Steven Gerrard: The centre-back?

Steven Gerrard taking a penalty against Stoke City

Liverpool clinched a thrilling 5-3 victory for the first time in the top flight since November 1984, at the Britannia Stadium in Stoke. It was, perhaps, one of the most entertaining matches in recent times. The game started off usually as Simon Mignolet was on goal, with Martin Skrtel and Kolo Toure at the back, while Glen Johnson and Aly Cissokho operated at full-back positions.

The rest of the squad was usual, with Lucas Leiva, Jordan Henderson and Steven Gerrard in the midfield, and Phillipe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling in an attacking role. Luis Suárez was the sole forward yet again. The game started off well for Liverpool as they scored two goals with a dominant display.

Lack of concentration at the back, and the finest of attack by Stoke City helped Stoke draw level in the first half. An entertaining second half saw Liverpool score twice yet again, but Stoke scored a third, before the returning Daniel Sturridge scored a spirited fifth goal for Liverpool.

The game was interesting throughout, with Stoke completing 51 crosses into the Liverpool defence, the highest in the league this season, of which Charlie Adam contributed 22. Liverpool left no stone unturned as Luis Suárez, with Sturridge towards the end, showed why Liverpool FC is a strong title contender.

However, Liverpool have been weak defensively over the last few matches, but apart from the ever-changing centre-back partnerships, there was something that Liverpool, and even England fans, should be positive about.

During the entire season till now, whenever the game started from Liverpool’s half, the usual passing strategy included one of the centre-backs passing to Lucas, who usually fed the ball to someone forward. However, this time, the sight was unique. If you watch Liverpool matches regularly, you would be used to seeing Lucas at the defensive midfield position, but this time, the position was held by none other than Steven Gerrard.

For most of the game, Gerrard played at the defence, trying to manoeuvre the attack and win the ball at the back. With a less-than-usual 75.9% pass completion rate, it was evident that he has just returned to fitness, but his solidarity at the back is worth a special mention.

At 33, Steven Gerrard’s work rate has been excellent. Barring certain injuries which have side-lined him this season, Gerrard has played every minute of Liverpool’s Barclays Premier League campaign. He returned to full match fitness in the Premier League, having played for the last few minutes against Hull City at Anfield.

Perhaps, this was what Brendan Rodgers, the Liverpool manager, implied when he decided to play Gerrard in a slightly defensive position- to avoid any further injury.

Rodgers has for long mentioned that Gerrard could be used as a centre-back for the final few years of his career. Even Roy Hodgson, the England manager, has similar views on that. The ease with which Gerrard assumes responsibility at the defence has never been an issue. Gerrard started his career as a right back, and usually operated through the wing.

However, he was thrusted into the team as a replacement for the injured Jamie Redknapp and after Redknapp’s retirement due to an injury-marred career, Gerrard became a key figure in the midfield. However, Gerrard personally loved to win tackles rather than attack the goal.

Steven Gerrard

Even during the Stoke game, Gerrard was present at most of the interceptions, 16 of them, and even won nail-biting tackles, but with ease. Not only interceptions, he won headers quite easily- something which has been a defensive problem for Liverpool throughout the season.

He has had a reputation of being one of the best hard-tackling midfielders in the world, with a very high success rate. This was evident in the game against Stoke, and the crowd cheered every tackle he made. The love to tackle has been higher against big rivals like Everton and Manchester United. Why not? The reason is more than obvious.

With such an outstanding leader in the team, both Liverpool and England fans would not want Gerrard to miss any games. At an age, when players start mulling over retirement, the passion that Gerrard possesses is priceless. His ability to adapt to any position, be it as a striker, and more importantly for him, as a defender, is the reason why young football players idolize him.

It takes a determined player to show so much adaptability and agility at this age, and for Steven Gerrard, it is not the end of the career for him as a player; it is just the beginning of a new role.