'It is.....' Ryan Babel reacts to Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard's move to Saudi as Al-Ettifaq manager
Ryan Babel reacts to Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard's move to Saudi
Former Liverpool player Ryan Babel recently opened up on Steven Gerrard's surprising move to manage Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq. Babel, who shared the Liverpool dressing room with Gerrard, feels there is a trendof young managers and former players entering the managerial world. He believes thismight have played a part in Gerrard's mind to consider switchingto the Saudi.
'We are entering in a new wave of new managers'
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"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 said while speaking on talkSPORT.
He further added, "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'."
Backing Babel's point of view, there is a huge influx of players and young managers in the Saudi Pro League, mainly due to financial gains. While English managers mostly prefer to stay in their home country, Gerrard's move might have come as a surprise but it can surely be seen as the beginning of a new trend. Much of this will depend on how he progressesin managingAl-Ettifaq.
'When I went to Saudi I got a real family feeling'
On being a part of the Saudi club, Gerrard told Al-Ettifaq's Twitter account on July 23 (Sunday), "When I went to Saudi I got a real family feeling. It made me actually feel welcomed. There are three things I always consider in order -- it needs to be right for my family first and foremost. We have to be excited and motivated by the challenge."
"Secondly I think the football project needs to be ambitious, it needs to be for the right reasons, and then of course you need to feel secure with the contract, but this comes at the very end," he stated.
In recent times, Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr), Karim Benzeme (Al-Ittihad), etc. have moved to the Saudi League. EvenRobbie Fowler, a former teammate of Gerrard,recently took over as the coach of the Saudi second-division team Al-Qadsiah.
All eyes are now on Gerrard and how Al-Ettifaq fares under his guidance. In the last season, they ended seventh in the top-tier SaudiLeague.
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