A Liverpool legend in the truest sense of the word, Steven Gerrard return to the club he loves as a coach was inevitable considering his heavy ties with the famous city.
Signed by LA Galaxy following a trophy-laden career with the Merseysiders, the combative midfielder spent 18 enjoyable but unremarkable months with the MLS team, all before Jurgen Klopp found a space for him in his playing staff – namely as manager of the under 18’s.
Whilst Gerrard has had little time to turn the members of his side into 1st team door knockers, he has been rather vocal about the playing style he will implement. And boy does it sound familiar.
Somewhat irked by the football’s FIFA generation, that’s the video game not the legions of corrupt bureaucrats, the former England captain has been keen to hammer out individualist displays of technical ability exhibited by large portions of club trainers – almost as if they were addicted to online casino us.
“There is a showboating mentality through academies,” claimed Gerrard upon his appointment, before uttering with true British grit “My teams will be physical.”
One of the most talented players of his generation, it’s difficult to ignore the footballing knowledge Gerrard has accrued over his long playing career, however, isn’t there something worryingly familiar about such comments.
Taking his place among some of the most individually talented international squads in history, England have claimed approximately zero trophies since 1966.
Rarely has an England fan watched each terribly disappointing tournament and thought to themselves, ‘boy, I wish England were physically stronger the time round’.
Want to place a bet on your favourite soccer player? If yes then visit www.yebocasino.co.za
Let it be painfully obvious to the most casual of football fans, England are supremely underdeveloped in the technical stakes, an attribute that truly separates the good international teams and the great ones.
Perhaps we are being harsh, the Champions League winners comments weren’t entirely caveman-esque;
“A lot of kids think they have to do 10 lollipops or Cruyff turns to look good or stand out. We all love a bit of skill and talent but the other side of the game is huge. I have to try and prepare these players for careers in the game. Not all of them will play for Liverpool’s first team but I feel if I can help them to compete in the other side of the game it will help their careers. Maybe it [showboating] comes from computer games, I don’t know. There are a lot of skilful players that young players try and emulate – probably too much instead of playing to their own strengths. They try and model their game on players like Ronaldo whereas you have to look at yourself and say: ‘What have I got? What are my strengths? How can I improve my weaknesses and become a player in my own right?’”
A pragmatic viewpoint, sure, but Gerrard clearly does not view that the current footballing system is in dire straits, like some. Evidently, a football revolution isn’t going to be started within the youthful ranks at Melwood anytime soon.