Leicester Leave For Rome On A Mission To Make History
This is new territory for a club who have contested 39 fixtures in European competition. That figure has been swelled significantly since the Foxes lifted the Premier League in 2016 – going on to feature in three UEFA competitions – the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.
A semi-finals second-leg tie against AS Roma in the latter of those competitions, an 8pm BST kick-off at Stadio Olimpico on Thursday, represents a rare opportunity for any team. It's the chance to reach a European final and to add another piece of silverware to the Club's growing honours list.
It's even at 1-1 after the first leg in Leicester last week. Lorenzo Pellegrini's opener for Roma was equalised by a Gianluca Mancini own goal on Filbert Way, but it was City who were in the ascendancy for much of the match. The vociferous Stadio Olimpico atmosphere will add to the sense of occasion this week.
Over 3,000 members of the Blue Army will be in the magnificent Italian capital – home to centuries of rich history. While some of those were boarding flights bound for a city once called Caput Mundi, or the 'Capital of the World', the day was just beginning at LCFC Training Ground on Wednesday morning.
The media facilities in Seagrave hosted two pre-match press conferences, involving captain Kasper Schmeichel first, before manager Brendan Rodgers took his seat later. Both figures, central characters of Leicester City's most glorious moments over recent seasons, made no attempt to downplay things.
"The infrastructure of the Club is in place to be successful," said Schmeichel, a winner of the Premier League, Championship, FA Cup and FA Community Shield. "If we were to reach the final, I’d say that was a sustained period of time in terms of finals reached and trophies won.
"Leicester is an attractive club because we have one of the best facilities in the world, we’ve got lots of talent in the squad, an amazing manager and owner. Everything is there that needs to be."
Rodgers, an experienced manager in European football from spells with Liverpool and Celtic, says what he has witnessed over recent ties gives him confidence as his players bid to write a new chapter for Leicester City.
"We need the same character that we’ve shown to get to this stage," he said. "We’ve got experience going into the second leg knowing how to get the job done. Rennes and PSV were difficult games, two really good sides, and we were able to do that. It’s a similar mentality and a similar thought process."
It's a game which Rodgers would later call City's 'biggest of the season' – a straight shootout in many regards for a place in the final. Marseille or Feyenoord will be the opponents in Tirana later this month. In just over 24 hours, we'll know whether it'll be Roma or Leicester City who join them there.