Steven Gerrard - Biography
Steven George Gerrard, (born 30 May 1980) is an English footballer who plays for English Premier League club Liverpool F.C. and the England national team. He is usually employed in the central midfield role, although he has also played as a right-sided midfielder and a second striker.
Gerrard, who has spent his entire career at Anfield, made his debut in 1998 and cemented his place in the first team in the 2000-01 season, succeeding Sami Hyypiä as Liverpool team captain in 2003. His honours include a pair of FA Cups and two Football League Cup wins, as well as the UEFA Cup in 2001 and the UEFA Champions League in 2005, following Liverpool's comeback in the final.
Gerrard made his international debut in 2000, and represented England in the UEFA European Championships in 2000 and 2004 as well as the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where he was the team's top goalscorer.
Gerrard made his Liverpool first-team debut on 29 November 1998 in a match against Blackburn Rovers as a last minute substitute for Vegard Heggem.[4] He made thirteen appearances in his debut season, filling in the midfield position for injured captain Jamie Redknapp[2] and playing on the right wing, but he scarcely contributed in the short on-pitch time he received, due to nervousness affecting his play.[5] Gerrard recalled in a November 2008 interview with The Guardian, "I was out of position and out of my depth." The Liverpool hierarchy nonetheless remained convinced that he would improve.[5] Gerrard saw himself as a defensive player primarily, looking to make key tackles rather than push the team forward.
Gerrard partnered Redknapp in central midfield for the 1999–00 season. After starting the derby match against Everton F.C. on the bench, he replaced Robbie Fowler in the second half but received his first career red card for a late foul on Everton's Kevin Campbell.[6] Later that season, Gerrard scored his first senior goal in a 4–1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday. However, he began to suffer from nagging back problems, which sports consultant Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt later diagnosed as a result of accelerated growth, coupled with excessive playing, during his teenage years. He was then beset by groin injuries that required four separate operations.
In 2000–01, he made fifty starts in all competitions and scored ten goals as Liverpool won the League Cup, FA Cup, and the 2001 UEFA Cup. Gerrard replaced Sami Hyypiä as Liverpool captain in October 2003, as manager Gérard Houllier said that he recognised Gerrard had demonstrated leadership qualities early on, but needed to mature. He chose to extend his contract at the club, signing a new four-year deal.
Houllier quit after a trophyless 2003–04 campaign, and Gerrard was linked with a move to Chelsea F.C. during the offseason. He admitted he was not "happy with the progress [Liverpool] has made," and that "for the first time in my career I've thought about the possibility of moving on." In the end, Gerrard turned down a £20 million offer from Chelsea to stay with Liverpool and new coach Rafael Benítez.
Liverpool were wracked with injury early in the 2004–05 season, and a foot injury suffered in a September league match against Manchester United shelved Gerrard until late November. He returned to score in the last five minutes of a Champions League group stage match against Olympiacos F.C. to secure Liverpool's advancement to the knockout round. He claimed that this was his most important, if not his best, goal for Liverpool to date. However, Gerrard netted an own goal during the 2005 League Cup final on 27 February, which proved decisive in Liverpool's 3–2 loss to Chelsea.
During a six-minute stretch in the second half of the 2005 Champions League final against A.C. Milan, Liverpool rebounded from a three-goal deficit to tie the match at 3–3 after extra time, with Gerrard scoring one of the goals. He did not participate in the penalty shootout, which Liverpool won 3–2 as they claimed their first CL trophy in twenty years, though he was named the Man of the Match, and later received the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award.
In regards to his contract issues with Liverpool, Gerrard told the press after the final, "How can I leave after a night like this?" But negotiations soon stalled and on 5 July 2005, after Liverpool turned down another lucrative offer from Chelsea, Gerrard rejected a club-record £100,000-a-week offer. Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry conceded the club had lost Gerrard, saying, "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." The next day, Gerrard signed a new four-year deal as Parry blamed the earlier breakdown of talks on miscommunication between the two sides.
Gerrard scored twenty-three goals in 53 appearances in 2005–06, and in April became the first Liverpool player since John Barnes in 1988 to be voted the PFA Player of the Year. He scored twice in the 2006 FA Cup final against West Ham United, including an equalizer that sent the match into extra time, and Liverpool won their second consecutive major trophy on penalties. The goals made him the only player to have scored in the FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup and Champions League finals. Gerrard netted a penalty as Liverpool eliminated league rival Chelsea in the 2006–07 Champions League semi-finals to return to their second final in three seasons, which they lost 2–1 to Milan.
