Gerrard says last three months “worst of my life”

Saturday, 2 August 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

REUTERS: Steven Gerrard says the slip that arguably ended Liverpool’s title hopes and England being knocked out the World Cup in the group stages have contributed to what has been “probably the worst three months of my life”. Speaking to reporters on Liverpool’s pre-season tour of North America, the 34-year-old addressed the moment when he lost his footing against Chelsea in late April, allowing Demba Ba to open the scoring. The Blues went on to win 2-0, a result that effectively ended Liverpool’s push for a first title since 1990 as well as Gerrard’s hopes of a Premier League crown, the only club trophy that eludes him. “Where do I rank it? It’s probably the worst three months of my life. There is nothing else to say really is there,” Gerrard told reporters in New Jersey. “You get a support network around you of the people you are close to. That’s been the case since day one, people who have watched me since before I made my debut. They are always there for me. They always will be,” he added. “They rally around you and try to pick you up but when something like that happens, you have to try and face it. I am man enough to take it on the chin and accept it. It has happened and I can’t change it.” Along with strikers Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez, now at Barcelona, Gerrard had been one of the driving forces behind Liverpool’s resurgence last season. A one-club man, he keenly felt the pain of missing out on the title, and admitted he had watched his slip since and was resigned to be being asked about it for the foreseeable future. “That’s why it was cruel. I haven’t made a mistake, I haven’t lost my man at a set-piece. I haven’t missed a penalty. I haven’t made a bad pass,” Gerrard said. “Every single person on the planet slips at some point in their life, whether it’s on the stairs, on the floor or whatever. For me, it happened on the pitch at a really bad moment. “But over the course of 38 games a lot happens for you and against you and that determines if you win the league or not. But that moment happened at a really crucial time and I have to face that. And I will.” Gerrard said he hoped a successful World Cup campaign in Brazil would help ease the hurt but defeats to Italy and Uruguay and a draw with Costa Rica meant England left early. He has since retired from international duty. “Unfortunately, I have had that tough time at club level at the end of the season, then I have gone into a World Cup hoping that it was going to go really well to help me get over it. But it backfired,” he added. “I have had two really massive unbelievable lows in a short space of time, so it is a good test for me this season. Can I hit form after that? I believe that I can.”

Suarez to appeal to CAS on Aug 8

Luis Suarez

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has summoned Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez, currently serving a four-month ban from all soccer-related activities, to a hearing in Switzerland on August 8. Sources familiar with the case told Spanish news agency EFE that CAS will apply its fast-track procedure and should rule on Suarez’s appeal against his suspension in mid-August. The 27-year-old star striker, who was signed by FC Barcelona from Liverpool after FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee handed down the sanction, was suspended on June 26 for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during a World Cup round-robin match in the northeastern Brazilian city of Natal. As part of the ruling, Suarez was barred from Uruguay’s next nine competitive matches, the first of which was a June 28 loss to Colombia in the World Cup knockout stage. Earlier this month, FIFA’s Appeal Committee rejected a challenge filed by Suarez and Uruguay’s soccer federation against FIFA’s ruling, leaving the CAS route as the final option for reducing the player’s suspension. Because of the ban, Suarez, has not been officially presented at Camp Nou. If the CAS applies cautionary measures while studying the case, Suarez could return to training in the second half of August. Barcelona’s first match of the 2014-2015 Spanish-league season is scheduled for the weekend of August 23-24. If Suarez’s sanction is not reduced, his first La Liga match could be Barcelona’s clash with arch-rivals Real Madrid in late October, provided the match is scheduled for Sunday, October 26, and not October 25, the final day of his four-month ban.