Steven Gerrard leaves Saudi stars utterly perplexed as fans compare him to Tony Adams
Football fans are in stitches after footage from Steven Gerrard's first Al-Ettifaq training session emerged showing the Liverpool legend struggling to communicate with his non-English-speaking stars
For most non-Liverpudlians Steven Gerrard is hard to understand at the best of times, so spare a thought for all the Saudi Arabian stars in his Al-Ettifaq squad.
Gerrard became the latest high-profile name to be lured to the gulf after agreeing to become Al-Ettifaq's new head coach earlier this month.
As part of his unveiling, the club released a video of a hilariously wooden Gerrard awkwardly saying hello to fans. The message was in Arabic, suggesting the Liverpool legend had plans to adopt the native language, but if footage from his first training session is anything to go by, that isn't the case at all.
One clip shows Gerrard baffling one of his non-English-speaking players by asking him if he wants the ball. The player, who is off camera, eventually gestures for a pass, to which Gerrard responds: "Tell me then!"
READ MORE: Old clip re-emerges of Tony Adams' bizarre training dance after signing up for Strictly
After a period of excruciatingly awkward silence, the ex-England midfielder turns to offer the ball to another player before, rather harshly, slamming the initial player for having "no communication".
Fans on social media likened the clip to a similar one of Tony Adams during the ex-Arsenal skipper's miserable stint in charge of La Liga side Granada in 2017.
Like Gerrard, Adams opts to try and communicate with his non-English-speaking stars via use of comical gesturing, and ended up accidentally (we assume) busting out some 'impressive' dad-like dance moves.
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"Gerrard is the new Tony Adams, love it," tweeted one fan. Another wrote: "I forgot, Tony Adams walked so Gerrard memes could run."
A third joked: "Gerrard is working out that most of his players don't speak English, which is just as well because he can barely speak English either."
Given the distinct lack of English-speakers in the squad it's little surprise to see Al-Ettifaq line up a move for Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson, who is understood to have agreed personal terms with the club.
The 33-year-old's importance to Jurgen Klopp's side is on the wane and with the arrivals of both Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai this month, Henderson's place in the first team is no longer secure.