Steven Gerrard, Red Lovers
An ultra-versatile midfielder, Steven Gerrard is the soul of Liverpool, his lifelong club. Tackler, passer, scorer, he is the Reds’ jack-of-all-trades, of which he is the emblematic captain. A tireless worker, Gerrard has a huge heart and a monumental shot. As powerful as he is precise in his shots, he regularly scores from outside the box. Driven by the British fighting spirit, he hates defeat more than anyone and often instills his spirit of revolt in his teammates. A technical and moral leader, he is indispensable.
When we think of Liverpool, we inevitably think of Steven Gerrard. Having arrived at the Liverpool Youth Academy at the age of 9 , little Steven would never leave the club again. At 14, he nevertheless passed trials at several clubs including Manchester United, but this approach was only intended to put pressure on Liverpool in order to obtain an Espoir contract more quickly, we learn in the player’s autobiography published in 2006. He signed professionally in November 1997, but did not play his first match with the first team until a year later, he was 18.
Over the years, he rose through the ranks and quickly became a key player in the Reds’ midfield. In 2001, Liverpool went all out and won 5 trophies! Red with joy, Gerrard and his teammates won the Community Shield, the League Cup, the Cup, the UEFA Cup and the European Super Cup in the same season, all under the command of a certain Gérard Houllier. Suddenly, the hitherto blank list of “Stevie G” grew in size, and would continue to grow in the following seasons. That same year, 2001, he was voted the Premier League’s best young player and also scored his first goal with the England national team in a resounding victory in Germany (5-1) with a superb strike from outside the right of the 25-yard box.
Houllier entrusts him with the armband
One evening in October 2003, the day before a UEFA Cup match against the Slovenians of Ljubljana, Steven Gerrard was named captain by Gérard Houllier and succeeded Sami Hyypiä. The logical continuation of a career that was constantly progressing. “Stevie has leadership qualities that I detected very early in his career ,” declared the French coach at the time. An Anfield darling, Gerrard regularly carries his team forward with his incredible activity and his desire to win. On May 25, 2005, it was ecstasy! Trailing 3-0 by AC Milan at half-time in the Champions League final, Liverpool managed the authentic feat of coming back to the score.
Obviously, it was the inevitable Gerrard who got his team back on track with a beautiful cross header (1-3, 54th) before being imitated in the minutes that followed by Smicer (56th) and Xabi Alonso (60th) to get back to 3-3 and finally win the C1, 3-2 on penalties. A valiant captain, Steven Gerrard therefore had the immense joy of being the first to lift the Cup with the big ears. The fifth in the history of the Reds who had not won this trophy since 1984. A few months later, he won the European Super Cup, was crowned UEFA player of the year in 2005 and came third in the Ballon d’Or, behind Ronaldinho and Frank Lampard. Gerrard was then very close to joining the latter at Chelsea, but he finally backed down and apologized to Liverpool fans for having considered leaving.
In 2006, he was voted the Premier League’s best player after winning the Community Shield and the Cup. The following year, he reached the Champions League final again, but this time, Milan took their revenge (2-1). On October 1, 2008, he scored his 100th goal for the Reds against the Kop with a masterful strike against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League. Between Liverpool and Steven Gerrard, it’s a beautiful love story that lasts.
Full name: Steven George Gerrard
Born: May 30, 1980, in Whiston (England)
Measurements: 1.88 m, 82 kg
Position: Versatile midfielder
Club: Liverpool (1998- ?)
Honours:
Champions League in 2005
UEFA Cup in 2001
European Super Cup in 2001 and 2005
FA Cup in 2001 and 2006
League Cup in 2001 and 2003
Community Shield in 2001 and 2006