JOHN ARNE RIISE used to train 21 times a week as a child, running through snow and ice for an hour each morning to find the extra edge that might help to turn him into a professional footballer.
He packed 35 slices of bread in his school lunchbox; he knew his day would be long and he would not return home until late as he completed his day with another 60-minute long run.
Then there were school matches, hill runs outside his family home and everything else in between.
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In short, Riise had a pretty good idea what it would take for him to not just succeed as a footballer, but to be a successful one.
His Champions League, Ligue 1, FA Cup and League Cup winners medals would later attest to that.
His vantage point on the game comes from a climb to the top that took in spells at Monaco, Liverpool and AS Roma and lasted more than two decades. He remains well placed to survey the modern landscape.
It is why he has a confidence in Steven Gerrard’s abilities as a football manager.
Riise, now a BeIn Sport TV pundit, says he always had an inkling his former Anfield team-mate would become a manager.
And he was not surprised when Gerrard, with whom he stood shoulder to shoulder on the night Liverpool lifted the Champions League in Istanbul, took up the hotseat at Ibrox last year.
This week Riise has been coaching as part of the Generation Amazing programme, a Qatar World Cup initiative that seeks to introduce young people from countries such as Jordan, Nepal and Pakistan to football as a means of problem solving.
And he hints at some of the unique challenges Gerrard has faced at Ibrox and says it is unfair to judge his progress on trophies alone.
“I accept some people will point to the fact Stevie hasn’t won a trophy yet but you have to look at the whole picture because Celtic have been the dominant team in Scotland for many years now,” said Riise.
“But he likes that challenge and that’s why he went to Rangers.
“And remember that he is only one part of it – the club also must do whatever it can to help him achieve his aim. When he went to Rangers I’m sure he knew the backing he would get.”
Gerrard’s side passed up their best opportunity yet to end the wait for a trophy in last Sunday’s Betfred Cup final defeat by Celtic at Hampden. But Riise believes his formercaptain will continue to demand their all from his players.
“I know what he wants from his players and what he expects when it comes to professionalism in training and in matches.
“He’s done exceptionally well and I hope he wins the title this year. They look strong at the moment but the key games are against Celtic. They have to try to win those matches because Celtic won’t lose too many.”
That Betfred defeat and the nature of it suggested Rangers have narrowed the gap on their SPFL Premiership title rivals but Celtic manager Neil Lennon might well point to mitigating circumstances such as only having a half-fit Odsonne Edouard available to him.
Riise, nevertheless, believes Gerrard remains the man to oversee it.
“Being a great player like he was doesn’t mean you are necessarily going to be a great manager but he’s learning and has great people around him,” he said.
“The way he speaks makes you want to fight for him.
“I knew from day one he’d be a manager.”
During his Liverpool days it is said Gerrard gauged a player on his early training sessions at Melwood, firing passes at new arrivals to work out if they had the first touch to prosper at the club. Riise was no exception.
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“There’s a saying in England ‘pace in the pass’. Coming from Norway and having played in France before joining Liverpool, I wasn’t used to that.
“I remember my first training session and from five yards Stevie smashed a ball at me!
“It was a pass but it had such pace on it and he just said to me ‘Pace on the pass, kid’.
"He was always just so professional and had such high standards,”added the Norwegian.
Gerrard will be hoping now that his team can pick up some pace themselves as they begin the turn for home.
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