A TRIBUTE TO STEVEN GERRARD

“It’s Gerrrraaaaaarrrd, oh yessss. It’s a Steven Gerrard special and Liverpool are level.”

This 91^st min thunderbolt from the Liverpool captain at Cardiff just a few days ago forced the FA Cup final against West Ham into extra-time which the Reds later won on penalties. This match, which pundits rightly called the Steven Gerrard final, is what inspired me to pay my respects to one of my favourite footballers.

With the likes of Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Beckham and Zidane around, humble and hardworking players like Gerrard, often don’t get the fame and attention they deserve.

Steve g, as me n my friends fondly call him, was born in a middle class neighbourhood in Liverpool. He was an avid Toffee fan until he moved over to the Red half of Merseyside and made his debut in the Premier League as a promising teenager in 1999. Gerrard and another local boy, Michael Owen were the pillars around which Gerard Houllier, the then Red coach, endeavoured to rebuild the depleted Liverpool side and again make Anfield the fortress she used to be in the 80’s. Gerrard’s first taste of silverware came when the Reds won that famous Cup double in the 2001 campaign. And finally it seemed that Houllier had found the right balance in his squad. But disappointing seasons followed which led to the sacking of Houllier and Owen’s departure to the Bernabau in search of greater success. But Gerrard, like a loyal son, stayed at Anfield resisting many lucrative offers from clubs around the continent.

And as luck would have it, Owen’s new club Real Madrid went out in the quarterfinals of the Champions League and a Gerrard led Liverpool side were crowned champions of Europe in that epic final in Istanbul against Italian heavy weights AC Milan. The Reds were down 3-0 at halftime and it was left to Gerrard again to engineer a miraculous comeback, probably the greatest in European history, in which they found the back of the net 3 times in a space of 6 minutes. He scored Liverpool’s first with a towering header off a John Arne Riise cross and then won the penalty which culminated in Xabi Alonso equalizing for the Reds. The sight of Steve egging on his teammates and the forty thousand odd traveling Liverpool fans, after scoring that first goal, has had a lasting impression on me.

But Steve g, to me, is much more than just a player who can score crucial goals and win matches for his club and country. He is an epitome of self-sacrifice. He is a naturally attacking player but curbs his instincts while playing for country and assumes a more defensive role. And this is more due to the shortcomings of his England teammates than his own. He probably doesn’t have the dribbling skills and trickery that some of his illustrious colleagues possess. But he makes up for that with tremendous stamina, unflagging fighting spirit and most importantly his boyish exuberance. I remember a game between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford a couple of years ago in which Gerrard was virtually omnipresent providing crosses and through balls to his forwards and helping out his defenders with crucial tackles at key junctures.

He is known as much for his superhuman like work ethic as for his defence splitting passes and powerful long range strikes. Michael Owen owes a significant fraction of his Liverpool goals to Gerrard’s vision and accurate passing. His favourite right foot is feared all over the world. You give him space and time around the 18 yard box and invariably he will make you pay for your spectatorship. Ask the Olympiakos fans, whose dreams he shattered with one of his trademark screamers in the dying minutes of the Champions League first round match last year.

On current form, he is arguably England's best midfielder and a sure successor to David Beckham's thrown as English skipper. The fact that an avid Manchester United supporter is paying his tributes to the captain of his arch rivals is the greatest compliment to Gerrard’s abilities.

Having unfortunately missed the last World Cup due to an injury, he will be looking to make amends at this year’s finals in Germany. An overjoyed Steven Gerrard holding aloft the Jules Rimet trophy on the 9^th of July in Berlin is one of the sights I crave to see!

P.S.-If any of the readers feel i am exaggarating gerrard's importance please watch this-

http://www.footballclips.net/steven_gerrard_top_10_goals