Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho insists the Blues fans should show Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard respect when the two sides lock horns in their Capital One Cup semi-final first leg clash on Tuesday.
The Portuguese manager claims that the Blues faithful have gone too far with chants aimed at mocking the English midfielder for his infamous slip in last season's encounter with Chelsea, which the Merseyside club lost 2-0.
That defeat went a long way in ruining Liverpool's chances of lifting the English Premier League title, as Brendan Rodgers' crew eventually settled for second place, with Manchester City clinching the trophy.
Jose insists he finds those chants tasteless, saying: “He’s a historic player for Liverpool, a historic player for the Premier League. He’s an opponent I always admired and respected. There is a song that my fans have that I don’t like at all.
“A couple of times it’s good fun but to go and go and go, especially when a player like him deserves respect, we don’t need that.”
Mourinho is a known admirer of Gerrard. In fact, back in 2005, after winning Liverpool the Champions League, Stevie came achingly close to sealing a Stamford Bridge switch. The move, however, failed to materialize, as the Reds captain opted against an Anfield exit, something Jose concedes was the right decision.
“I was dreaming of Claude Makelele, Gerrard and Frank Lampard. We were playing in an open triangle without a No 10, we were playing with Maka in front of the defenders and me and Mr Abramovich and Peter Kenyon were dreaming that. We did everything. It was almost there. But the decision for me was proven right because he will be always a red forever. Gerrard’s people were open to it and the feeling to join a top side like Chelsea, I think the feeling was there but to me personally he never said 'I will go'.”
