On Sunday against Portugal, Osorio will manage his first official match in Europe. There is one household in Liverpool, England that will be cheering on the Mexican national team every step of the way in Russia at the 2017 Confederations Cup.

Tom McManus, his wife Mary and sons Peter and Thomas welcomed Mexico's manager Juan Carlos Osorio into their home back in 1997, when he was studying at John Moores University in the city. He became part of the family. Osorio's name has become synonymous with an intense obsession for the beautiful game but to understand how and why the former New York Red Bulls coach ended up renting the small room at the top of the stairs with barely enough room to "swing a cat" (as Tom describes it), you have to first understand its location.

The McManus family home is on Crown Road, about five miles from the city centre. Crucially, the upstairs front windows overlook Liverpool FC's Melwood training complex and is so close that a stray ball from first team training once smashed one of the windows of the house. When Osorio, a complete unknown in the football world at the time, arrived in the city to embark on his Science and Football degree, he was drawn to the road and the house, with his ultimate goal of being able to find a permanent place to watch and study Liverpool's training sessions.

Full story: ESPN

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