"He said if he had the team and the directors behind him at Rangers, he could do it. When Jurgen Klopp decides to leave Liverpool, I think he will be very well-placed."
Riise spent seven years at Liverpool and he knew Gerrard was destined for the dugout.
"As a captain, Stevie didn't shout, he didn't even say a lot, but you saw him make one tackle, have one shot and it would make you believe.
"I wasn't surprised Stevie went into management. I knew Carra [Jamie Carragher] would go into punditry. Every morning he would come into training with 10 papers under his arm and he would read them all."
Klopp has impressed as Liverpool boss but is yet to win a trophy with the Reds (Image: GETTY)
Gerrard has won 16 of his 33 games in charge of Rangers (Image: GETTY)
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For now, Klopp is leading Liverpool on a title charge and Riise wishes he could have been in the current Anfield dressing room.
"I would have liked to have played in Klopp's team," he said. "It has more of an X Factor than the ones I played in.
"It is more fluid, there is more individual brilliance. Under Rafa Benitez we were more of a team. If you look at the Champions League final against Milan, player for player they were way better than us.
Riise played alongside Gerrard at Liverpool from 2001 until 2008 (Image: GETTY)
"We came from 3-0 down against probably the best defence in the world and, when we saw them arguing among themselves, I knew we were going to win.
"We had a team with real belief. I have a tattoo. It says: 'Believe in Yourself '. If you don't who will?"