The summer of 2023 marked 40 years since the most memorable
moment in the history of Al-Ettifaq, the green and red club based in
Dammam on the eastern shores of Saudi Arabia.
It was in the 1982-83 season that Al-Ettifaq made Saudi football
history, becoming the first team in the nation’s history to win the
league without a single defeat. It was the first league triumph for a
club that was until that point not considered one of Saudi Arabia’s
powerhouses, and it would be followed by only one more league title,
four years later.
The success of the 1980s shaped the identity of the club nicknamed
“Al-Nawkhada,” a nod to the ancient profession of Nawkhada, captains of
the traditional dhow boats that roamed the waters of the Arabian Gulf
for centuries, transporting goods between the Arabian Peninsula and
places like India, Iran and East Africa as well as carrying experienced
pearl divers on whose shoulders the fortunes of the region were built
long before the discovery of oil.
Coach Khalil Al-Zayani was the original Nawkhada, leading Al-Ettifaq to
their two league titles as well as guiding Saudi Arabia to their maiden
AFC Asian Cup trophy in 1984.
Four decades later, Steven Gerrard, a man who established his legendary
status in two iconic port cities thousands of miles away, in Liverpool
as a player and then in Glasgow as a coach, is hoping to become the new
Nawkhada in Saudi Arabia’s main port city of Dammam.
The former Liverpool captain says his journey to the Middle East began
six months before putting pen to paper at the Prince Mohammed bin Fahd
Stadium, when an icon of his former club’s fiercest rivals, Manchester
United, arrived in the Kingdom.
“The arrival of ‘The GOAT’ as we call him, Cristiano (Ronaldo), in
January (was) a huge signing. He still had a lot of football to offer,”
said Gerrard as he sat in front of the Roshn Saudi League cameras.
“So, from afar, for six months, I was looking in at Ronaldo’s results,
at the league, watching results and highlights. I think from that
moment, the league around the world had become a popular talking point
for everyone. After Ronaldo’s arrival, even more big-name signings,
talents and skillsets were joining the league.
“At the time, it coincided with me being out of the game and looking for
my next opportunity, so I was fascinated from afar looking in, and when
my agents brought a couple of opportunities from the Gulf area at the
time, I was fascinated to explore them.”
After a short trip to the Eastern Province where he explored the club
facilities, discussed with the board and learned about the history and
ambitions of the club hoping to restore their glory days and compete
with the established elite of the RSL, Gerrard’s mind was made up.
“The Ettifaq proposal and opportunity was the most exciting for me
because I’ve signed up to a club where the board are very passionate.
They understand where the club are, they understand it’s something
that’s going to need building, and it’s going to take time. That’s the
reason why I was very interested to analyze this one because in my job
you need time, especially when a club has finished seventh in the league
and so many points behind the top four, that’s not an easy fix; it’s
not something you fix in a week, a month, or six months. It’s a project
to build on the pitch, which is obviously the priority, but also a lot
of things needed to change around it to give the first team the support
it needs.”
In a summer when the RSL title challengers brought in the likes of
Neymar, Karim Benzema, Riyad Mahrez and Sadio Mane, Gerrard had the task
of rebuilding his squad, albeit not with the same resources or promise
of immediate success that the likes of Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr or Al-Ittihad
could offer.
The first port of call for the Scouser was the man who succeeded him in
wearing the Liverpool captain’s armband, Jordan Henderson, and for
Gerrard, the decision to bring his former teammate was a no-brainer.
“I think when you’re the coach, the manager, you want players going into
games that can be an extended version of the staff. People, who can
really help on-pitch coaching, where the team needs to be in terms of
distances, to make on-field decisions.
“Myself and Jordan (Henderson), we have that trust. We played together
and he’s a fantastic player still, a fantastic human being. For us, to
execute that signing was key and very important and I think a lot of the
other signings we made came on the back of Jordan agreeing to come
here. I think he wanted to still play, I think that was the key.
“He was at Liverpool at the time. He’s had a fantastic career, he’s
achieved everything at that club, he’s been a fantastic servant to
Liverpool Football Club, but I think in the previous months, maybe him
not being a regular starter in the team, when you get to that age.
“I’ve been there myself under Brendan Rodgers. When you’re the captain,
you play all the games, then all of a sudden you’re on the bench or
you’re not getting as many minutes as you’d like, and that’s when you
analyze and think about the different challenges, and when we knew it
was a possibility, I wanted to be aggressive and wanted that to be my
first signing, because for me it was a no-brainer.
“Still a fantastic player, he’s a leader, an on-pitch coach,” Gerrard
added. “His standards on how he lives his daily life on and off the
pitch is good for our young players to see, watch and learn. Jordan
understands the size of the project, that it’s not a quick fix. He wants
to be part of the journey and building it with us, but he was a very
important signing at a key time.”
With one former Liverpool player signed, attention turned to another
member of the 2019 UEFA Champions League winning side’s midfield.
Dutchman Giorgino Wijnaldum had just returned to Paris Saint-Germain
following a disappointing loan spell at AS Roma where his single season
under Jose Mourinho was plagued by an injury that kept him out of the
side for over half of the 2022-23 campaign.
“Gini (Wijnaldum) recently hasn’t played as much football as he would
have liked,” said Gerrard. “He had an injury where he broke his leg, and
his last couple of experiences haven’t brought him football happiness,
so he was looking to play regular football, he wanted to smile again, to
feel an important part of the team and we could give him that platform.
“He’s got many similarities to Jordan in terms of leadership,
professionalism. He’s a winner, a different type to Jordan in terms of
style, but they complement each other very well and I’ve seen that
firsthand being a Liverpool fan for many years. We’re looking for that
combination, we’re looking for that leadership and we’re looking for
them to play those key roles in terms of presence and contribution on
the pitch.
Looking for further additions to enable his squad to compete at the top,
Gerrard was in pursuit of an established goalscorer and he looked no
further than a man with connections to his former Old Firm rivals
Celtic.
“I watched Moussa Dembele for many years up in Scotland when he played
for Celtic and competed against him, so I’ve seen him live and up close a
lot of times. He’s a goalscorer, he scores important goals. He’s a box
player, he gives you profile, he gives you strength, structure and I
think it’s important to have a focal point in your team as your forward
and Moussa gives us that.
“Bringing the likes of Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum, Moussa Dembele
and Jack Hendry, it was important they were the right characters. The
right people to also support us and give us a good core strength in the
dressing room.”
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