Steven Gerrard has been speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Premier League clash between Liverpool and Aston Villa tomorrow.
It will be Gerrard’s first game as a manager at Anfield, and he’s shared some advice from Jürgen Klopp ahead of his return.
What’s the story?
Well, Gerrard revealed that Klopp advised him to be his own person in the world of football management, and to not copy anyone else.
As quoted by Football Daily, the 41-year-old said: “The best advice I got from Jürgen Klopp was to take your own team and do it your own way, and I’ll give you whatever support you need at any given time and that’s golden advice for a player coming out of playing and looking to go into management.”
What a lovely gesture from the former Borussia Dortmund boss.
Clearly, Klopp cares about Gerrard, and wants to offer him as much help as possible during the infancy of his managerial career.
Klopp shared the advice with Gerrard while he was in charge of Liverpool’s Under-23 side, before he joined Rangers in 2018.
Has Jürgen Klopp’s advice helped Steven Gerrard?
In our view, Gerrard has gone out and done exactly what Klopp advised him to, and the results are there for all to see.
The Villans boss has trod his own path in management, and helped drag Rangers back to the top of Scottish football, ending Celtic’s run of nine consecutive Scottish Premiership titles in doing so.
Gerrard has achieved that with an impressive blend of tactical fluidity, which has seen his sides alternative between a 4-3-3 and a 4-1-4-1 system at times.
Additionally, you can see his teams share the same passion he has for football, as they give their all.
Crucially, they also seem to have a grasp on the dark arts, with a key focus on game management and disrupting the opponent’s flow at the right times.
Whatever happens at Anfield tomorrow, it should be a fascinating matchup between two Liverpool legends in the dugout.
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