Steven Gerrard biography: English Footballer

Steven Gerrard biography

English football player

Soccer player

Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980, Whiston, Merseyside) is an English football player.

Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Box-to-box midfielder
Right-sided midfielder
Second striker

Liverpool 385 (75)

England 55 (12)

Career Honours / Achievements
Liverpool

Winner
2006-07 Community Shield
2005-06 FA Cup
2004-05 UEFA Champions' League
2002-03 League Cup
2001-02 European Super Cup
2001-02 Charity Shield
2000-01 UEFA Cup
2000-01 FA Cup
2000-01 League Cup

Runner up
2005 FIFA Club World Championship
2004-05 League Cup
2002-03 Charity Shield
2001-02 FA Premier League (Level 1)
Personal
2007 Received a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on the Queen's New Year's Honour List
2006 Number 2 in LiverpoolFC.tv's Players Who Shook The Kop
2006 PFA Player of the Year
2004–05 UEFA Champions' League Most Valuable Player
2001 PFA Young Player of the Year
Liverpool's All-time leading goalscorer in the European Cup (current total is 15)
His goal against Manchester United in 2001 has been voted the greatest goal ever by a Liverpool Player in the English Premier League.
Is the only player ever to score in the UEFA cup, FA Cup, English League Cup and the Champions League finals.

He was qualified to play for the Republic of Ireland, and England.

He is the captain of Liverpool, where he wears the number 8 shirt. He is the England vice captain, where wears number 4. An extremely versatile and inspirational midfielder famous for his long - range shots and wily defence-splitting passes, he is usually employed in the commanding box-to-box midfield role, although he has often been deployed as a right-sided midfielder, and occasionally as a striker. Throughout his career he has won the PFA Young Player of the Year, PFA Player of the Year, European Midfielder of the year, Premier League Most Valuable Player, and UEFA Most Valuable Player. He has also been awarded the MBE for his outstanding contributions in both the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final and the 2006 FA Cup Final in which he inspired his team's comeback.For his outstanding performances he was nominated for Fifa Player of the year in 2005 and 2006.

Steven Gerrard started out playing for local side team Whiston Juniors before signing with Liverpool, and was picked up by the Liverpool's first team scouts aged just 9, and joined the Reds as a schoolboy in 1997. He played relatively few games, with late growth spurts restricting him to 20 games between the ages of 14 and 16.

Aged 14, Gerrard had trials with various clubs, including Manchester United. During this time he had an accident involving a garden fork and could have lost his toe.

Gerrard signed his first professional contract with Liverpool on the 5th of November, 1997.

Liverpool first team

1998/9 & 1999/2000
Gerrard made his debut for the Liverpool first team on 30 November 1998 as a second half substitute for Vegard Heggem against Blackburn. His first start came in the UEFA Cup against Celta Vigo. Due to an injury to Jamie Redknapp, Gerrard went on to play 13 games for Liverpool in the season.

The 1999–2000 season saw Gérard Houllier start with Gerrard partnering Redknapp in central midfield. After being in the starting line up for the first six games, Gerrard was relegated to the substitutes' bench for the local derby against Everton. Gerrard replaced Robbie Fowler after 66 minutes but went on to receive the first red card of his career for a foul on Everton's Kevin Campbell in the 90th minute. Later that season, Gerrard scored his first senior goal in a 4-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday.

After proving himself worthy of a place in the starting eleven, Gerrard was struck down by injuries. His back was causing him regular problems. At the time, many journalists surmised that fans would never see Steven Gerrard complete anything close to a full season. However, manager Gerard Houllier took the practical approach and sought specialist help. After visits to the renowned sports consultant Dr Müller-Wohlfarth, it was diagnosed Gerrard's pains were a result of accelerated growth. After treatment he and Liverpool FC were assured the problems would not recur. He was said to need 4 surgeries for the correction. He then saw Liverpool F.C. doctors and kept his faith with Liverpool. He was sent to a Frenchman for his treatment by Gérard Houllier. He worked hard to recover and soon his groin injuries were no longer a problem.

2000/1: The treble season
2000/1 brought Gerrard his first trophy successes: he put his injury problems behind him and made 50 first team appearances, while scoring 10 goals, as Liverpool won the League Cup and FA Cup. In the UEFA Cup final against Alavés, Gerrard scored his first major final goal as Liverpool won 5-4.

At the end of the season Gerrard was named PFA Young Player of the Year.

2001/2 & 2002/3
Following the 2001 treble season, Gerrard became increasingly influential in the Liverpool side as he became more experienced and his injury problems waned. He played an important part in Liverpool's 2001-02 season which resulted in the club finishing second in the Premier League with their best points tally in a decade. During the course of this season, Houllier suffered serious health problems which resulted in him having to undergo major heart surgery. The team's performance became increasingly erratic (at one stage Liverpool went 11 games without victory in the 2002-03 season) and reliant on Gerrard and Michael Owen to win matches with flashes of inspiration.

Gerrard suffered a period of unusual poor form during this time culminating in a substitution during a Champions League match with Basle at half time with Liverpool 3-0 down. After the game Gerrard was the subject of public criticism by Houllier, who suggested he was not fully focussed on his football. Gerrard quickly recovered from this poor spell and once again began to assert sizeable influence on the team. The season culminated in a series of outstanding performances from Gerrard, which included him scoring the first goal in Liverpool's 2-0 Worthington Cup final victory over fierce rivals Manchester United.

2003/4: Captain of Liverpool
By the start of the 2003 season, Gerrard had established himself as Liverpool's on-field leader and it was no surprise when he was finally officially recognised as club captain, replacing Sami Hyppia. Houllier handed the responsibility to Gerrard in October 2003,[7] perhaps hoping that he could inspire his teammates to improve their performance, but also to compel him to take responsibility for his own indifferent disciplinary record, a tactic which apparently worked as throughout the season, he was booked twice. His then Liverpool team mate, Michael Owen, in his autobiography expressed relief at Gerrard being named captain as it took the pressure off him.

While Gerrard excelled as Liverpool's captain, the team continued to stall and the 2003-4 season ended with no trophies and a lack of optimism about Liverpool's future prospects for success under Houllier. For the first time it was suggested Gerrard may have to move away from Anfield to fufil his potential. The previous season had seen Liverpool fall short of competing for top prizes and they only just scraped into a Champions League place on the last day of the league season. The Liverpool board decided that change was essential and Gerard Houllier departed as boss. This led to frenzied media speculation Gerrard would also leave Anfield, but the appointment of Rafael Benitez convinced him to stay to see what the new manager could deliver.

2004/5: Champions League winner
Having commited to Liverpool, it was important for both the club and the player to have a good season. In the early part of the season Liverpool struggled under new management. Liverpool were not helped by the sale of Michael Owen to Real Madrid and a injury to striker Djibril Cisse. Injuries severely affected the rest of the team, including Gerrard himself. A foot injury sustained against rivals Manchester United on 20 September 2004 ruled Gerrard out of first team football until late November 2004. By that stage the club were already out of realistic contention in the Premier League and they were also under pressure to stay in the Champions League.

Liverpool went to the final group game requiring a 2 goal win to progress into the last 16 of the competition. Dramatically, Gerrard scored a crucial twenty five yard strike in the last five minutes against the Greek team Olympiakos to secure the team's progress. The result was particularly impressive as Liverpool were 1-0 down at half-time to a Rivaldo free kick and required three second half goals to go through. Liverpool had been struggling for goals after Owen's sale and Cisse's injury. However, they launched a dramtic comeback scoring 2 goals before Gerrard secured their place in the knockout stage with the crucial third goal with a late strike from outside the box. He has since claimed this was his most important, if not his best, goal for Liverpool to date.

This result dramatically transformed Liverpool's European season and they were victorious in two legged ties against Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus and Chelsea in the knock out stages, with Gerrard a key performer throughout and they went to reach the Champions League final. However in the meantime, the club continued to struggle domestically finishing 5th in the league, more than thirty points behind the champions Chelsea. Liverpool did reach the Carling Cup final, but were beaten 3-2 by Chelsea after extra time. Gerrard, headed an own goal with Liverpool winning with ten minutes left of normal time. This proved to be one of the lowest points of his Anfield career and once again, media speculation arose he would be moving on from Liverpool at the end of the season.

The Istanbul Final
Liverpool's entire season came down to the 2005 Champions' League final against AC Milan in Istanbul. The game did not start well for them. At half-time Liverpool had been completely outplayed and were 3-0 down. It appeared AC Milan had the trophy won already. However Rafa Benitez made a number of tactical changes at the break, including pushing Gerrard further forward in the hope of rescuing the game. Unbelievably, the changes were successful and Liverpool launched one of the most famous comebacks in sporting history.

In a frantic six minute spell in the early stages of the second half, Liverpool scored three times to level the game at 3-3. Gerrard led the charge heading the first goal in from a Riise cross in the 54th minute. Taking personal heart from the goal, he was seen widely gesturing to his team mates and the supporters that they still had a chance to turn things around. Two minutes later Vladimír Šmicer scored the Reds' second goal. Moments later, Gerrard then won a penalty when he was brought down in the box by Gennaro Gattuso. Initially Xabi Alonso's spot kick was saved by the goalkeeper (Dida) but he failed to hold the ball and Alonso scored from close range with the rebound to make it 3-3.

There were no further goals in the game and Liverpool went on to win the match via a penalty shootout, making Steven Gerrard the second youngest captain ever to lift the European Cup (Didier Deschamps is the youngest). Although he didn't actually take a penalty, he would have taken Liverpool's fifth spot kick if Jerzy Dudek hadn't already saved from Andriy Shevchenko to win the match for Liverpool. Gerrard's goal made him one of only two people this century to score in both the UEFA Cup and Champions League finals (Dmitri Alenichev for FC Porto is the other).

To cap Gerrard's great year in the Champions' League he was named as UEFA's Most Valuable Player for the 2004–05 Champions' League season. He was also in the running for French sport newspaper L'Equipe's prestigious Ballon D'Or award. Rounding out 2005, Gerrard came third in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year behind Ellen MacArthur and Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff.He later went on to finish 3rd in the voting of the 2005 European footballer of the year award.

2005/6: FA Cup winner
The 2005–06 season was perhaps Gerrard's most impressive to date. He scored 23 goals in 53 games from midfield. In April, Gerrard received his greatest personal accolade to date, when he was voted PFA Player of the Year by fellow players, becoming the first Liverpool player to win the award since John Barnes in 1988. His only lowlight being a dreadful back pass which was intercepted by Thierry Henry, which lead to him scoring Arsenal's winning goal in a league game at Highbury.

Gerrard capped the season by captaining Liverpool to victory in the FA Cup. He scored twice in the Final against West Ham, including a dramatic equalizer in stoppage time to send the game into extra-time. The 35-yard strike has been called the greatest goal in FA Cup final history, and was named Match of the Day's Goal of the Season.

His goals in the 2006 FA Cup final makes Gerrard the only player to have scored in all four major cup finals that it is possible for an England-based player to take part in. Gerrard's goals were: FA Cup (2006 vs West Ham United), League Cup (2003 vs Manchester United), UEFA Cup (2001 vs Deportivo Alaves), and Champions Cup (2005 vs AC Milan).

2006/7
Liverpool claimed the first domestic silverware of the 2006/7 season by beating Chelsea 2-1 to win the FA Community Shield. As Gerrard was rested from the starting line-up, Jamie Carragher was made captain for the match and thus lifted the cup; Gerrard had replaced Boudewijn Zenden on the hour mark and added another medal to his collection.

The 2006/7 season proved to be a disappointment for Liverpool in domestic cups, with defeats to Arsenal in both the FA Cup (3rd round) and League Cup (Quarter Final) in a few days of each other in January. Liverpool's chase for the League title was damaged by a run of poor results away from home early in the season, although Champions League qualification was assured in mid-April with a home win over Wigan Athletic. Liverpool fared better in Europe, winning their group in the Champions League with a game to spare, beating favourites FC Barcelona in the last 16, and beating Chelsea on penalties in the semi final. Gerrard scored the third penalty for Liverpool and provided the assist to Daniel Agger for Liverpool's equalizer with a smartly taken free kick. With their place in the final at Athens secure, Liverpool will face AC Milan for the title on May 23, in a repeat of the 2005 final.

Transfer speculation
Media speculation of Steven Gerrard's future was rife during two consecutive summer transfer windows, with him being most strongly linked with a move to Chelsea both times. During the summer of 2004, he was approached by Chelsea, but eventually chose to stay at Liverpool. It is known he was on the brink of signing for the London club but was persuaded to stay by his family and friends and his feeling that, as a local born player, he would regret playing for any other club team but Liverpool FC. The arrival of a new Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez also played a part in his decision.

In 2005 he was about to sign for the side again. Yet once again changed his mind. He also offered to give up his captaincy, but was told by Rafael Benítez that it was not necessary. On the morning of 8 July, Gerrard signed a new four-year deal with Liverpool alongside teammate, Jamie Carragher.

International career
Gerrard was given his international debut by Kevin Keegan against Ukraine on 31 May 2000. It was 18 months and only 44 games since his debut for the Liverpool first team. That summer, he was picked for the England squad for Euro 2000. In an unsuccessful campaign for England, Gerrard only made one substitute appearance, coming on for Michael Owen after 61 minutes, in the team's sole victory, a 1-0 defeat of Germany.

Gerrard was one of three Liverpool players including Michael Owen(3) and Emile Heskey(1) that scored in the famous World Cup qualifying game in September 2001 against Germany (1– 5 away victory), this being his first international goal. England successfully qualified for the 2002 World Cup, but Gerrard was forced to pull out of the squad to undergo surgery on a problematic groin injury. This operation finally put an end to injury problems that had plagued Gerrard since his early teens.

The 2004 European Football Championship saw Gerrard finally get a starting role in a major international tournament. Late in England's first game against France, Gerrard's back pass was intercepted by Thierry Henry, who was then brought down by David James, winning France a penalty. Zinedine Zidane duly scored to give France victory 2-1. England went on to win their next two group games to progress in second place, with Gerrard scoring his first goal at a finals competition with the third goal against Switzerland. England lost in the next round to Portugal, with Gerrard being substituted in the 81st minute.

Gerrard suffered an injury scare days before the 2006 World Cup in Germany, when it was suggested that he might be ruled out of England's first game of the tournament; he was deemed fit to make his first ever World Cup appearance, and started in the side that beat Paraguay 1-0. He then went on to score twice in the group stages of the tournament – first netting England's second goal in a 2-0 victory over Trinidad & Tobago with a brilliant long range, curled strike (coincidentally, again past Hislop) in injury time. This victory, in which Gerrard's Liverpool team-mate Peter Crouch also scored, ensured England's progress to the second round of the tournament with a game to spare. Gerrard was then initially rested for the final group game against Sweden, as a precaution against picking up a second booking that would have ruled him out of the second round match (having already received one against Paraguay). He came off the bench to score a powerfully headed goal in the 85th minute, giving England the lead in a game that finished 2-2. Gerrard was one of three England players to see their penalty saved by Ricardo Pereira in the quarter-final penalty shoot-out which was won by Portugal. Gerrard finished the tournament as England's top goalscorer with two goals.

Gerrard was regarded by both the footballing media and bookmakers to be one of the prime candidates for the England captaincy after David Beckham resigned the post. William Hill gave odds of 2/1 for Gerrard (with John Terry as favourite on 1/2 odds). With 47 caps at that time, Gerrard was a more experienced international player (as opposed to Terry's 29), but Steve McClaren chose to give the post to the Chelsea skipper, with Gerrard as vice-captain.

Personal life
Gerrard is engaged to Alex Curran and they are due to marry on June 16, 2007, the same day as his England teammates Gary Neville and Michael Carrick are both set to marry. The couple have two daughters: Lilly-Ella Gerrard (born February 23, 2004) and Lexie Gerrard (born May 09, 2006).

On 1 September 2006, Steven Gerrard published a first autobiography, entitled Gerrard: My Autobiography, in which he talks extensively about his personal life, Liverpool and England careers.

On 13 December 2006, councillors of Knowsley voted to make him a Freeman of the Borough. The first person to receive the honour since 1988, other people previously honoured include Lord Wilson the former Labour Prime Minister. The formal ceremony is expected to take place in 2007.

On 29 December 2006, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to sport.

Gerrard states in his autobiography his ambition before he retires is to get a well done from manager Rafael Benitez. Benitez says he does not heap praise on his captain in order to make him a better player and let him know that he has even more to offer to the Liverpool cause.

It has often been speculated that Gerrard Supported Everton who are Liverpool's biggest rivals as a boy as there was a alleged photo of him in a Everton Kit in their trophy room.This led to constant speculation Gerrard was not a true Liverpool fan as he was portrayed by the fans of Everton. In his autobiography Gerrard admitted it was him, and claimed he was in the Everton kit because he was a supporter of both sides.

Misspell

Steven Gerard Steven Gerrerd Steven Girrard Steven Gorrard Steven Grrard

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