Jürgen Klopp certainly sees Steven Gerrard returning to Liverpool as a coach in the future. The 41-year-old former midfielder, currently Aston Villa coach, will be at Anfield for the first time on Saturday as manager. Klopp believes Gerrard has ‘all the necessary qualities’ to make it as a coach of the Reds.
“Oh yeah. Without a doubt,” Klopp replied when asked if he sees Gerrard in his place in the future. “The only problem is when it’s the right time. We saw it with Frank Lampard at Chelsea (Lampard was hired after eighteen months as coach of the Blues fired, ed.). He is doing very well, but he is still very young from a managerial perspective. When is the right time? Is it the last job you want to do? The second? Those are questions I can’t answer.”
Klopp doesn’t think Gerrard, who made 710 appearances for Liverpool as a player, has anything to prove as a manager. “I don’t know what to do to become manager of Liverpool. I know people say you have to win things, but I have my doubts about that. It’s more important that you win things here, instead of all that “proven winner” bullshit. You can have won everything in the past and never do it again.” Gerrard won the Scottish league title once in his 3.5 years as coach of his previous club Rangers.
Klopp predicts that his fellow coach will not know what hit him on Saturday. “Stevie is already an accomplished coach and knows how to approach matches, but he probably has no idea what it’s like to step back into the stadium. I had the same when I returned with Borussia Dortmund at 1.FSV Mainz 05 and with Liverpool at Dortmund. It’s weird, you like just about every person you meet in the stadium and that’s normally never the case.” That won’t change if Gerrard decides to cheer when Aston Villa scores. “I also did that at Mainz at the time. I cheered like a demon possessed and he may too. I just hope he doesn’t get any reason to.”
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