One of England’s soccer legends, Steven Gerrard, is continuing his coaching career at Saudi Arabia’s Al Etihad.
Gerrard signed a new contract with the club in January of last year until June 2027, and for the time being, it looked like he was done worrying about making a living.
However, Al-Ettifaq’s recent form has been poor. They have one draw and six losses in their last seven games. They are in 12th place with 11 points. They are far from the top three in Saudi Arabia, Al Hilal (28 points), Al Ittihad (27 points), and Al Nasr (22 points). On the contrary, 파워볼 they are not far from the relegation zone of 16th-placed Al Fayha (7 points).
Neymar, Yacine Bounou, Joao Cancelo, Kalidou Koulibaly, Sergei Milinkovic-Savic, Ruben Neves, Aleksandar Mitrovic (and now Al Hilal), Cristiano Ronaldo, and Aymeric Laporte have all dominated Europe’s major leagues, Marcelo Brozovic, Andersson Talisca, Sadio Mane (Al Nasr), Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Husem Aouar, Fabinho, Moussa Diaby and Stevan Berchwein (Al Ittihad).
Gerrard’s Al Etihad, however, only has the likes of Georginio Wijnaldum, Moussa Dembele, and Carl Ekambi. The club is a bit far away from the influence of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund (PIF), which makes it difficult to put together a solid squad. That’s a shame, considering the traditional Al Shabab also have Kim Seung-Gyu, Yannick Carrasco, Daniel Podense and Giacomo Bonaventura.
Given the circumstances, Danny Murphy, who knows Gerrard well and has also played in the Premier League, told Boyle Sports: “It will be difficult for Gerrard to do what he did at Rangers (where he was rated as decent during his managerial career). Rangers are also less powerful than their rivals Celtic, and that’s been the case since he left Rangers.”
Gerrard left Rangers to manage Aston Villa in an attempt to bounce back, but it didn’t work out and he headed to the Al Etihad for a rebuilding campaign. However, Gerrard himself continues to ride the wave of crisis, as the club is now far from the relegation zone.
Crucially, the team’s 1-3 loss at Al Hilal on Aug. 8 has dampened the spirits of their fans. Gerrard, who is desperate to return to Europe, can’t afford to slip further.
Murphy also pointed to the situation in the Scottish Premier League, where he believes Gerrard is the right man to end Yang’s Celtic dominance. Gerrard ended Celtic’s 10th consecutive title in 2020-21 and gave Rangers their first title in 10 seasons since 2010-11.
This season, Celtic are tied with Aberdeen atop the table with 31 points. Rangers (22 points) are third with a game in hand. “Gerrard wants to work hard and he’s determined. It would be great for him to come back to Scotland and beat Celtic and win the title,” he says, adding that Rangers would do well to bring Gerrard back if they are to rebuild.
If Al Etihad can’t stand the slide in the standings and sack Gerrard, he believes a path back to Europe, with penalties, could naturally open up for Rangers.
Of course, Gerrard believes he can turn things around, saying, “I don’t think I’m at the point where I’m going to be sacked yet.” Gerrard’s leadership path has taken a bizarre turn.