LA Galaxy manager Bruce Arena expects former Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard to become a successful coach when his playing days do eventually come to an end.
The 35-year-old, who played over 700 games for the Reds en route to becoming arguably our greatest player of all time, joins the MLS outfit this summer and has enjoyed a successful start to his time in the States.
Gerrard, who has been widely tipped to take over as Liverpool manager in the future (via talkSPORT), has hugely impressed Arena with his knowledge of the game – and the Galaxy boss says he has many years left in football.
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“Steven’s next step in the game is to be a manager, no question about it,” said Arena, in quotes taken by the Daily Mirror. “He’s very studious about what goes on. We talk about what he’s done at Liverpool and we compare notes.”
“Where that’s going to be, I don’t know. At Galaxy? I hope not as I’m the manager! I’d actually love it if someone like that could replace me but I don’t think it’s going to be with the Galaxy. I would guess he’ll go back to England and then you can guess where he might end up after that.”
While some players undoubtedly use the MLS to fund their retirement, there has been no sign of Gerrard slowing down. Arena says he arrived at the club ready to go and had already learned a lot about his new teammates.
“Before he came, I visited Liverpool and was surprised how much he knew about our team,” he continued. “By the time he got here at the end of June he knew everyone. He knew the names of players he was meeting for the first time and he knew about their qualities.
“He was fully prepared. We’ve had other players in the past where the transition of moving their families was a major chore. With him it was already done. It was so smooth it was ridiculous.”
In fact, Arena could not help but lavish praise on our former number eight, who helped us win every major trophy – barring the Premier League – during his 17-year spell with the Reds’ first-team.
He added: “If Steven didn’t play football he’d be very successful at something else. He could have been a professor.
“He’s so articulate and bright. He could have made a success of anything. He made a pretty good decision becoming a footballer but he’s a pretty sharp guy.”