Brendan Rodgers will take his men to Czech Republic as Leicester City take on SK Slavia Prague in the first leg of the Europa League round of 32 tie on Thursday.
To preview the clash between the two sides, MF Dnes Prague interviewed former Foxes defender Lukáš Hušek, who currently represents Slavia’s local rivals, Sparta Prague.
Having arrived in England in 2016, the centre-back spent four years with the Premier League side’s academy, without representing their first team. The 20-year-old detailed why it never really worked out for him at Leicester.
“When I was 18, I played, I was vice captain, but the jump was too big for me. Three older guys got in front of me, and the coaches indicated that there wasn’t that much room left for me. So, a year ago in the winter, I moved to Sparta,” Hušek said.
Despite not featuring for Leicester’s senior team, the Czech Republican footballer admits he had a “great experience” with the English club.
During his time at King Power, the player had regular opportunities to train with Rodgers’ men.
Hušek came across star striker Jamie Vardy and there one specific aspect, which confused as few of the Leicester players, particularly Kasper Schmeichel.
“The boys immediately noticed the size of my football shoes; I have size 12 UK shoes. The goalkeeper Schmeichel did not understand how I could play football with that,” he explained.
When asked to share his views of Vardy, Hušek revealed the England international came up with a nickname for him.
“Jamie Vardy and the junior coach started calling me Lurch after a character from The Addams family. Such a tall, ugly…” he added.
“[Vardy is] totally crazy. He keeps whistling and his specialty is scaring. He waits for someone in the hallway and knocks on the back. Even the lady from the laundry room.”
