Netflix to the Rescue? Steven Gerrard May Avoid the Axe Thanks to Saudi Pro League Documentary
It’s been 15 months since Steven Gerrard took the reigns at Saudi Pro League side Al Ettifaq. Last season, he guided his players to a modest 6th-place finish. With the team strengthened in various departments over the summer, the expectations were that Al Ettifaq would take it up a notch higher this season. However, after ten rounds of fixtures of the 2024-25 Saudi Pro League season, Al Ettifaq are languishing in 12th, with the fans demanding a change in the coaching department and Gerrard on the brink of getting fired.
Despite that, Gerrard might just escape the sack (at least for now) as he’s featured heavily in the upcoming “Saudi Pro League: Kickoff” Netflix documentary set to premiere on November 21st. The documentary chronicles the daily lives of some of the most recognizable faces of the Saudi Pro League, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Karim Benzema, and Steven Gerrard.
An insider has opined that Al Ettifaq may hold off on making a decision about Gerrard’s future before the documentary’s release, saying, “It would be a bit embarrassing to sack Steven Gerrard around the time Netflix releases a documentary glorifying all things about our league. But he needs some positive results.”
With just one point in the last seven fixtures, Gerrard will hope that the reprieve offered by the Netflix documentary’s publicity window will give him enough time to steady the ship and start churning out positive results.
The Al Etiifaq squad is stacked with talent, including Wijnaldum, Fofana, Medran, Vitinho, Toko-Ekambi, and Demarai Gray. The feeling among observers is that such a talented squad could deliver positive results with the right coaching. The situation mirrors Gerrard’s Aston Villa who were languishing in 17th place at the time of his firing and are now in the Champions League after Unai Emery took over and turned their season around.
