Steven Gerrard

Steven Gerrard is an English professional footballer born on 30 May 1980 in Whiston, England.

He is a midfielder who has played for English club Liverpool and the England national football team. Gerrard is regarded as one of the best midfielders to have ever played the game and is compared with likes of Zinedine Zidane, Andrea Pirlo and Roy Keane.

Gerrard was a complete midfielder, he could run box to box, make defensive tackles, take great shots and make aggressive runs, win headers, duals and lead by example. He was known for his leadership and influential qualities.

Steven’s presence was feared around the world because of his ability to bury the ball into the net from a breathtaking distance. Although he was right footed, he was naturally capable of striking using both his feet. His aerial dominance was also pretty good making him a fierce opponent no matter which area of the pitch a player contests him.

Gerrard was a versatile player and has played a number of positions like secondary striker, box to box midfielder, attacking midfielder and defensive midfielder. He has also played as a right back and on the flanks in his glittering career.

Background

Steven used to play for his hometown place Whiston Juniors, he was marked by Liverpool scouts and joined the Liverpool Academy when he was as young as nine.

At the age of 17 he signed with Liverpool FC to play as a professional player.

Debut

On 29 November 1998 Steven made his debut for Liverpool against Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League. Steven bagged in thirteen appearances for Liverpool that season.

Gerrard played his first match for England on 31 May 2000 against Ukraine.

Rise to Glory

In the 2000-01 season, Gerrard became a consistent starter at Liverpool. His season’s performance was pretty decent with 50 appearances in all competitions and 10 goals. Steven also won three trophies that season including the FA Cup, Football League Cup, and the UEFA Cup.

In the 2001-02 season Gerrard won FA Charity Shield and UEFA Super Cup.

Gerrard had a decent partnership with striker Fernando Torres in 2008, which enabled him to score 21 goals that season and also got nominated for PFA Player of the Year.

In October 2008, Steven scored his 100th goal against PSG in Champions League group stage match.

Steven made 504 appearances for Liverpool in the premier league and over 700 in all competitions.

He scored 120 goals and had 71 assists in all total.

For a change of things, Gerrard decided to join LA Galaxy in 2015. He had 34 appearances with American club and scored on 5 occasions.

International Career

In September 2001, Gerrard scored his first ever international goal against Germany for the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, England went onto destroy Germany with a 5 goals to one.

Gerrard was also part of Euro 2004 qualifier and the tournament. He also was top scorer in the 2006 World Cup.

Steven contributed greatly in England’s qualification for the 2010 World Cup, scoring goals against Trinidad & Tobago and Sweden.

Captaincy

In October 2003, Gerrard was made the Liverpool captain due to his presence and leadership qualities in the team. He replaced defender Sami Hyypia who was also a very successful captain.

Steven’s contribution as the Liverpool skipper are uncountable however there are some moments which defined him as a top class player.

In the November of 2004-05 season Gerrard returned from injury to play against Olympiacos as a substitute. He scored in the dying moments of the game to give Liverpool an advantage and help them qualify in the group stages of the UCL.

Gerrard’s contribution to the Champions League and FA Cup are forever talked about.

In 2005 Gerrard was the catalyst in making a comeback from a three goal deficit against AC Milan in the Champions League Final. He scored a header in the opening moments of the second half to put Liverpool 3-1, the English club went on to win the final in the penalty shootouts after leveling the score before full time.

In the 2006 season, Gerrard appeared in 53 matches in all competitions and scored 23 goals. He was the key player to win the FA Cup for Liverpool scoring a brace, one of which was a 35 yard out screamer against West Ham United in the finals.

Gerrard captained England during the 2010 World Cup in absence of captain Rio Ferdinand.

He also led team England in the Euro 2012 qualifying matches, and was named the permanent captain of England before the tournament quarterfinals.

Gerrard completed his 100th appearance for England on 14 November 2012 against Sweden in a friendly.

He also captained England in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but unfortunately they got eliminated in the group stage.

Gerrard has 114 caps for England has scored on 21 occasions.

Achievements

Gerrard was placed third in Ballon d'Or of 2005 and same year won the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year. He has won PFA Players' Player of the Year in 2005-06 and has also been in PFA Premier League Team of the Year for 8 years,

Gerrard has also been named in World XI three times.

Low Points

Liverpool were on the verge of topping the Premier League a the end of the 2013-14 campaign.

However a mistake by Gerrard led to a cruel defeat against Chelsea and Liverpool finished second. Steven slipped during the match and it led to striker Demba Ba scoring and putting Chelsea in the lead. Gerrard has also accepted that this period was one of the worst phases in his life.

Retirement

On 24 November 2016, Gerrard retired from professional football at the age of 36. He had played his last game for MLS team LA Galaxy on 6th of November.

Gerrard started as a coach at Liverpool’s academy on 20 January 2017. Later he started coaching Liverpool’s under-18 side for the 2017-18 season. He has impressed everyone so far with his efficiency and determination in the job .