Steven Gerrard – Captain. Leader. Legend.

The 2003-04 season was a disappointing one for Liverpool and led to the sacking of Houllier and appointment of Rafael Benitez as his replacement. Chelsea, who were newly wealthy with cash from Roman Abramovich, were linked with a big-money move for Gerrard. The player admitted that he was not happy with the progress that Liverpool had made and had thought about moving on. However, after talks with Benitez, Gerrard decided to stay, saying “I’ve gone with my heart. I’ve made a decision to stay at Liverpool and I am 100% committed to the club.”

Liverpool didn’t impress in the Premier League in the 2004-05 season, but with some inspired performances, lifted the club’s fifth Champions League trophy at Istanbul.

On December 8, 2004, Liverpool were playing their final game of the group stage against Olympiacos at home and needed to win by a two-goal margin to progress to the knockout stages. Liverpool were 2-1 up in the 86th minute, and four minutes away from elimination from the competition, when Neil Mellor knocked down the ball for Gerrard outside the box, and Gerrard’s long range shot burst into the bottom corner of the net as Liverpool progressed to the next round.

The Champions League final at the Ataturk Stadium on May 25, 2005, against AC Milan got off to the worst possible start for Liverpool, and the team found themselves trailing 0-3 at half-time. Gerrard’s well executed header reduced the team’s deficit and they went on to equalize 3-3 and later win in the penalty shootout. Gerrard won the man-of-the-match award in the final and also won the UEFA Club Player of the Year award.

Despite him rejecting Chelsea’s advances a year before, there were still rumours of a move. When quizzed about the possibility of a transfer after the Champions League final, Gerrard replied “How can I leave after a night like this?”

However, the player rejected a record £100,000 a week contract from Liverpool after Chelsea bid for the player and Liverpool gave up hope of retaining their talisman. Chairman Rick Parry was quoted “Now we have to move on. We have done our best, but he has made it clear he wants to go and I think it looks pretty final.”

However, Gerrard made a U turn the next day and signed a 4-year contract with Liverpool. He later reflected on the whole situation:

“Madness broke out. I was sitting dazed at home, watching the TV, and when I saw fans burning an old No 17 shirt by the Shankly Gates, it did my head in. Show some respect. Don’t you know how this is tearing me apart? Dad begged me not to go, but I replied, ‘look at the TV, fans are burning my shirt, the club aren’t stopping them, Liverpool don’t want me any more’. I stared at the TV through flowing tears. I was suffocated by stress. My head was banging, and I was eating paracetamol like Smarties. I could see the great possibilities of Chelsea, but my heart wouldn’t let me leave. Finally, my mind was made up. At 11pm that night, on July 5, 2005, I called my agent to tell Rick Parry (Liverpool’s chief executive) that I wanted to sign. My heart stopped racing, and I put the paracetamol away. The following morning, I awoke with a smile on my face for the first time in weeks.”

With his future now sorted, Gerrard went on to have an impressive 2005-06 season where he scored 23 goals in 53 appearances and won the PFA Player of the Year award. He became the first Liverpool player since John Barnes in 1988 to win the award.

The season culminated with a FA Cup victory over West Ham in the final at Cardiff. Gerrard scored twice in the game, including a dramatic equalizer in the final moments of the game to force extra-time. The 35-yard volley was voted as the Goal of the season.

Gerrard had now scored in four major finals, a feat no England-based player had ever achieved before.

Gerrard appeared in his first World Cup at Germany 2006, where he scored two goals in the league stage, but missed his penalty in the shootout loss to Portugal in the quarter-final.

Liverpool qualified for the Champions League final in the following season, but this time the match ended with a heart-break as AC Milan got their revenge of Istanbul by winning 2-1.

The summer of 2007 saw Liverpool sign Fernando Torres, and Gerrard formed a lethal partnership with him. After an indifferent 2007-08 season, Liverpool finished a strong second to Manchester United in the 2008-09 as the Gerrard-Torres partnership flourished, and Gerrard also formed a potent midfield team with Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano. Gerrard won the Football Writers Player of the Year award in that season.

His performance won accolades from Zinedine Zidane, who said “Is he the best in the world? He might not get the attention of Messi and Ronaldo but, yes, I think he just might be. If you don’t have a player like Steven Gerrard, who is the engine room, it can affect the whole team. He has great passing ability, can tackle and scores goals, but most importantly he gives the players around him confidence and belief. You can’t learn that, players like him are just born with that presence.”