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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