Stadium overview of Liverpool FC Anfield stadium
Stadium overview of Liverpool FC Anfield stadium
Former players moving into management is now a familiar route in football. The results vary widely.
Xabi Alonso is one of the most prominent recent examples.
He led Bayer Leverkusen to an unbeaten Bundesliga and German Cup double in 2023-24, left Real Madrid by mutual agreement in January after seven months, and took charge at Chelsea in July on a four-year contract.
His start at Stamford Bridge has been uneven. Chelsea lost 3-0 at Brentford in September, then beat Bournemouth 5-1 and won 2-0 at Everton on Saturday to move into fourth place.
Steven Gerrard won the Scottish Premiership unbeaten with Rangers in 2020-21, but he has not managed since leaving Saudi side Al-Ettifaq in January 2025.
He works as a TNT Sports pundit and has been linked with Wrexham.
Another former Liverpool player is now trying to find his way into the dugout, and he says it is far from easy.
Steven Caulker, 34, is out of work after a 17-year playing career. He described his situation in a LinkedIn post on Sunday.
“Being unemployed is stressful,” he wrote. He said he is used to the rollercoaster of emotions, but that this does not make it any easier.
Caulker said he is applying for jobs for which he has all the qualifications but cannot get an interview. He called that painful, but said it does not mean he should panic.
“Applying for jobs for which I have all the qualifications yet am unable to get even an interview hurts, but that does not mean I should panic.”
He said the harder part is turning down the offers that do come his way but do not fit his goals. He added that staying calm matters and that “adding some kind of structure to my day certainly helps.”
Caulker said he had just finished a morning run and felt good afterwards.
His last job was assistant manager at Turkish Super Lig club Konyaspor. He left on September 10, announcing that he had decided to step down.
He joined the club in February as part of head coach İlhan Palut’s staff. Konyaspor reached the Turkish Cup final and lost to Trabzonspor in May.
Steven Caulker came through Tottenham Hotspur’s youth system and joined Liverpool on loan from Queens Park Rangers in January 2016. He made his debut as a substitute against Arsenal at Anfield and played three more games under Jurgen Klopp.
He also scored for England, captained Sierra Leone and played at the Olympics. He retired from playing at 33, saying he wanted to focus full-time on coaching.
Before Konyaspor, he spent time as player-manager of Spanish side FC Malaga City. He resigned from that role because of delays to his work visa.
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