Didi Hamann was shocked to hear of Steven Gerrard's plans to embark on a career in managing, but is fully supportive of his former teammate becoming the manager of Liverpool one day. Gerrard took over at Rangers in 2018 after spending a year in the Liverpool Academy and is now about to take on his first full season as Aston Villa boss.
Gerrard 's three years in Scotland led to great success after winning Rangers their first Scottish Premier League title in a decade. Bitter rivals Celtic were on a streak of nine in a row and the former Liverpool captain put a stop to that - much to the pleasure of the Rangers fans.
Hamann was a team-mate of Gerrard's for seven years at Anfield and won everything there is to be won together - apart from the Premier League title. Both players played a huge role in Liverpool securing their the club's fifth European Cup in that famous match in 2005.
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Since becoming a manager, Gerrard's name has often been mentioned alongside Liverpool - it seems like he will be one of the huge favourites to replace Jurgen Klopp when he decides his time is up. The German signing a new contract until 2026 may be a big help for Gerrard - who needs to build his career even further at Aston Villa.
It is already obvious Gerrard has pulling power as a manager with the likes of Philippe Coutinho joining Villa from Barcelona. If the offer of being Liverpool's manager came along, Hamann believes it would be too much for Gerrard to turn down.
" I have to say that I never really had him down as a manager," Hamann said in an exclusive interview with the Liverpool ECHO. "There were other players who thought more about the game, I don’t want to say were more interested. With him, everything was so natural, there was a lot of instinct in his game because he just knew the positions where he needed to pick up to be dangerous.
"There were deeper thinkers in the squads I’d played in than him. Taking the step to Scotland was a bold and brave move, but I think it was the right move. Obviously, he did well there. I think he’s doing a fantastic job – he brings young players through and develops them. I think he said he wouldn’t want to take over straight after Klopp because the boots would be too big to fill.
"Again, it’s a matter of timing. You need to see how it goes at Villa. It would be a great story, but then again, you’ve seen Liverpool heroes come back and not do so well. I don’t want to say he could ruin his legacy. He hasn’t got failure on his mind. If he got the chance to be Liverpool's manager then I think it’d be too big to turn down. He’s been such an important figure for the club."
The day will eventually arrive when Klopp is no longer the manager of Liverpool, luckily for Reds fans, that won't be happening for at least another four years. With Klopp stating once before that he doesn't want to be managing in his later life, could an international job come next?
" Of course he could (manage Germany), but we’ve just got a new manager now and he’s doing well. I think he said when he finishes at Liverpool, he doesn’t want to do anything for a year," added Hamann.
"It’s all about circumstances and being at the right time because we have a manager now and he could be manager for the next six to eight years. It’s a question of timing. But, if you ask people now who they want as manager that isn’t Flick then I think Klopp would get a huge majority."
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