With Gerrard’s playing career seemingly over, a shift to the sidelines appears inevitable.
Rafael Benitez says the number of positions Steven Gerrard played throughout his storied career has given him the tactical intelligence required to be a success in management, the Liverpool Echo reports.
According to Sky Sports, the former England captain had been in talks with League One club MK Dons about making the formative steps into his coaching career after departing MLS outfit LA Galaxy earlier in the month, though various reports have recently suggested that he is likely to turn down the role.
Gerrard has also been linked with an emotional return to Anfield in a coaching capacity, with speculation increasing that he could reunite with former academy director Steve Heighway, who helped guide the 36-year-old through the youth ranks and into the senior set-up.
And Benitez believes the man who inspired his side to that infamous Champions League crown in 2005 is certain to replicate his on-pitch success on the sidelines due to the tactical awareness he picked up throughout his career.
“What I could see when I went to Liverpool, I could see a great player with a passion,” said the Spaniard, who managed Liverpool between 2004 and 2010, as reported by the Liverpool Echo.
“We were talking about tactics and he was someone that was really keen to learn. Then, little by little, he was changing his position.
“I remember when everyone was talking about: ‘Oh, you have to play [Frank] Lampard and Gerrard as midfielders for the national team.’
“He was playing for us on the right and he was scoring more than 20 goals. Also sometimes he was playing for [former England boss Fabio] Capello on the left side, cutting in on his right foot from the wing.
“For us his best position was as a second-striker behind [Fernando] Torres.
“When you have already played in three or four positions, your knowledge of the game is much better because you can see different points of view; the problems and the solutions.
“So I think he has a chance to be a good manager.”
However, success is far from assured in an era where management careers appear to be cut callously short at the first sign of trouble and patience is at an all-time low.
After all, a long line of legendary ex-pros quickly discovered that success on the pitch does not necessarily equate to success off it, with the likes of Bobby Moore, Peter Shilton and Ian Rush all enduring short yet disastrous stints in the dugout.
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