ayer profile Steven Gerrard is a great leader, strong in tackle, can hit the ball at ferocious speed, has good vision, scores great goals, makes brilliant passes and has it all, simply. There is no doubt that Stevie G ranks among the elite of Liverpool FC, right at the top with the likes of Billy Liddell and Kenny Dalglish. Gerrard started out with his local team, Whiston Juniors, until he was noticed by Liverpools scouts at eight years of age. He wasnt selected to attend Lilleshall, the National football and sports centre, mainly due to his lack of height. When he was 15, he was the same height as Michael Owen, but his sudden growth caused problems in his back restricted him to only playing 20 games from 14 years of age to 16. Gerrard got his breakthrough into the Liverpool team in 1998 when Jamie Redknapp got injured. New manager Gérard Houllier had inherited the key player to his Anfield revolution. Gerrard played 13 games, but his physical condition was still restricting his progress. The first instance that convinced Liverpool fans worldwide that the boy was something special was a heroic display in his first Merseyside derby in only his ninth appearance for the club. He featured as a right-back and made two goal-line clearances as Liverpool successfully protected their lead. Finally the England set-up took notice. He was nominated captain of the u-18 side and made his debut for the u-21s in September 1999. Houllier trusted the 19-year-old to begin the 1999/00 season in the starting line-up alongside Redknapp and promised him at least 20 games. Didi Hamann took his place eight games into the campaign in the Merseyside derby and disappointed Gerrard came on as a substitute. He lost his composure at the end of the match and was sent off for an ugly foul and was banned for three games. Gerrard returned stronger than before, determined to prove himself and his first goal for the club, against Sheffield Wednesday on 5 December 1999 proved to be spectacular. “A wonderful talent, a young man with the steel of a Stiles and the style of a Souness” – as Ric George described him in the Liverpool Echo – “side- stepped, danced and dribbled past three defenders before finishing decisively. He also proved his versatility as in one year he had played as a left-back, right-back, defensive and offensive midfielder and right-winger. On 31 May 2000 Gerrard made his international debut, aged 20 years and one day, in a 2-0 win against Ukraine at Wembley. A relative newcomer to the England squad Gerrard only made one substitute appearance in Euro 2000 when he came on for Michael Owen in a win over Germany. Kevin Keegans England team only recorded this one win and failed to qualify from their group. The boy had sure come far in a short period of time and his career rose rapidly in the 2000/01 season. He made 50 appearances for Liverpool, won the League Cup and FA Cup and scored a goal, which he ranks as one of his most memorable, in the brilliant 5-4 win over Alaves in the UEFA Cup final. Gerrard was named the Professional Footballers Associations Young Player of the Year. Liverpool, under the guidance of Houllier, continued its progress in the League and finished second in the 2001/02 season, seven points behind Arsenal. Gerrard was ruled out of Englands World Cup squad in the summer through injury. Liverpools form dropped considerably the next two years. Despite these setbacks Gerrards influence had grown and on 15 October 2003 he was made captain of Liverpool Football Club, a dream come true for the boyhood Red: I was captain of my school side and I used to go along to Anfield to watch the team. I used to watch Barnes with the captains armband and dream that one day it would be me captaining the team I love. Rafa Benítez took over in 2004 and in a season of reconstruction Gerrard elevated his status in the minds of Liverpool supporters when his tremendous goal against Olympiacos guaranteed his teams process from the group stages of the Champions League in front of a packed Kop. Gerrards header nine minutes into the second half in Istanbul inspired an unlikely comeback that can be arguably called the greatest ever. What immediately followed no-one could have imagined. Liverpools Chief Executive, Rick Parry, had told Gerrard that the club were going to renew his contract in the summer. Liverpool remained unresponsive and Chelsea with all its riches tempted Gerrard to leave for London. He later said in his autobiography it was the lowest point in his career. I renew my deal with Liverpool in four or five years and when I do I would like Stevie to be my next coach, assistant manager and maybe even the next manager after me. He can even have the chief scout position if he wants it. - Rafa in July 2005. Gerrard scored 20+ goals for Liverpool for the first time in the 2005/06 season and it was real Roy of the Rovers stuff for him when Liverpool faced West Ham in the 2006 FA Cup final. Gerrard scored with a stunning volley in the fifty-fourth minute to make it 2-2 and when West Ham seemed certain to lift the cup, being 3-2 up with time running out, he scored from a long way out because as he said his feet could not carry him any further; an incredibly audacious effort by the captain. Liverpool won the FA Cup after a penalty shoot-out. Gerrard was recognised by his professionals as the best player in the Premier League that season. Gerrard featured for Sven- Göran Erikssons England in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, playing five games and scoring in two consecutive games against Trinidad and Tobago and Sweden. He missed a penalty as England was eliminated by Portugal in a penalty shoot-out in the quarter-finals. Liverpools talisman had another stunning season in 2006/07, playing in 52 out of a maximum 59 competitive matches. His goal-tally reached double figures for the fifth successive season. As autumn turned into winter, Gerrard scored in six successive home matches in League and cup and during the same period he also scored a stunning free-kick up at Newcastle. But his most productive day goal-wise was when Luton Town came up to Anfield for an FA Cup third round replay. Gerrard had not even made the squad for the original tie in Bedfordshire but in the replay he scored a hat-trick in 17 second-half minutes to ensure that there would be no big cup upset. Like the rest of his club colleagues, Gerrard put the disappointment of losing the Champions League final in Athens behind him as Liverpool prepared for another season. Newspaper speculation again linked Liverpools skipper with a big-money move to Chelsea in the summer of 2007. However, as he and Jamie Carragher signed new deals on 4 June 2007 to keep both players at Anfield for four more years, this matter was finally put to rest. Gerrard continued to be a hugely influential player for Liverpool in both 2007/08 and 2008/09, two years in which he added another 96 first-team appearances to an already impressive total. He also added another 45 goals. He scored twice as Real Madrid were humbled at Anfield in the last 16 in the Champions League, but he was unable to prevent Liverpool losing to Chelsea in the next round, the second leg of which he missed because of injury. Costly draws proved Liverpools downfall in wrestling the championship from Manchester United in 2009. It was, however, the first time that Gerrard had been involved in a really serious Liverpool challenge for the much-coveted title and his talent was evident enough for Football Writers to vote him the best player of the season. There was something vital missing in Gerrards game in the 2009/10 season. He knew that the team was expected to kick on from the second place it had achieved in 2009 and win the ultimate prize. His extraordinary ability to get the team out of a hole, something he had done countless times in the previous ten years, was suddenly waning. He only missed seven matches so he was as much a regular in the first team as he had usually been. His contribution in terms of goals, just 12, was exactly half that of the previous season and his lowest for three years. Liverpools finest was named captain of the England team when injury ruled Rio Ferdinand out of the World Cup in 2010. He responded by netting Englands first goal against the United States; but it was a lead he and his colleagues were unable to hold on to. He played in all four of Englands matches including the one in the last 16 when Germany humbled them. In 2010/11 Gerrard played in the fewest number of competitive matches, just 24 out of 54, since his first full season of 1999/00. This was partly because of an injury he received against Manchester United at Anfield in March. United were prominent in Gerrards season. The skipper scored twice at Old Trafford in September and his brace looked like rescuing a point until Berbatovs late winner. Back at Old Trafford in January in the FA Cup as Dalglish returned to the dugout, Gerrard was sent off by Howard Webb. Gerrard said after his successful groin operation that he hadnt felt as good for a decade as 2011/12 started. However, injuries restricted Gerrard to only 28 appearances. Gerrard still showed glimpses of world class talent, especially when scoring an Anfield hat-trick against Everton in March. He was also fit enough to lead the team out in both the domestic cup finals at Wembley. His joy in lifting Liverpools first cup for six years was for all to see. In the middle of May Roy Hodgson named Gerrard as outright captain of the 23-man squad for the European Championships in which he was his countrys key player. As the 32-year-old embarked on a new season under Brendan Rodgers he claimed he was not yet prepared to play in a deeper role in Liverpools midfield, aiming to prove he is as dynamic as ever. Lucas injury at the start of 2012/13 forced Gerrard to defend more than attack, being unable to showcase his talents in the final third of the field where he is the most effective. On 14 November 2012 Gerrard became the sixth Englishman to reach a century of caps for his country joining the illustrious group of Billy Wright, Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore, Peter Shilton and David Beckham. As Liverpool has progressed under Rodgers Gerrard has been gaining strength and provided quite a few assists for his teammates. A shoulder injury and the subsequent surgery on it prevented Gerrard from playing in every Premier League match in 2012/13. Despite missing the last two League matches against Fulham and Queens Park Rangers, he still made more first-team appearances than any other player. Ten goals was a respectable total for the season, the first time he had achieved double figures since 2009/10; and he will start the 2013/14 season needing only two more goals to complete a century in the Premier League. As should be Gerrard has the last word: I know it sounds hollow talking about dreams and prizes when footballers earn all the money we do, but the things Ive got at home, the medals and memorabilia, they mean more to me than extra noughts in my bank account. Lifting the Champions League trophy above my head as the captain of my team, its something that lives with you forever. People have this image of footballers now, driving flash cars, leading incredible lifestyles, having all that glamour. But there are sacrifices too, big ones through all your young life if you want any chance of making it. Behind the glitz Ive had to give a hell of a lot of blood and sweat over the years, some tears as well. When you get that trophy above your head, and you get that feeling in your head, that buzz, that sense of being alive, then it is all worth it, believe
Posted on: Sat, 23 Nov 2013 17:23:02 +0000
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