8 lesser known facts about Steven Gerrard

He dons his Superman cape, comes on and changes the whole dynamic of the game.That is what great players do and this is one of the modern greats of the game.Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers used these words to describe his teams captain fantastic - Steven Gerrard. Regarded as one of Liverpool's greatest footballing icons, Gerrard is often referred to as a complete midfielder because of his passing ability, shooting prowess and the fact that he wears his heart on his sleeve.Here we present some interesting titbits about the inspirational England and Liverpool captain.

#1 A football career that nearly ended before it could start

An injury sustained during a game of football with friends almost ended Gerrards football career even before it began. The football had gone into a hedge, and while trying to kick it out, Gerrard accidentally kicked a garden fork. The fork went through the shoes straight into his big toe.

The doctor who Gerrard consulted said that he probably needed to get his big toe amputated because of a risk of tetanus. But the doctors at Liverpool FC decided against it and tried to heal it with a treatment. Luckily, it worked and Gerrard could continue his development as a footballer and come through the ranks at Liverpool.

#2 Trial with Manchester United

A born Kopite, Gerrard joined Liverpool Academy at the age of nine. However, after he failed to achieve much success in the early days, he began looking at other clubs and this included a trial with Manchester United at the age of 13.

In a recent interview, Gerrard mentioned "I went on trial at Manchester United when I was 13 and had a letter off them wanting to sign me on a seven-year-deal." He later clarified that the move was just a ploy to presurrize Liverpool to give him a professional contract.

#3 Injury problems and lack of height in early days

While at the Liverpool Academy, Gerrard initially tried to establish himself in the defensive midfield role. But he wasnt rated too highly mainly because of a lack of height. At the age of 15, he was of the same height at Michael Owen.

Soon though, he experienced a significant spurt in growth, which helped him kickstart his career, but that also became a source of different kinds of injury problems which affected him in the early years of his professional career.

Gerrard later admitted worrying about the injury problems at that phase of his career: "All through them injury experiences I used to fear not being able to fulfill what I wanted. At Liverpool you have the best physios and best doctors. They were telling me all the time 'Dont worry, dont worry. Well get you over them.'

The coaches were always positive with me, but as a player its frustrating to miss training sessions and football matches. Its an absolute nightmare as a player. I think it was down to growing so quick. From 8-14 I was always the smallest in the class, the smallest in the team and the lightest.

All of a sudden I hit six foot really quick. I think it was just my body and my muscles getting used to the growth spurt really."

#4 Idolized John Barnes and Peter Beardsley

Gerrard idolized former Liverpool players John Barnes and Peter Beardsley in his formative years, and the styles of play of the two players have greatly impacted that of Gerrards.

Jamaica-born English player Barnes had excellent passing skills and also showed willingness to shoot at goal when in a good position, and these traits are very evident in the play Gerrard plays.

When Gerrard got the Liverpool captaincy, he said "I was captain of my school side and I used to go along to Anfield to watch the team and I always looked up to people likeJohn Barneswho captained the team during the 90s. I used to watch Barnes with the captain's armband and dream that one day it would be me captaining the team I love."

#5 Maximum number of red cards for a Liverpool player

Steven Gerrard holds an unwanted record in Liverpools history that of having the maximum number of red cards. He has been sent off 6 times so far.

Following are the games in which he has received red cards: Everton (September 1999), Leeds United (April 2001), Aston Villa (September 2001), Chelsea (May 2003), Everton (March 2006), Manchester United (January 2011).

Jamie Carragher, Javier Mascherano, Ian St. John, Dietmar Hamann and Igor Biscon are all joint second in the list with 3 red cards each.

#6 Knocked down a 10-year-old child with his Bentley

In 2007, Gerrard was at the wheel of his Bentley GTC convertible, when he hit a 10-year-old schoolboy Jamie Hellawell which led to the child suffering mild fractures.

Gerrard was apologetic for the accident and stayed with the child till an ambulance arrived. When he found out that Hellawell was a Manchester United fan, he called up Wayne Rooney and asked him to autograph a pair of his boots, which Gerrard presented to Hellawell the next day.

#7 Appearance in a sports drama film Will

Along with Kenny Dalglish and Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard appeared in the 2011 British sports drama film Will. The plot of the movie is based around a young Liverpool fan who runs away from home and treks across Europe to reach Istanbul to watch Liverpool play the Champions League final.

Gerrard was very excited about the movie which captured his teams incredible triumph at Istanbul and quoted The film was first mentioned to me through the football club and we got excited when we heard about the script and we went from there. It gives a great message out to kids to never give up even if youre being beaten by a load of goals or anything that life throws at you, you can turn it round if you keep trying.

The film stars Damien Lewis (of Homeland fame), who is an avid fan of Liverpool FC, in the lead role. Lewis has admitted that one of the major reasons for him agreeing to do the movie was the opportunity to meet Gerrard.

#8 Penchant for cars

The Liverpool captain is very fond of cars. The cars which he has owned include Jaguar XKR Convertible, Bentley GTC, Aston Martin Vanquish, Mercedes SLK, Range Rover Sport, Ferrari F430 and Porsche 911 turbo.

Gerrard also has a sponsorship deal with Jaguar which reportedly earns him more than £1 million a year.