Although
it's usually not the case with young footballers, a Steven
Gerrard biography was possible, even though the player is
just 26 years old, an age where most famous soccer players begin the
rise to fame.
Still, Steven Gerrard did so
much for the teams he played in, be them club or national, that he
fully
deserves a biography despite his age.
Take 5 minutes of your time
reading this Steven Gerrard biography and find out how the player
managed to go from being a low-ranked
rookie for
the Liverpool squad, to becoming a club legend and an international
star. You will also find some spicy
Steven Gerrard facts from his youth days at Liverpool.
Steven Gerrard
Biography – Liverpool FC Youth Teams The average lifetime of a player at a given
club is around 4 years, after which he needs to move, either due to
entering a stage of self sufficiency at that club, losing the first
squad or simply wanting a new challenge or a higher
salary.
There are a few exceptions and
when it comes to stability and having a conservative nature, the
English excel. This is how it was possible for a player like Steven
Gerrard to already have so many years under his belt at Liverpool,
since he started playing for the youth teams of the Reds in 1989, at 9
years of age.
His childhood years were not
the most promising though, as he would rarely play for the Liverpool
youth squad, having problems with late growth spurts until he was 14.
Although still considered a very
talented player that could become an option for the Liverpool
first squad in a few years, Stevie Gerrard was allowed to trial for
various other clubs in England.
As he noted in his recent
autobiography, this was to force Liverpool into
offering him an YTS (Youth Training Scheme) contract. He also had an
incident at home that almost stopped him from playing soccer, being
close to losing a toe to a garden fork.
Finally, in 1997, at
age 17, Steve Gerrard was given a professional contract from
Liverpool and saw his dream come true.
Steven Gerrard
Biography – Liverpool FC First Team Although he would not get a chance to play in
his first season with the senior squad, it was a good year for Stevie
Gerrard in that he started to fit in the team, know
his future teammates and get some tactical training. His debut was to
come the next year in a match against Blackburn, as a second half
substitute for Vegard Heggem.
Funnily enough his first start
didn't come in an easier Premiership game, as it would have been
expected, but in a tough UFEA Cup match against Spanish team
Celta Vigo, in which Steve Gerrard didn’t necessarily shine
out, but was a safe option in midfield.
His luck came at the expenses
of teammate Jamie Redknapp's, as the latter suffered a long-term injury
that will allow Gerrard to start in the following 13 matches for
Liverpool and eventually win a first team place.
Even after the experienced
Redknapp came back after his injury, manager Gerard Houllier
found a place for both Jamie and Steven Gerrard in midfield.
Steven Gerrard
Biography – The Reds' Captain By 2004, Steven Gerrard already became an
important player for Liverpool and England's national team, but his
club's success was not the kind that the fans expected.
With massive changes in the
squad, as well as on the bench, Gerard Houllier being replaced with
Rafael
Benitez, Steven Gerrard was named captain and the new coach
started building the team around the powerful midfielder.
Despite being viewed as a
rather defensive midfielder, a string of Steven Gerrard goals convinced
everyone that he was the type of complete footballer
that could play in any field position his coach would need him.
Steven Gerrard
Biography – The Peak In the 2004-2005 season, despite not being a
contender to the Premiership title, Liverpool had a good UEFA Champions
League group stage, but few gave them a lot of chances as they needed a
2 goal difference win in their last
group game in order to progress to the next stage, against the Greek
team Olympiakos.
Their chances looked even
slimmer as Olympiakos took the lead in the first half, Liverpool now
needing 3 goals to progress. Launching an all-out offense
in the second half, lead by Gerrard, Liverpool managed to get back in
the game scoring twice, but still needed a last goal to progress.
It was the 86th minute that
Stevie Gerrard took the ball at half-court, advanced and scored a
blazing twenty-five yard shot that brought his
team's success.
With this success bringing
them a much needed dose of confidence, Gerrard and his teammates
managed to advance in the competition, beating
Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus Torino and Chelsea in the knockout stages,
most of the two legged matches being won by either Steven Gerrard goals
or assists.
Despite reaching the final,
where they would face AC Milan, no one gave Gerrard and his team a
chance against the veteran Italian squad that were in a better form in
the league and had the experience to take the trophy
home. And this seemed to be the case as AC Milan already had a 3
– 0 advantage at half time, Steven Gerrard's side being
apparently up for a disastrous final.
What will follow is the
highlight of any Steven Gerrard biography, as under his spell,
Liverpool would make one of soccer's most impressive comebacks
of all times.
Steve set the tone to this
comeback, as he scored a powerful header in the 54th minute of the
game, after which he mobilized his teammates for battle. A few minutes
later, Vladimir Smicer managed to score with a beautiful long
range shot and Liverpool were back in the game, against a
Milan side that seemed to be in shock.
Another 2 minutes after
Smicer's goal, Gerrard was decisive one last time, earning a penalty
kick from which Xabi Alonso equalized. This took both teams
to the penalties, where another Steven Gerrard goal was not possible,
since Liverpool's goalkeeper, Jerzy Dudek had
already saved the last Milan spot kick, winning the trophy before
Gerrard could take the fifth penalty.
