Why Steven Gerrard choosing to manage in Saudi Arabia would show level of ambition

Steven Gerrard looks set to become the next former Premier League talent to journey to the Saudi Pro League.

This week saw the previous Liverpool captain in talks to become the new manager of Al Ettifaq — one of the clubs that fall outside of the historical ‘Big Four’ that now come under the part ownership of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, PIF.

It’s a big decision for Gerrard — not only leaving European football but taking up a job at one of the less-moneyed clubs of Saudi Arabia at a time when players such as Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante are expected to make the pursuit of titles and cups a lot harder for those outside the top four.

Gerrard would not be the only manager with Premier League experience to venture to Saudi Arabia: former Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Nuno Espirito Santo led Al Ittihad to the league title this season, finishing five points clear of Al Nassr (of Cristiano Ronaldo fame).

Yet, Al Ettifaq is a difficult proposition for any incoming manager. They are a middleweight in the league at a time when the heavyweights are expected to welcome an influx of playing talent from Europe.

Gerrard’s potential next team finished seventh in 2022-23, 35 points off top spot and with a goal difference of minus eight. The top four in the league are only going to get stronger too; Saudi clubs are thought to be interested in hiring managers with Premier League experience, such as Julen Lopetegui, Marco Silva and even Jose Mourinho. 

Which begs the question of Gerrard: why, outside of the obvious financial incentives, is a manager as openly ambitious as him considering a job outside of European football? 

Even if he were to find some level of success at Al Ettifaq — a club that has not won silverware at the top level since 1987 — it is hard to envisage a straightforward return to European football in a few years.

It would be a strange decision for a manager who was criticised for viewing Aston Villa as a stepping stone for his ultimate ambition of becoming Liverpool manager. And according to the sports intelligence agency Twenty First Group, the Saudi Pro League is rated as the 58th highest-quality league in the world, taking into account the strength of its average team, which places it below the Scottish Premiership (49th). Is Gerrard considering a move to the Pro League to refine his craft so he might one day return to the Premier League? Or is Al Ettifaq the best job offer available to him now?

The Saudi Arabian club is not the only possible suitor for Gerrard this summer. The 43-year-old has taken a pause from football since being relieved of managerial duties at Aston Villa in late October but he is thought to have appeared on Leicester City’s managerial shortlist following the dismissal of Brendan Rodgers, and he is believed to have held talks with Leeds United. He looks to be experiencing a form of footballing ‘obliquity’, where he attempts to achieve his ultimate goal by taking the route less explored. 

Gerrard’s managerial path has been interesting. After taking over Liverpool’s under-18s in 2017, he led the side to a third-placed finish in the U18 Premier League before agreeing to move to Rangers at the close of the 2017-18 season. Gerrard going to Scotland was deemed a risk, but he was ultimately a success, with Rangers winning the 2020-21 Premiership title convincingly, going the season unbeaten and finishing with 102 points.

Gerrard and his wider coaching team were said to have brought Premier League standards to Scotland, with an increased focus on how the side played when out of possession, leading to only 13 goals conceded in the league during the season.

Then came his November 2021 move to Aston Villa when, after some early promise, things soon unravelled.  Aston Villa were a curious and underwhelming collection of attacking players stuck in a rigid and particularly narrow 4-3-3. The club’s fortunes took a drastic downturn at the start of 2022-23 following the departure of Gerrard’s assistant Michael Beale to Queens Park Rangers.

Beale has since returned to Rangers as head coach, and they finished the 2022-23 season looking closer to their 2020-21 selves. Whatever club Gerrard chooses to take over next, he’ll have to find a way to compensate for the loss of Beale, who took the majority of training sessions at Rangers and Villa. That Gerrard has admitted that it’ll take between 15-20 years to be as good a coach as Beale on the grass suggests it’ll be a tricky task.

As we are talking about Gerrard, Frank Lampard cannot be far from our thoughts. Lampard might be experiencing his version of footballing obliquity too.

“It could come out like I’m being ultra-selective, and I think the reality is a lot of jobs are challenging at this level,” said the 44-year-old Lampard in early May, when talking about taking on managerial roles. 

“It’s trying to find a project, a club, that is aligned with where you want to take the team and style and the club. When I came here (as Chelsea’s interim manager), I certainly took it on with a lot of heart and understanding that it was short term.”

Much of the goodwill Lampard earned across a satisfactory spell at Derby County and in the 2019-20 season at Chelsea has been erased in a series of drab games when it was hard to discern how he wanted his teams to perform out of possession. His record across Everton and Chelsea in 2022-23 reads: played 29, won four, drawn eight, lost 17.

Like Gerrard, Lampard’s recent jobs have seen him without an assistant, as Jody Morris chose not to follow him after their first dismissal at Chelsea in January 2021. Morris’ time as a head coach has been less successful than Beale’s — he would be sacked after four wins in 18 games at Swindon Town in League Two — but it is interesting to note how two former England internationals have managed after losing a trusted lieutenant.

One former England international who did start as a lieutenant was Michael Carrick, who took Middlesbrough from 21st in the Championship in October 2022 to the play-off semi-finals. 

Speaking to The Athletic in May, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said of Carrick: “Michael is a man of value and principles, a big family man, but his knowledge is also second to none 

“He’s had Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho as managers, and he’s played with the best players in the world. He’s a winner but he’s still in control of his emotions. I cannot see him not being the Manchester United manager.”

Carrick could have managed United for more than the handful of games he took charge of in 2021-22, but chose not to continue. It was a risky decision that might have meant his spell at Middlesbrough could be read similar to Lampard at Derby or Gerrard at Rangers. Still, the confidence in his tactical approach and the patience in selecting jobs suggest he might be a surer bet to manage a side in the Premier League before his contemporaries.

Carrick could take Middlesbrough up. He could bide his time and be linked to a role at a bottom-half side in the Premier League. In contrast, Gerrard and Lampard are at a crossroads: where do you go when your managerial stock is at its lowest within the Premier League but you still retain name value for your playing career in it? Although name value might be all it takes to find jobs — be they in Saudi Arabia or the Championship.

Still, if this duo are to return to the top-level jobs they undoubtedly desire, they will have to learn more of the skills that their former assistants brought to their coaching teams.

It’s not enough to take the road less travelled alone, you also have to learn new talents on the way to your eventual destination. 

(Top photo: Ryan Pierse via Getty Images)