After a triumphant 3-2 win at home to Manchester City on Sunday, Steven Gerrard again showed why he is, and has been for so many years, the complete captain. As the final whistle blew he was surrounded by his fellow teammates, but it was clear it was all too emotional for the Liverpool skipper. With tears inline down his face, he then pulled the team in together and said “This does not slip now. This does not slip! Listen. Listen, this is gone. We go to Norwich, exactly the same! We go again!” Proving not only is he the perfect captain, but an unbelievable motivational speaker too.
As well as showing incredible dedication and passion towards his team, his unwavering loyalty to his hometown club is something that is truly commendable. He has turned down offers throughout his career from clubs such as Manchester United in 2002/2003 and Chelsea in 2005/2006, and in addition to the fact he is one of the greatest all-round players to ever play the game, he is also undoubtedly one of the most committed to his club. In his 15 years playing in the first team, he has showed world class leadership skills and has almost every club medal to his name, as well as being awarded an MBE by the Queen back in 2006. However, there is still one accolade that he has not yet claimed: The Premier League.
Gerrard spent one year as vice-captain before replacing Sami Hyypia as captain in 2003. The manager at the time, Gérard Houllier, said that Gerrard had demonstrated leadership qualities but still needed to mature. He now has made 665 total appearances for the Reds and scored 173 goals and has undeniably earned himself legendary status at Liverpool, and is worshipped by fans all around the world. One of the most well-known of his 173 goals came in the second half of the UEFA Champions League Final against A.C. Milan in Istanbul back in 2005. After being 3-0 down at half time Gerrard netted in the 54th minute with an astounding bullet-header, thus triggering one of the most famous comebacks in all of footballing history, and allowing the Reds to go on and win the final on penalties. He was named Man of the Match and was later given the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award.
As well as his outstanding career at club level, he has also proved time and time again why he is the perfect skipper by captaining the England national team since 2010. He made his international debut in the year 2000, and in 2012 became the 6th player in history to achieve 100 caps for them. He currently sits in 3rd place in the country’s all time appearance list, behind David Beckham and Peter Shilton.
At the age of 33, with his 34th birthday approaching in May, Steven continues to give his all for Liverpool every week and truly wears his heart on his sleeve. Having proved himself at all levels of the game, he has a real chance this season to finally win the Premier League as the Reds currently sit at the top of the table, 2 points ahead of Chelsea. 4 games remain and in order to make their success absolutely certain, they will realistically need to win all of their games. With Manchester City dropping points on Wednesday night with a 2-2 draw against Sunderland, Liverpool may only need to pick up 1 point against Chelsea when they face them in a few weeks time, but they will be fully concentrating on their upcoming game against Norwich first.
Liverpool have an unbelievable chance to win the Premier League this season, and as the table stands it is theirs to lose. It is no doubt that Steven Gerrard will continue to be the perfect captain he has always been for the Redmen, and if anything he will push to demonstrate his abilities even more over the next 4 games in order to bring the title home for the first time in his career. As the season comes to a close we will surely see more tears from the Liverpool skipper as well as a few of the other players and the manager, Brendan Rodgers. Tears of sadness or tears of joy? Hopefully the latter. Will they let it slip? Not on Steven Gerrard’s look.