Liverpool ‘Hero’ ; Steven Gerrard

saurav kandel


Steven Gerrard or Stevie G as he’s widely known as an English professional footballer who plays for Liverpool. Born in Whiston, Merseyside on the 30th May 1980, Gerrard was born and brought up in Liverpool and is lucky enough to have played for his beloved club who he supported as a youngster for his whole career thus far.

Gerrard started out playing for hometown team Whiston Juniors, where he was noticed by Liverpool scouts and he was picked up and was playing for the youth academy at the age of 9. However a serious injury whilst playing football with his friends could have ultimately ended his career before it begun. A young Steven Gerrard kicked his football into a bush full of nettles and tried to kick it out but accidentally kicked a garden fork which ended up going through his trainers and straight into his big toe. The doctor who Gerrard went to see said that he thinks he might have to get his big toe off but thankfully for him and English football, physiologist Mark Waller said he didn’t need to, and one of the greatest English Footballer’s for generations was allowed to come through the Liverpool ranks.

Gerrard made his Liverpool first-team debut on 29 November 1998 in a Premier League match against Blackburn Rovers as a last-minute substitute for Vegard Heggem. He made thirteen appearances in his debut season, filling in for injured captain Jamie Redknapp in centre-midfield. He also occasionally played on the right wing, but he scarcely contributed in the short on-pitch time he received, due to nervousness affecting his play. Gerrard recalled in a November 2008 interview with The Guardian, "I was out of position and out of my depth." The Liverpool hierarchy nonetheless remained convinced that he would improve. Gerrard saw himself as a defensive player primarily, looking to make key tackles rather than push the team forward.
Growing up, he had many injury problems mainly with his back and groin. His troublesome back problems stemmed from a growth spurt which turned quite a small-framed boy into a 6ft 1 teenager.He made his first appearance in England colours against Ukraine at Wembley in May 2000 and has been an integral part of the English squad ever since. His first goal for England was a rasping 25 yard shot which gave Oliver Kahn no chance, in the famous 5-1 demolition of Germany in September 2001 and as these ongoing injury problems were plaguing his development, they were also hindering his international career, and while England qualified for the World Cup, Gerrard was forced to pull out of the squad due to his ongoing groin problems.

He was given the captain's armband first in October 2003 by Gerard Houllier and has captained the Reds regularly ever since. He wears the No.8 jersey for the Reds and No.4 for England. He first captained England against Sweden in 2004, and led the side five times in 2007. When Steve McLaren took over from Sven Goran Eriksson in August 2006, he named Gerrard vice captain of the national team.A leader par excellence, the man gives nothing less than 100% when he is on the pitch. Fans voted him the " Nationwide Player of the Year '' in 2007.
Gerrard’s own lionesses, wife Alex Curran and daughters Lily-Ella and Lexie keep him level-headed off the pitch. Gerrard married his childhood sweetheart at the Cliveden mansion in Buckinghamshire on 16 June 2007. Initially he was rejected by Alex when he asked her out for the very first time, as he thought he would get his friend to ask her for him and she replied, “If he wants to ask me out he can do it himself”.
Gerrard has scored in nearly every major final that he has appeared in for Liverpool, proving that he is somebody to be relied upon in big match occasions. Prominent among them is the headed goal against AC Milan in the Champions League final in 2005, which kickstarted Liverpool's amazing comeback and the last minute stunning 35 yard equaliser against West Ham in the FA Cup 2006 Final. He was also on the scoresheet in the 2001 UEFA Cup final against Alaves and the 2003 League Cup final against arch rivals Manchester United. He is also remembered for his crucial 25 yard strike against Olympiakos in the Champions League which assured the Reds of a place in the last 16 of Europe's most prestigious club competition. While Ian Rush still holds most of Liverpool's scoring records, Gerrard is the club's highest scorer in Europe.
Considered as Liverpool's prized asset by many, Gerrard is the pivot around which the Merseysiders revolve and his combination with Fernando Torres saw the latter score over 20 goals in his debut season . Given his versatility and consistency, it comes as no surprise that he is regarded as one of the best midfielders ever to grace the football pitch. Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry has even stated his desire to keep Gerrard lifelong at Anfield.
With the ever growing Gerrard a recognised world class performer he even has many personal accolades to go with this claim. He has won several awards – the PFA young player of the year in 2001, the most valuable player in the Champions League in 2004-05 and PFA player of the year in 2006. He came third behind Ronaldinho and Frank Lampard in the poll for the prestigious Ballon D’Or (European Footballer of the Year) in 2005. In December 2006, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of his services to the game. In the last five seasons, he has never failed to make it to the PFA Team of the Year. He received an honorary fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University on 26 July 2008 as recognition for his contribution to sport.
After eleven years in the first team growing in stature as he gets older he has recently made his 500th appearance for Liverpool and manager Rafael Benitez says he thinks Gerrard could go on to make another 200 or 300 appearances for the club. Although Gerrard’s loyalty seems unquestionable, there have been difficult times where he has had to think about what would be best for his career.

After a trophy-less 2003–04 season, Gerrard was linked with a move to Chelsea during the off-season. He admitted he was not, “Happy with the progress Liverpool has made,” and that “for the first time in my career I’ve thought about the possibility of moving on.” In the end, Gerrard turned down a £20 million offer from Chelsea to stay with Liverpool and new coach Rafael Benítez.

This turned out to be a good decision as the new manager’s first season ended with a UEFA Champions League trophy, and although Liverpool finished 5th, a memorable victory over A.C Milan after coming from 3-0 down meant that Gerrard had his hands on the most prestigious trophy in club football. Gerrard scored in this game to begin the comeback and he rallied his troops to complete a memorable comeback.

In 2006 Gerrard scored one of the most amazing goals that will ever be seen in a Cup final, in the F.A cup against West Ham. 93 minutes in, 3-2 down, after already scoring one, Gerrard scores a screamer from 35 yards and pulls Liverpool level, then proceeds in scoring a penalty in the penalty shootout and helping to win the F.A cup for his beloved team.

Gerrard’s inspirational performances are down to hard work and his own inspiration, cousin, Jon-Paul Gilhooley, who tragically died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster when Gerrard was just 8 years old. His cousin’s family drove him on to become the player he is today.
At the end of the 2013-14 season, Gerrard had made 475 appearances for Liverpool F.C and scored 111 goals. The 2013-14 season was also one of the most successful for Liverpool, though they ended up losing first place in the Premier League after letting it slip in the last couple of games.

After receiving 114 caps for the England senior team, Gerrard retired from the national team after the 2014 World Cup, where England were knocked out in the qualifying round.
A versatile and well-rounded player who is regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation, Gerrard is capable of playing in a number of positions. A hardworking box-to-box player, he is usually deployed as a central midfielder, but he has also been used as a second striker, a holding midfielder, an attacking midfielder, a right back, and a right winger.

Gerrard began his professional career as a wide midfielder on the right, although he did not excel in this position as he had a tendency to commit careless fouls in his youth. Nevertheless, Liverpool retained their faith in the youngster, and he was later shifted to a defensive midfield position as he matured, where he excelled as a ball-winner rather than as a playmaker. He continued to evolve tactically, coming into his own in a box-to-box central midfield role, which allowed him to be effective both offensively and defensively.Under Benítez, he was also used in a supporting and creative role, as an attacking midfielder behind the strikers, or even as a deep-lying playmaker.

In addition to creating goals, Gerrard has the ability to score goals due to his striking ability from distance with either foot (despite being naturally right-footed) he is .also an accurate set-piece and penalty kick taker. His main attributes are his pace, work-rate, stamina, vision, ball striking, and his accurate, varied passing range, which allows him to set the tempo of his team's play and create attacking chances.He also possesses good technical and aerial ability, as well as notable defensive attributes. In particular, Gerrard's tactical intelligence and ability to read the game allows him to break down the opposition's attacking plays. In addition to his footballing attributes, Gerrard is highly regarded for his leadership, determination, and influence on the pitch.






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