Rosenior excited for Man City match up on Brighton’s opening day

From pretending to be his idol when having a kickabout as a kid, to coming up against him for Premier League new boys Brighton, Liam Rosenior will experience a special day when the Seagulls take on Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City on the opening day of the new season.

The 32-year-old defender helped Brighton to the promised land last season, and will return to the Premier League older and wiser than his early days with Fulham.

Brighton host Guardiola’s City on August 12 in front of what is sure to be a packed out Amex Stadium, and Rosenior cannot wait to take on his old hero.

“He’s somebody I’ve looked up to so much. Not many people are old enough to remember watching him as a player, but when I was growing up – practising on my own – I used to pretend to be him,” he said.

(Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)

“He was my favourite player when growing up. What I loved about him was his intelligence as a player, and he’s taken that into his coaching career.

“He managed and created a team at Barcelona which is probably the best team in history.

“The fact that he’s now at Manchester City and we’re playing them on the first day, it means a lot to me and he’s somebody that I’ll always look to – not just as a player, but as a future coach.”