admits he’s a big admirer of Euro rival
JINDRICH Trpisovsky will come up against one of his football heroes when Slavia Prague host Rangers on Thursday.
Trpisovsky is a huge admirer of Liverpool and Rangers manager Steven Gerrard and recalls fondly the part the former Kop captain played in their famous 2005 Champions League comeback win over AC Milan in Istanbul.
Ahead of the first leg of the Europa League last-16 tie in Prague, Trpisovsky said: “The game you mention in Istanbul I will never forget.
“He was the captain and there was a 180 degree turn in the match. It was outstanding to see. He has a very good history. I have learned a lot from Milan Baros [former Liverpool and Czech Republic striker] who remembers him as a strong leader and good mentor on and off the pitch.
“He is one of the key players of my youth, I have seen many matches he played. So it is going to be a great encounter for me because I never dreamt of meeting him in person.”
Rangers arrived in the Czech Republic on the back of their first Scottish Premiership title win in 10 years.
The club’s 55th championship success, which prevented Old Firm rivals Celtic making it 10 in a row, elicited great celebrations among players, staff and supporters of the Ibrox club. However, Trpisovsky, whose side knocked Leicester out in the last round, knows Rangers are unbeaten in the league and in Europe this season and believes they will want to continue that impressive run.
He said: “The celebrations are gone already. We experienced the same thing two years ago when we got the title on the Sunday and two days later we played a very important match.
“They are professionals, they want to succeed each time and I believe they will focus on the next match.
“It’s a great achievement for them, it will only be motivation for them.”
“I am a great fan of Scottish football,” he added.
“It has been a dream to play a Scottish team because I wanted to experience the atmosphere in their stadium.
“Unfortunately there will be no fans but I am looking forward to it. It is a great football country.”
CONNOR GOLDSON has warned Rangers will have to be ready to match the intensity of Slavia Prague as they prepare for their shot at the Europa League quarter-finals.
Steven Gerrard’s side progressed to the last 16 of the competition with a dramatic victory over Royal Antwerp last month and will now make the trip to the Czech Republic on the back of their crowning as Premiership champions at the weekend.
Rangers are unbeaten on the continent this term but face a Slavia side 11 points clear of city rivals Sparta in the Czech top flight and who eliminated Leicester to reach this stage.
Goldson has been an everpresent for Rangers so far this season and the defender is well aware of the challenge that lies ahead as Gerrard’s side bid for a place in the last eight this month.
Goldson said: “They will be very tough games and very intense. We have watched them in the Europa League and they look a very strong side with a lot of powerful players, a lot of powerful running and a lot of intensity up and down the pitch.
“We are going to have to be ready for that. We know that they beat Leicester and we know the form that they are in domestically in their league so I am sure it will be a very tough game.”
JOHN Hughes admits to pangs of jealousy over Hibernian being able to land players of the quality of Chris Cadden and Jackson Irvine in the January transfer window.
But the Ross County boss is convinced his own recruitment of Jordan White could be key in this weekend’s clash with his old club – and the Staggies’ survival bid.
Hughes believes White, signed on a short-term deal from Motherwell, is worth his weight in gold as a target man in attack.
The 29-year-old has already scored twice in five appearances for the Highlanders and, crucially, Hughes reckons the former Livingston and Inverness marksman has also freed up his fellow forwards.
Billy Mckay bagged a welcome double in Saturday’s vital 3-2 victory over relegation rivals Kilmarnock. And Hughes has warned Hibs they will have their hands full in defence this weekend. He said: “We’re up against a very good Hibs team. If you look at what Jack’s been able to recruit – Jackson Irvine,
Chris Cadden in the window there – you just sit back and say, ‘I wish I had that’.
“We’ve just had to knuckle down and get on with it.
“But we recruit in our own way as well and big Jordan White has been everything I wanted. He’s not going to run away from defenders but he’s a proper centre-forward.
“I always said if we got that focal centre-forward then Oli Shaw and Billy Mckay would come more into the play, playing off that foil.
“It just so happened that it was Billy on Saturday, and he got his two goals.
“The one thing I’ll say to Hibs ahead of Saturday is Billy knows where the back of the net is. If you switch off with Billy Mckay there’s a chance he’ll punish you.”
County pulled clear of the relegation zone with the win over Kilmarnock and would pull seven ahead of the Rugby Park side with a victory over Hibs.
Hughes has nothing but praise for his squad of battlers but is painfully aware of their rollercoaster record of four wins and four defeats from their last eight matches.”
ROGER Federer toasted his comeback after 14 months battling knee injuries by fighting past Britain’s Dan Evans 7-6 (10/8) 3-6 7-5 at the Qatar Open.
Swiss great Federer was forced to grind all the way by his recent training partner Evans, with the 30-year-old from Birmingham even saving a match point.
But 39-year-old Federer was not to be denied victory on his big return, having fought off two knee surgeries to return to ATP tour action.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion had not played since his straight-sets defeat to Novak Djokovic in the 2020 Australian Open.
Federer mixed signs of rust with moments of magic, eventually just pulling home to book a quarter-final meeting with Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili.
The three-time Qatar champion was handed a bye to the second round and a clash with Evans, who battled past French veteran Jeremy Chardy in the opening round.
Evans, 30, had lost all three of his previous career meetings with Federer but had taken a set each time and was banking on being a different proposition due to his improvement during Federer’s time away.
Federer showed few signs of rust in an entertaining opening set in which neither player gave his opponent much of a chance behind his respective first serve.
Pushed into a tie-break, it was the the Swiss star who
would falter first, a pair of uncharacteristic errors helping Evans win four points in a row to establish a 4-2 lead. But the favourite proved he had lost none of his nerve, fighting back to level then taking advantage of his third set point opportunity with a sweeping backhand pass down the line to take the tie-break 10-8.
Evans looked a little more wobbly on his own serve at the start of the second set but managed to survive and pounced on a series of errors from Federer in the fourth game of the set, seizing his first break-point opportunity to go 3-1 in front.
Federer rallied but Evans proved equal to the challenge, looking confident from the back of the court as he served out to take the second set 6-3 and take the match into a decider.
Evans dug out a fine service hold to make it 3-3 in the final set, before Federer fended off two break points in the next game. Federer forced a match point with Evans serving to stay in the contest, only for the Brit to hold under major pressure and continue the intriguing battle. At the last however, Federer was able to pull away – breaking Evans to seal the set and the match.
The 20-time grand slam champion will take on Nikoloz Basilashvili in the quarterfinals, after the Georgian swept past Malek Jaziri 6-2 6-2. Top seed Dominic Thiem fended off Russian wild card Aslan Karatsev 6-7 (7) 6-3 6-2 to book a last-eight clash with Robert Bautista Agut.