Featured Image Credit: The Overlap
Topics: Steven Gerrard, Liverpool, Football
Ryan Smart
Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard had zero doubts when naming the atmosphere he has experienced in world football that rivals Anfield.
Gerrard spent almost his entire career at Liverpool between 1998 and 2015, before joining Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy for a season pre-retirement.
The midfielder did play outside of Europe at the 2005 Club World Cup, which was held in Tokyo, Japan.
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There, Rafael Benitez's side took on Costa Rican side Saprissa before losing to Brazilian giants Sao Paulo in the final.
Liverpool earned a spot in that tournament through winning the 2005 Champions League, a competition in which Gerrard faced off against Europe's best regularly throughout his career.
But as far as he is concerned, only one team's atmosphere could rival that of Anfield at its most intense.
While he was manager of Rangers, Gerrard named Ibrox as being 'up there with the best atmospheres I've played in' and made a direct comparison to that of Anfield.
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"That was up there with the best atmospheres I've played in, whether it be at Anfield or other stadiums," he said after a Europa League tie against Rapid Vienna in 2018.
"That was right up there alongside them. That noise last night was incredible. It was, 'Wow'. It was special. I was blessed as a player to have had that at Anfield for many, many years, we had many of those nights on a European level and sometimes domestically as well.
"Last night, that was what I came to Rangers for. I want to be involved in European games and I want my players to be involved in those games because that's what this club is about, big nights under the lights."
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Gerrard left Rangers in 2021 to join Aston Villa but is currently out of work after an unsuccessful spell at Al Ettifaq in the Saudi Pro League.
He was linked with a return to Ibrox following the sacking of Philippe Clement earlier this year, but the managerial job ultimately went to ex-Southampton boss Russell Martin.