Steven George Gerrard (born May 30, 1980 in Whiston, Merseyside, England) is an English football player with Liverpool F.C.. He is widely regarded as one of the best midfield players in the world.
Biography
Gerrard was raised on the Bluebell estate in Huyton, Merseyside. While attending Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School in West Derby, Liverpool, Gerrard was known to go on scouting trips to check out rival school teams. In 1994 whilst in Year 9, he was part of the Liverpool Boys squad and "almost" made it into England National School, a small blemish on his now successful career.
Gerrard is widely regarded as one of the best players in the current Liverpool squad, if not the best. He has only played club football with Liverpool, the club he joined as a boy in 1989 and has come up through the ranks right up to the first team, in the traditional footsteps of his fellow homegrown youth academy seniors like Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler. Gerrard managed to break into the squad during the 1998/99 season in which he made his debut, in a season that marked Gerard Houllier's replacing of Roy Evans as the manager in charge at Anfield.
Gerrard is usually employed in a central midfield role, although he also sometimes plays as a right-sided midfielder and, occasionally, right back. He is currently the captain of Liverpool and has previously captained the English national team. He wears the number 8 jersey for Liverpool and the number 4 for England. It is widely thought that the club captaincy was handed to Gerrard in 2003/4 season so that he could inspire his teammates, and to compel him to take responsibility for his own indifferent disciplinary record, which apparently worked as in the 2003-2004 season he was only booked twice. Nevertheless, Steven Gerrard is an exceptionally complete football midfielder with great vision and indefatigable energy. Often credited for his blistering shots from long range, he excels in both the defensive and offensive sectors of the game.
Former Liverpool colleague, Michael Owen, also expressed relief at Gerrard being declared captain in 2003/04 in his autobiography as it most certainly took some pressure off Owen's shoulders.
Gerrard was one of three Liverpool players that scored in the famous World Cup qualifying game in September 2001 against Germany (1-5 away victory).
Although approached by Chelsea to sign for them during the summer of 2004, he rejected them but instead chose to stay at Liverpool. It is known that he was on the brink of signing for Chelsea but was persuaded to stay because of his family and friends. The arrival of new Liverpool manager, Rafael Benitez, also played a part in his decision.
A foot injury sustained against rivals Manchester United on 20 September 2004 ruled him out of first team football until late November 2004.
On 8 December 2004, Gerrard scored a stunning 25-yard piledriver against Greek team Olympiakos in the Champions' League. Liverpool needed to win by two clear goals to progress to the last 16 of the competition. They were 1-0 down at half-time, but scored two goals before Gerrard secured their place with their third. He has since claimed that this was his best, if not his most important, goal for Liverpool to date.
Another goal Liverpool supporters are sure to remember is his contribution during the Champions' League final in Istanbul on May 25, 2005. Unmarked by the opposition, he headed one to the back of the net and opened the scorebooks for Liverpool after they looked out of it having trailed 3-0 at half time. Minutes later, former teammate, Vladimir Smicer, would score again for the Reds. Gerrard was also crucial in the winning of a penalty against AC Milan when he was fouled by Gattuso in the penalty area. Xabi Alonso scored from a rebound, having his penalty saved initially to make it 3-3.
In the 2004-05 season, Gerrard scored 13 goals in all competitions; a season's personal best for him.
Having successfully lifted the trophy by leading Liverpool back from a 3-0 deficit to beat AC Milan 3-2 on penalties, he gave a hint of his future when he spoke to the press after the finals: "How can I leave after a night like this?"
However, in July 2005, things spiraled downward after an apparent breakdown in contract negotiations between player and club. Reports stated that Gerrard was about to leave Liverpool and Chelsea were reported to have tabled a British record bid of 32 million pounds for the player which was ultimately rejected. Throughout the debacle, Liverpool remained insistent that they wanted Gerrard to stay. On July 5, however, Gerrard stated publicly that he wished to leave the Reds. However, in a dramatic change of heart, Gerrard changed his mind the next day and pledged his future to Liverpool. He also apologised to the club's supporters and insisted that there were no get-out clauses in the new contract that he would be signing. He also offered to give up his captaincy, but was told by Rafael Benitez that it was not necessary. On the morning of July 8, Gerrard signed a new four-year deal with Liverpool alongside fellow Liverpudlian and teammate, Jamie Carragher.
Gerrard started the 2005-06 season with a bang consistently finding the back of the net in Champions' League qualifiers. He currently has a total of 9 goals in all competitions.
On August 25 2005, Gerrard was named as UEFA's Most Valuable Player for the 2004/05 Champions' League season. As of 14 November 2005 he has played for England 39 times and scored 6 international goals.
He was also in the running for french sport newspaper L'Equipe's prestigious Ballon D'Or award. He finished 3rd behind Barcelona's Ronaldinho and England team-mate Frank Lampard. Nevertheless, even Ronaldinho said that 'Lampard and Gerrard are great football players'.
On 11 December 2005, Gerrard came third in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year behind Ellen MacArthur (2nd) and Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (1st).
Personal Life
Gerrard is currently engaged to Alex Curran, who is also from Merseyside. They have been engaged since 2004 and have been seeing each other since 2002. They have a daughter, Lilly-Ella, born in 2004.
Honours
- 2000/01 League Cup
- 2000/01 FA Cup
- 2000/01 UEFA Cup
- 2001/02 European Super Cup
- 2002/03 League Cup
- 2004/05 UEFA Champions' League
- 2005/06 European Super Cup