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Steven Gerrard

Personal information
Full name	Steven George Gerrard
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Liverpool
Number	8
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:23, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

Steven George Gerrard MBE (IPA: [ˈdʒɛrɑ:d]; born 30 May 1980, Whiston, Merseyside) is an English football player. He is the captain of Liverpool, where he wears the number 8 shirt. He has been called an influential and versatile midfielder, and is known for his long-range shots. He is usually employed in the "box-to-box" midfield role, although he has often been deployed as a right-sided midfielder, and occasionally as a second striker. During his career he has won the PFA Young Player of the Year, PFA Player of the Year, PFA Fans' Player of the Year, European Midfielder of the Year, Premier League Player of the Year(twice), and UEFA Club Footballer of the Year. He has also been awarded the MBE for his contributions to football. He has been nominated three times for the FIFA World Player of the Year, in 2005, 2006 and 2007. On 5 February 2008, it was announced he had been voted by fans as the Nationwide England Player of the Year for 2007.

Early career

Gerrard started out playing for local team Whiston Juniors. He was noticed by Liverpool's scouts and joined the Reds' youth academy aged nine. He played relatively few games, with late growth spurts restricting him to only 20 games between the ages of 14 and 16. Aged 14, Gerrard had trials with various clubs, including Manchester United. In his autobiography, he claimed that this was "to pressure Liverpool into giving me a YTS contract." During this time he had an accident involving a rusty garden fork and could have lost his toe. Gerrard signed his first professional contract with Liverpool on 5 November 1997.

Liverpool first team

1998-99

Gerrard made his debut for the Liverpool first team on 29 November 1998 as a second-half substitute for Vegard Heggem against Blackburn Rovers, and his first start came in the UEFA Cup against Celta Vigo. In part due to an injury to Jamie Redknapp, Gerrard went on to play 13 games for Liverpool that season.

1999-00

The 1999-00 season saw manager Gérard Houllier start with Gerrard partnering Jamie 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.

His back was causing him regular problems. At the time, many journalists surmised that fans would never see Gerrard complete anything close to a full season. However, manager Gerard Houllier took the practical approach and sought specialist help. After visits to sports consultant Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfarth, it was diagnosed that Gerrard's pains were a result of accelerated growth in a short period of time. After treatment he and Liverpool F.C. were assured that these problems would not recur. Gerrard then suffered from groin problems, and needed four operations for this correction. He went to a French specialist to deal with the injury problems, which were attributed to a rapid growth spurt and playing too much football as a teenager.

2000-01

2000-01 brought Gerrard his first trophy successes: he put his injury problems behind him and made 50 first team appearances, scoring 10 goals, as Liverpool won the League Cup and FA Cup. On 31 March 2000 Gerrard scored a goal from 25 yards which was the first in a 2-0 victory over Manchester United at Anfield. This was voted by fans as Liverpool's best ever Premier League goal. 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.

2001-02

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 over a decade. During the course of this season, Houllier suffered serious health problems which resulted in him having to undergo major heart surgery. At this point Liverpool looked like becoming a force in English football once again, but after Houllier's illness the team began to go backwards. The team's performance became increasingly erratic and reliant on Gerrard and Michael Owen to win matches with flashes of inspiration.

2002-03

Gerrard suffered a period of poor form during this time, culminating in his substitution during a Champions League match with FC Basel at half time with Liverpool 3-0 down. After the game Gerrard was the subject of public criticism by Houllier, who suggested that he was not fully focussed on his football. Gerrard claimed in his autobiography that the end of his parents marriage had deflected his attention from the team. 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.

2003-04

By the start of the 2003-04 season, Gerrard had established himself as Liverpool's on-field leader and Houllier officially named him the club captain, replacing Sami Hyypiä in October 2003. Houllier said that he recognized Gerrard had demonstrated leadership qualities early on, but needed to mature. His then Liverpool team mate, Michael Owen, in his autobiography expressed relief at Gerrard being named captain as it took the pressure off him. Gerrard also penned a four-year contract worth £60,000 a week.

However, while Gerrard's performances had improved as Liverpool captain, the team continued to stall and the 2003-04 season ended with no trophies and Houllier's departure, and during the off-season, he was linked with a move to Chelsea. He admitted he was not "happy with the progress the club has made," and that "for the first time in my career I've thought about the possibility of moving on." Gerrard ultimately decided to stay with Liverpool to play under newly appointed manager, despite a £20 million offer from Chelsea.

2004-05

Gerrard taking a freekick for Liverpool.

Liverpool struggled early in the season under the new management. The club were not helped by the sale of Michael Owen to Real Madrid and a serious 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 into the final group game requiring a two-goal win to progress into the last 16 of the competition. Gerrard scored a 25 yard strike in the last five minutes against the Greek team Olympiakos to secure the team's progress. After being 1-0 down at half-time to a Rivaldo free kick, Liverpool required three second half goals to go through. However, they launched a comeback scoring two 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 that this was his most important, if not his best, goal for Liverpool to date.

Liverpool won their two-legged ties against Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus and Chelsea in the knock out stages and they went on to reach the Champions League final. However, in the meantime, the club only finished 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 that he would be moving on from Liverpool at the end of the season.

Final in Istanbul

Liverpool played AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul. The game started badly. At half-time Liverpool were 3-0 down. It appeared that AC Milan had the trophy won already. Rafa Benitez made a number of tactical changes at half time, including the substitution of Dietmar Hamann for Steve Finnan which allowed Gerrard to push further forward, and Liverpool launched one of the most famous comebacks in football history.

During a six minute stretch in the second half, Liverpool scored three times to level the game at 3-3. Gerrard headed in the first goal in from a John Arne Riise cross in the 54th minute. Two minutes later Vladimír Šmicer scored the Reds' second goal. Moments later, Gerrard was brought down in the box by Gennaro Gattuso and won a penalty. Xabi Alonso's spot kick was saved by Dida, the goalkeeper, but he failed to hold the ball and Alonso scored from the rebound to make it 3-3.

There were no further goals in the game. Liverpool went on to win the match via a penalty shootout. Gerrard became the second youngest captain ever, after Didier Deschamps, to lift the European Cup. 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).

Gerrard was named as UEFA Club Footballer of the Year for the 2004-05 Champions' League season. He was also in the running for French sport newspaper L'Équipe's prestigious Ballon d'Or award. Gerrard came third in the 2005 BBC Sports Personality of the Year behind Ellen MacArthur (second) and Andrew Flintoff. He later finished third in the 2005 European Footballer of the Year award.

Transfer speculation

Although immediately after the Champions League Final, Gerrard told the press, "How can I leave after a night like this?", he was again linked with a move away from Anfield, to Chelsea and Real Madrid.

Contract negotiations broke down between Gerrard and the club in July, and on 5 July 2005, after Liverpool turned down a £32 million bid 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."

But the very next day, Parry announced that Gerrard would be staying, saying "Stevie's decided to stay. It's a little bit like last year, only even more dramatic... In the language he used to us, he never said he wanted to go. He never said 'I wanted to go.'" Parry blamed the breakdown of the talks on miscommunication between the two sides, saying, "There were one or two issues with the contract which he took to mean a lack of enthusiasm on our part, which it wasn't. He understands that now." On the morning of 8 July 2005 Gerrard signed a new four-year deal with Liverpool alongside teammate Jamie Carragher.

2005-06: FA Cup winner

In the 2005-06 season, Gerrard 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 his fellow players, becoming the first Liverpool player to win the award since John Barnes in 1988. Gerrard capped the season by captaining Liverpool to victory in the FA Cup. He scored twice in the Final against West Ham, including an equalizer in stoppage time to send the game into extra-time. The 35 yard strike (past Shaka Hislop) has been called the greatest goal in FA Cup final history, and was named Match of the Day's Goal of the Season. Gerrard also scored in the penalty shoot out. He was voted as Liverpool's Player of the Year at the end of the campaign.

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 European Cup (2005 vs AC Milan).

2006-07

Gerrard playing for Liverpool during the 2006-07 season

Liverpool claimed the first domestic silverware of the 2006-07 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 replaced Boudewijn Zenden on the hour mark, and so added another medal to his collection.

Liverpool were unsuccessful domestically. They finished 3rd in the Premier League, 21 points adrift of the champions Manchester United and on equal points with 4th placed Arsenal. In the FA Cup, they were defeated by Arsenal at the third-round stage.

In the Carling Cup they were again knocked out by Arsenal at the quarter-final stage. Gerrard scored in the match but could not prevent his side suffering a 6–3 defeat at home.

However, Liverpool fared better in the Champions League. Defending Champions and favourites FC Barcelona were beaten in the last 16, and joint favourites Chelsea in the semi-final. In the semi, Gerrard provided the assist for Daniel Agger to score Liverpool's equalizer and later scored the third penalty for Liverpool in the shoot-out. Liverpool faced A.C. Milan for the title on 23 May 2007 in a repeat of the 2005 final, but lost 2-1.

2007-08

In Liverpool's first game of the new campaign against Aston Villa at Villa Park, Gerrard secured Liverpool three valuable points after scoring a curling free kick into the top-right corner from 25 yards out at the 87th minute, just two minutes after Gareth Barry had equalized for Villa through a penalty. Gerrard was awarded the Man of the Match award. The win marks Liverpool's first opening day victory in the Premier League since 2002. In the Champions League qualifier versus Toulouse, Gerrard was substituted in the 65th minute with a suspected injury. While this was later confirmed as a hairline fracture in his toe he would return to play only four days later versus Chelsea. Gerrard played the entirety of the match as it finished in a 1–1 draw.

On 28 October 2007 Gerrard played his 400th game for Liverpool against Arsenal, scoring a goal. Gerrard was elected fans player of the match.

Gerrard scored in all but one of Liverpool's games in November and by scoring in the away Champions League tie against Marseille in December he became the first Liverpool player since John Aldridge in 1989 to score in 7 consecutive games in all competitions.

On 13 April 2008 he made his 300th Premier League appearance against Blackburn Rovers, and marked the occasion by scoring the opening goal. Liverpool finished fourth in the League and reached the semi-finals of the European Champions League eventually going out to Chelsea. Gerrard ended the season with 22 goals surpassing his goals total of the 06-07 season and was one of the nominees for the PFA player of the year alongside teammate Fernando Torres. He was also selected for the PFA Team of the year for the fifth year in a row and sixth overall.

2008-09

In Liverpool's first home game of the season, Gerrard struck from 18 yards in the 94th minute against Middlesbrough to give them a 2-1 victory. Gerrard helped his club reach the group stages of the Champions League after a 1-0 aggregate win over Standard Liege, before undergoing surgery for a groin problem. In his first start since returning from surgery against Olympique Marseille in Champions League Group D, Gerrard scored twice, his 98th and 99th goals for Liverpool in all competitions, in a 2-1 victory at the Stade Velodrome. On 20 September, Gerrard scored what appeared to be his 100th Liverpool goal, a free-kick from the right against Stoke, but this was disallowed as Dirk Kuyt ruled offside. However, on 1 October 2008, Gerrard scored #100 against PSV Eindhoven in a Champions League group match, the third Liverpool goal in a 3-1 win.

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 goals) and Emile Heskey (1 goal) who scored in the 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.

Euro 2004 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; however, 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 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. 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. On 13 October 2007, Gerrard captained the England squad for the first time in a competitive match.

On 20 August 2008, Gerrard became Liverpool's most capped player of all time, after winning his 68th cap for England against the Czech Republic at Wembley.

Personal life

Gerrard is married to Alex Curran, and the couple have two daughters: Lilly-Ella Gerrard (born 23 February 2004) and Lexie Gerrard (born 9 May 2006). They married at Cliveden mansion in Buckinghamshire on 16 June 2007; the same day as the weddings of England team-mates Gary Neville and Michael Carrick. He has an older brother named Paul (not to be confused with former Everton goalkeeper Paul Gerrard) and his parents are divorced. His cousin Anthony Gerrard plays for Walsall.

In September 2006, Gerrard published an autobiography, entitled Gerrard: My Autobiography (ISBN 0 593 05475 X), which went on to win the Sports Book of the Year honour in the British Book Awards.

On 13 December 2006, councillors of Knowsley voted to make him a Freeman of the Borough. He is the first person to receive the honour since 1988, joining other luminaries including former Labour Party Prime Minister Lord Wilson.

On 29 December 2006 Gerrard was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by The Queen in her New Year Honours List, for services to sport.

On 1 October 2007 he had a low-speed car accident in his BMW X5, knocking down a 10-year-old boy who ran into the road outside Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School in Southport. Gerrard later visited the boy and handed him football boots signed by the boy's favourite player, Manchester United's Wayne Rooney, who is Gerrard's England teammate.

On 11 December 2007, Gerrard's house was burgled whilst he was away for an UEFA Champions League match against Marseille.

Gerrard received an honorary fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University on 26 July 2008 as recognition for his contribution to sport.

Club statistics

Club Performance

Club	Season	Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
Liverpool (Premier League)	1998–99	12	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	-	-	13	0
	1999–00	29	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	31	1
	2000–01	33	7	4	1	4	0	9	2	-	-	50	10
	2001–02	28	3	2	0	0	0	15	1	-	-	45	4
	2002–03	34	5	2	0	6	2	11	0	1	0	54	7
	2003–04	34	4	3	0	2	0	8	2	-	-	47	6
	2004–05	30	7	0	0	3	2	10	4	-	-	43	13
	2005–06	32	10	6	4	1	1	12	7	2	1	53	23
	2006–07	36	7	1	0	1	1	12	3	1	0	51	11
	2007–08	34	11	3	3	2	1	13	6	-	-	52	21
	2008–09	6	1	0	0	0	0	4	3	-	-	7	4
	Club Total	308	56	23	8	19	7	95	28	4	1	449	100
Career totals		308	56	23	8	19	7	95	28	4	1	449	100
Last updated 5 October 2008

International goals

Scores and results list England's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	2001-09-01	Olympisatdion, Germany	Germany	2-1	5-1	2002 FIFA World Cup Qual.
2	2002-10-16	St Mary's Stadium, England	North Macedonia	2-2	2-2	UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.
3	2003-06-03	Walkers Stadium, England	Serbia and Montenegro	1-0	2-1	Friendly
4	2004-06-17	Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Portugal	Switzerland	3-0	3-0	UEFA Euro 2004
5	2004-09-04	Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Austria	Austria	2-0	2-2	2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
6	2005-03-30	St James' Park, England	Azerbaijan	1-0	2-0	2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
7	2006-05-30	Old Trafford, England	Hungary	1-0	3-1	Friendly
8	2006-06-15	Frankenstadion, Germany	Trinidad and Tobago	2-0	2-0	2006 FIFA World Cup
9	2006-06-20	RheinEnergieStadion, Germany	Sweden	2-1	2-2	2006 FIFA World Cup
10	2006-09-02	Old Trafford, England	Andorra	2-0	5-0	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
11	2007-03-28	Olympic Stadium, Spain	Andorra	1-0	3-0	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
12	2007-03-28	Olympic Stadium, Spain	Andorra	2-0	3-0	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
13	2008-05-28	Wembley, England	United States	2-0	2-0	Friendly

Career honours/achievements

Team honours with Liverpool:

• FA Premier League:
  • Runner-up (1): 2001/2002

• FA Cup:
  • Winner (2): 2000/2001, 2005/2006

• League Cup:
  • Winner (2): 2000/2001, 2002/2003
  • Runner-up (1): 2004/2005

• FA Community Shield:
  • Winner (2): 2001/2002, 2006/2007
  • Runner-up (1): 2002/2003

• UEFA Champions League:
  • Winner (1): 2004/2005
  • Runner-up (1): 2006/2007

• UEFA Cup:
  • Winner (1): 2000/2001

• UEFA Super Cup:
  • Winner (2): 2001/2002, 2005/2006

• FIFA World Club Championship:
  • Runner-up (1): 2005/2006

Personal Awards/Honours

• Honarary Fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University: 2008
• Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE): 2007
• UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2004/2005
• UEFA Team of the Year: 2004/2005, 2005/2006, 2006/2007
• UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match: 2004/2005
• FIFA Club World Championship Silver Ball: 2005
• FIFA World Player of the Year (Nominated): 2005, 2006, 2007
• European Footballer of the Year (Third Place): 2005
• FIFPro World XI: 2006/2007
• England Fans' Player of the Year: 2007
• PFA Players' Player of the Year: 2005/2006
• PFA Young Player of the Year: 2000/2001
• PFA Fans' Player of the Year: 2000/2001
• PFA Team of the Year: 2000/2001, 2003/2004, 2004/2005, 2005/2006, 2006/2007, 2007/2008
• FA Premier League Player of the Month: March 2001, March 2003, December 2004, April 2006
• FA Cup Final Man of the Match: 2005/2006
• FA Cup Player of the Round: 2005/2006*
• Liverpool FC Top Scorer: 2004/2005, 2005/2006
• Liverpool FC Player of the Year: 2005/2006
• Liverpool FC Captain: 2003/2004-
• Goal of the Season: 2005/2006
• Goal of the Month: May 2006
• Voted second by Liverpool fans' in the 100 Players Who Shook the Kop list: 2006

• (* Sixth Round Proper vs Birmingham City)

Achievements:

• Only player to have scored in the final of the UEFA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Champions League and FA Cup.
• Holds the record for most Liverpool goals in European competitions. (28)
• Holds the record as Liverpool's most capped player. (69 with England)

External links

• Steven Gerrard – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Official LFC profile
• BBC Sport profile
• Tactical Profile at Football-Lineups.com
• Steven Gerrard at Soccerbase
• Steven Gerrard Profile at Carling.com
• Steven Gerrard Profile at FootballDatabase.com
• Profile and stats at LFChistory.net