Gerrard Vs Rodgers: A pair that have history as Aston Villa prepare for Leicester City trip

Aston Villa make the trip to the King Power Stadium this weekend to face Leicester City with both teams needing a win.

Both managers, Steven Gerrard and Brendan Rodgers, know each other very well and have crossed paths a few times so far in their respective careers.

They locked horns in Scotland with Rangers and Celtic respectively, but their association goes back to their days at Liverpool together.

Liverpool spell

Rodgers was the man tasked with phasing Gerrard out of his Anfield as he came to near the end of his playing career.

The Reds were close to winning the league in the 2013/14 season under the now Leicester boss but they were pipped to the title in the end by Manchester City.

Gerrard cut ties with the Merseyside club in 2015 to embark on a new challenge in the MLS with LA Galaxy and had some kind words to say about Rodgers, as per the Daily Mail: “I just wish I had met him when I was coming into my prime, maybe 25 or 26 years of age.

‘I’m sure we’d be standing here having won plenty more trophies.’

Glasgow rivals

Rodgers followed him out of the exit door eight months later and the two would later take each other on from the dugout this time.

He won the Scottish title with Celtic in both 2016 and 2017.

Gerrard would later win it with Rangers in 2021, but by that time his old manager was long gone, although they did meet in the Old Firm five times, with the Hoops winning on four occasions.

Both called time on managing in Scotland and wanted to sink their teeth into the Premier League again.

Rodgers joined Leicester back three years ago now and won the FA Cup and Community Shield last year. His former Liverpool skipper was then snapped up by Aston Villa in November 2021.

They met last season in their respective dugouts but couldn’t be separated, with the game finishing 0-0. Prior to the game, Gerrard said, as per The Guardian:

“He was a really good man-manager with the way he spoke to players and dealt with them. That was really impressive.

“More importantly, on the training pitch his delivery was really slick. There was good organisation about his sessions and the way he used to set his team up. I was really impressed with his player-to-coach relationship.”

This weekend is a big one, despite it being early on in the campaign. Aston Villa have won just once this term, whilst Leicester are yet to pick up a victory so both bosses will be feeling the pressure right now as they prepare to meet one another again.