HB Koge coach Dan Agger admits Brendan Rodgers changed his way of thinking about the game during their time together at Liverpool.
The Dane is now in his second season in charge of HB Koge and says Leicester City’s manager does have an influence on his approach – something which he admits surprised him when first playing for Rodgers at Anfield.
Agger says playing on the front foot with Koge is how he likes his team to perform. And it’s something which came to him during the change he experienced at Liverpool as the team moved from Rafa Benitez’s style of play to Rodgers, as he arrived from Swansea City.
Discussing his own tactical approach, Agger recalled how Rodgers shook up Liverpool’s system upon arrival in 2012.
“That was just it,” Agger told Tribalfootball.com. “After all, under (Rafa) Benitez, we’d finish with the fewest goals conceded for several years in a row. But we never won the Premier League, we never won anything.
“So you could say that when Rodgers came in, it was hell for us defenders because we thundered forward and attacked with eight men, and then two men sat back there with three opponents.”
Agger says the experience was a revelation after so many years under Benitez.
He continued, “But then, we scored… I think we actually scored a record number of goals during that time. Over 100. That we also conceded a lot of goals, it didn’t really matter, we could win the Premier League anyway.”
Rodgers built his system around their famous attacking triumvirate of Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho.
“Yes, Suarez scored an insane amount of goals. He left before me. But we had him, Sturridge and Coutinho.
“Yes (it was entertaining). But it wasn’t always as fun as defenders. But then, from time to time I would rather win 5-3 than play a draw.
“So at least it dawned on me that defending at home is not always what is needed. It’s about scoring goals.”
