Cobham, United Kingdom - Jose Mourinho has paid tribute to Steven Gerrard ahead of the Liverpool midfielder's final visit to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Gerrard and his Reds team-mates are expected to provide a guard of honour for Mourinho's Chelsea side after the London club secured the Premier League title last weekend.
But Mourinho said Friday that the match would also provide him with an opportunity to recognise Gerrard's career at Liverpool which will come to a close at the end of the season when the former England captain joins LA Galaxy in the United States' Major League Soccer.
The Chelsea manager admitted he tried to sign Gerrard on four different occasions at three different clubs but was denied by the player's unstinting loyalty to Liverpool.
Friday saw the Portuguese boss say he was more concerned about acknowledging Gerrard, who has never won the Premier League title, than he was about Liverpool honouring his team.
"Liverpool is a giant club and if they want to do that (provide a guard of honour) my players will accept with respect," Mourinho told a news conference at Chelsea's Cobham training ground.
"But speaking about Liverpool and honouring the champions, it is my time to honour the champion.
"It's my time to honour Steve Gerrard and say with opponents like him that I am the manager I am. I learn with my players and my best opponents.
"Steven Gerrard is for sure one of my favourite enemies and for sure my dear enemy, the one who made me a better manager," he explained.
"I need people like him to make me a better coach."
AFP
