During his playing career, Steven Gerrard was considered one of the greatest midfielders in Europe.The Liverpool legend played for more than 700 times for the Reds before spending his final two years in America with Los Angeles Galaxy.But, right now, he’s back at Liverpool.Last month, it was announced that he would be the club’s new Under 18 manager for next season. Imagine being 17 or 18-years-old in Liverpool’s academy and learning your trade from Gerrard.Although he’s hung up his boots, Gerrard still has bags of ability. We saw that back in March when Liverpool legends took on Real Madrid legends at Anfield, winning 4-3. Gerrard scored a fantastic volley and, in general, ran the show.And he produced the goods once again when LFC staff took on the RAF.Gerrard scored a hat-trick in the friendly match and rounded it off with a celebratory knee slide before thumping his chest passionately in front of the Under 18 players that he will be coaching next season.That’s how you do it, lads.

Watch: Gerrard's hat-trick

Take a look:

And those that saw his celebration took to Twitter to react:

Gerrard on his time at Melwood

After being appointed as U18 manager, Gerrard explained how much he’s enjoyed working at Melwood so far.

"I have really enjoyed my time at the academy so far and feel I have learnt a lot from the coaching staff here already," Gerrard said.

"After speaking to Alex (Inglethorpe, academy director), we feel as though it is time for me to step up and manage my own team.

"Neil has done a fantastic job with the under-18s, so I hope I can continue where he left off, encouraging and nurturing players into the under-23s and eventually the first-team set-up."

Klopp on Gerrard's coaching

And he’s certainly got the backing of one man - Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.

“It’s a fantastic thing that he wants to be a manager in the future," said Klopp last month. "He has all he needs to be a good one.

"When I saw the excitement in Steven’s eyes I was really happy about giving him this fantastic opportunity.

“Starting at a club like Liverpool is a fantastic opportunity - but not all former world class players are ready to do this. It’s the classic win-win situation. For the youth players it’s a fantastic opportunity to work with him.

“My door is always open, he knows that. He will be good.”