Steven Gerrard set for SURPRISE Liverpool return

Steven Gerrard’s most recent head coaching role at Al Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia’s Pro League ended on January 29.

It was officially announced that the Liverpool midfield icon had left the club by “mutual consent” to conclude an unhappy spell in the Middle East.

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Gerrard, 44, failed to leave his mark on the Saudi side and had a win rate barely above 39 percent when he departed.

He brought in ex-Liverpool stars Gini Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson to aid his quest following his appointment in summer 2023 but it was to little avail.

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The ex-England international was even criticised by key figures in the region for his admission that he and his coaching staff scheduled Al Ettifaq sessions around Liverpool matches.

Gerrard linked with coaching roles

And after Gerrard left he was immediately linked with coaching posts back in his native UK.

First came the reports suggesting that League Two’s Carlisle United were seeking to appoint him as manager and more recently it was suggested he could be on his way back to Rangers.

Neither of those came to pass, however, and the wait goes on for Gerrard’s next top coaching job. In the meantime, he is unexpectedly available for Liverpool’s legends match against Chelsea later this month as a result of his Al Ettifaq departure.

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The club have confirmed that the Champions League-winning captain will lead the side set to lock horns with Chelsea legends on Saturday, March 22 at Anfield.

This year marks 20 years since the Reds’ Champions League final victory in Istanbul against Milan and that campaign featured a notorious semi-final win against the Blues courtesy of a Luis Garcia ghost goal.

Gerrard will lead out a team including Sami Hyypia, Martin Skrtel, Peter Crouch and Dirk Kuyt while Chelsea will feature the likes of Gary Cahill, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Frank Sinclair.

Gerrard BACK at Anfield

“Funds raised from the game will support LFC Foundation’s health programmes, which are helping tackle health inequalities across the Liverpool City Region by providing physical and mental wellbeing programmes for people of all ages,” a report on the club’s website reads.

All proceeds from the game will go to the LFC Foundation, Forever Reds, the Chelsea Foundation and the Chelsea Players’ Trust.

The previous Liverpool legends games have raised more than £7.5 million, helping the LFC Foundation support 127,000 people last year. And Gerrard will be hoping to mark his surprise Anfield return with a victory.

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