- Babel finds Gerrard's decision surprising
- Wave of young managers could be reason
- Gerrard seizes the opportunity at Al-Ettifaq
WHAT HAPPENED? Babel, who was also a teammate of Gerrard's during his time at Liverpool, believes that there is a new wave of young managers and former players entering the managerial world. He speculates that Gerrard may have chosen the opportunity to stay busy and continue his managerial career.
WHAT THEY SAID: Ryan Babel talked about Gerrard on talkSPORT: “Initially of course, it is surprising [that he went to manage there]. Overall if you look at especially English managers, they tend to stay in England, but at the same time, I feel like we are entering in a new wave of new managers, right? Young managers, former players."
Babel continued: "Look, at the end of the day we don’t know if Steven Gerrard had a lot of possibilities at this very moment, but I feel like as a manager if you’re out of the picture for too long maybe the door is slowly getting shut on you for these types of opportunities. Maybe it was one of those things he felt like ‘Hey, I want to stay busy, I’m still young, this is right now the opportunity I’ve got so let’s grab it'."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Gerrard's decision to manage Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia has raised eyebrows, considering that many English managers tend to stay in England. However, the emergence of a new generation of young managers and former players entering management roles could be contributing to such decisions.
IN TWO PHOTOS:
WHAT NEXT FOR GERRARD? As Gerrard embarks on his new managerial journey in Saudi Arabia, Liverpool will continue to shape their squad with summer signings. The club will be keen to build on their past successes and compete for silverware.