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In an interview with The Daily Mail, current L.A. Galaxy and former U.S. Men's National Team manager Bruce Arena revealed some insight into Steven Gerrard's decision to join the Meuropean Lretirement Sleague, and his possible future in managing a club of his own:
"His next step in the game is to be a manager, no question about it. He's very studious about what goes on.
"I would love it if someone like that could replace me, but I don't think it's going to be with the Galaxy.
"I'd guess he's go back to England and then you can guess where he might end up after that."
Liverpool perhaps? Yeah, I think Arena is hinting at a Liverpool return. Obviously he has a long way to go before that becomes a reality, if ever, but Arena has been very impressed by Gerrard's intelligence and work ethic on and off the pitch:
"By the time he got here at the end of June he knew everyone. He knew the names of players he was meeting for the first time and he knew about their qualities.
"If Steven didn't play football he'd be very successful at something else. He could have been a professor.
"He's so articulate and bright. He could have made a success of anything. He made a pretty good decision becoming a footballer but he's a pretty sharp guy."
I've now spent a solid 5 minutes lamenting the fact that I never had Steven Gerrard as a professor. But I digress. According to Arena, the transition to L.A. was incredibly smooth for Gerrard:
"He was fully prepared. We've had other players in the past where the transition of moving their families was a major chore. With him it was already done. It was so smooth it was ridiculous.
"We'd already secured him when I went to Liverpool. It took one phone call. It was remarkable.
"For whatever reason, he knew his time was up at Liverpool and he was fully secure and comfortable with that decision and he was going to make his next move.
"LA was a great fit for him and David Beckham having been here put us in a very favorable position. The recruitment of Steven was so easy. It didn't take months of hard work. We had what he was looking for."
For us Liverpool faithful, it's still a strange sight not seeing Gerrard in that #8 on the pitch, but it seems like his decision to move Stateside has been a great one so far. In his six appearances, he has a goal and three assists. The Galaxy currently top MLS's Western Conference by a point with one game in hand.
