32 Greatest footballers in the history of the English Premier League - Part 35
6. Steven Gerrard:
Steven Gerrard is a professional footballer who is currently playing for the English side Liverpool. He is also the captain of the English national team and is considered to be one of the best midfielders in the world. Most of
his career, he performed as a centre midfielder; however, after the arrival of Fernando Torres from the Spanish side Atletico Madrid during 2007, Gerrard started to play more of a striking role for the club and started to score goals for the reds.
Even though Gerrard is considered to be one of the best central attacking midfielders in the world, he is still played as a winger for the English side. Gerrard did actually feature as a central player before 2006, but after that
he started to play more of a left midfielder for the English national team. He is best known for his “outstanding” and powerful long shots and free kicks. His most famous long shot is still remembered by many fans when he managed to score against the Italian
club Milan during an action pact UEFA Champions League final; Liverpool were 3 goals down in the first half and eventually drew the match and won it over penalties. Another “long ranged” shot that is still remembered by the fans includes the outstanding goal
that he scored in the 2006 FA Cup final in Wembley.
Gerrard started his career from the English side Liverpool and has always been loyal to the reds. Most of his career was spent at Liverpool’s home stadium Anfield, after his debut in 1998. Even though he used to be a bench warmer
early on, he finally made it as a first choice midfielder during the 2000-2001 season. This was the year when Sami Hyypia left the reds and Steven Gerard was the one to succeed him. After performing for Liverpool for 3 years, Gerrard became the captain of
the team.
Steven Gerrard managed to win two FA Cups and two League Cups along with a UEFA Champions League in 2005. He also managed to come 3rd in the Ballon d’Or voting. The award holds great “respect” in Europe as it is given
to the best football player playing in the European countries.
Since the time he started to play for Liverpool, he has not missed out on any of the seasons and has managed to appear for them 372 times. The dynamic midfielder was offered by Chelsea and Real Madrid throughout his time in Liverpool
but he decided to stay in his childhood club and did not want to leave them because the club “meant a lot” to him.
Despite being such a great footballer, Gerrard could not help Liverpool to a Premiership win and just because of this, he is still criticized of being called “captain fantastic,” however many still refer to him with that name because
now he is the captain of the English national side as well.
While playing for the English national team, Gerrard has always tried to do wonders; however, the team chemistry has always been “down” whenever the English national team has gone on to play. This is not because they are short
of quality players, but because the players are rivals at local level and do not really respond well towards each other while playing football at international level.
Gerrard made his international debut in 2000 and represented England in the UEFA European Championships two times, in 2000 and 2004. He was also a part of the FIFA World Cup 2006 and Euro 2008. He is currently the captain of the
English team as David Beckham has retired from international football while John Terry was accused over his personal life.
While Rio Ferdinand was out during the FIFA World Cup 2010, Steven Gerrard was given the responsibility to lead the team. Despite a great performance by “captain fantastic,” the team totally failed to perform and was knocked out
by Germany during the pre quarter final stage after the English side lost the match 4-1 to the Germans.
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