Former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier has said that Steven Gerrard “will make a great manager” when he finally decides to retire from football.
In an interview with the BBC, Houllier, the man who made Gerrard the Liverpool captain in 2003, said: “[Steven] has got everything it takes to think about the team, the club and the development of others. He is a natural born leader, a very inspirational leader. He is somebody you want to follow.”
This weekend, Gerrard will play his final competitive game at Anfield before heading to the USA in the summer and Houllier has his own theory as to why his former player has decided to move to the MLS: “I don’t think he wanted to show the fans his decline. I personally think he could play in a different role, a bit like Andrea Pirlo, in front of the defence like an anchor man. Maybe he wanted to have a new challenge and that’s typical of Stevie.“
It is sure to be an emotional occasion at Anfield on Saturday. Although it is still mathematically possible, Liverpool won’t be able to overtake fourth placed Manchester United over the last two games – United have a +14 better goal difference – so all focus will be on the Liverpool skipper.
Gerrard has admitted in recent interviews that he’d like to return to the club in some capacity in the future and Houllier believes he’ll do just that: “Maybe not in the coming years but sooner or later he will come back.“
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