Steven Gerrard will forever be assured of legend status at Liverpool for his incredible exploits as a player in his 17 seasons at Anfield, but his reputation is rather less glowing at his current club Al-Ettifaq.
Now into his second campaign with the Saudi Pro League outfit, they finished a respectable sixth last term but are presently stuck in a sorry rut, having now gone six games without a win and been dumped out of the national cup by a team from a lower division in that sequence.
The 44-year-old infuriated supporters when he recently admitted that he schedules training sessions around Reds matches, and his tenure hit a new low at the weekend.
Gerrard booed by his own team’s fans
Al-Ettifaq were beaten 0-2 at home by Al-Qadsiah on Saturday to leave them languishing in 11th place, and the supporters who stuck around for the full match made their feelings known at the full-time whistle.
Gerrard respectfully applauded the fans who were still in the stadium but that goodwill wasn’t reciprocated, with loud boos ringing aroung the ground in response as the Dammam faithful vented their fury, with some in the sands gesticulating angrily.
Gerrard struggling while Alonso shines
The Liverpudlian formed a breathtaking midfield axis with Xabi Alonso when they were teammates at Anfield in the 2000s, but their respective fortunes in the dugout have taken rather contrasting directions.
Gerrard won an unbeaten Premiership title at Rangers in 2020/21 but his subsequent spells at Aston Villa and Al-Ettifaq have seen his stock plummet from those Ibrox heights.
Alonso also went an entire league season without defeat, achieving that remarkable feat with Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga earlier this year, and he found himself widely touted to take over from Jurgen Klopp in the spring before he reiterated his commitment to the reigning German champions.
While the Spaniard will pit his wits against Liverpool in the Champions League on Tuesday night, his former teammate currently seems light years away from managing in Europe’s premier club competition.
It’s unpleasant to see Gerrard having such a tough time of it in Saudi Arabia, and hopefully he can revive his managerial career wherever he ends up next.
You can view the footage of Gerrard being booed below, via @Az97ii on X:
Steven Gerrard mercilessly booed by AI-Ettifaq fans #Alettifaq_Alqadsiah #SPL #LFC pic.twitter.com/iCxfIhq5RE
— الرڡىٯ عىدالله (@Az97ii) November 2, 2024
