Iron-willed Gerrard among Liverpool’s greatest

Monday, 5 January 2015 00:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

LONDON (Reuters): It is testament to Steven Gerrard’s ability that his Liverpool career will be remembered for heroic acts of willpower that ensured no deficit was irretrievable and no opponent unbeatable, rather than the league title that eluded him.

There was surprise when he announced on Friday that this season would be his last at Anfield after nearly 17 years in which his ability to wrestle victory from the jaws of defeat made him one of the finest players in the club’s history. Yet there was also a sense that perhaps this was a sensible decision from a player who had made his name influencing big games in a major way, when the alternative would have been to allow his Liverpool career to peter out. Simply fading into the background would have been unthinkable for a player who always grabbed the attention. Former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier recalls the moment he first clapped eyes on the 17-year-old Gerrard. The Frenchman spotted a gangly midfielder dashing from box-to-box and behaving like a leader, immediately promoting him to the first team despite concerns about his fragile young body. Houllier handed Gerrard his debut in 1998 and five years later he became a precocious captain at the age of 22. His greatest moment on the pitch undoubtedly came in the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul. Gerrard peeled his team mates off the floor at 3-0 down to AC Milan with a header that reduced the deficit and inspired one of the greatest comebacks in the history of European football. That culminated in a lung-busting Gerrard charge into the area that led to him being brought down for a penalty from which Liverpool equalised before clinching the trophy in a shootout. This was Gerrard at the peak of his powers, able to influence any occasion, to grab any match by the scruff of the neck and turn events in his favour, just as he did in the FA Cup final 12 months later. With Liverpool trailing West Ham United 3-2 heading into stoppage time, a cramping Gerrard let fly from 30 metres, rifling home his second goal of the game to take the match into extra-time and then penalties where the Merseysiders won out again. Much of Gerrard’s career could have been plucked from the pages of the finest comic book heroes, except the final chapter in which his long wait for a league title was extended by a cruel slip, just as the fairytale appeared to be heading for its customary happy ending.

Gerrard moving to US but yet to decide on club

Reuters: Captain Steven Gerrard will join a U.S. Major League Soccer team when he quits Liverpool at the end of the season but has yet to commit to a club, he said on Saturday. The former England skipper announced on Friday that he was ending his time at Anfield and moving abroad. “I can tell the supporters ... it will be America,” Gerrard told Liverpool’s TV channel. “But I’m not over the line with any team just yet. I’m close and as soon as I know I’ll make the announcement.” The 34-year-old midfielder has made 695 appearances and scored 180 goals for Liverpool after joining the club as an eight-year-old. Gerrard said the turning point in his decision to leave came when Brendan Rodgers told him he could no longer play every game. “The key conversation or moment was when the manager sat me down not so long ago and said it was time to manage my games for me,” he added. “I’m bright enough to realise it is the right thing for everyone but when you’ve been a starter and a mainstay in the team for such a long time, it was a very difficult conversation. I accept it and I’ll continue to give everything I’ve got whether I’m starting, coming off the bench or whatever.” Gerrard’s former England team mate Frank Lampard left Chelsea last year to join New York City but was loaned back to Premier League rivals Manchester City and this week confirmed he would stay at the Etihad Stadium until the end of the season. While Gerrard is unlikely to return to Anfield as a player, and has already ruled out featuring for another team against Liverpool, he said he could go back in the future in another capacity. “I’ll only come back and serve the club if I feel as if I can help,” he added. “I wouldn’t like to come back just to be Steven Gerrard the player and just be around. I’d like to help in whatever capacity that may be.” Gerrard’s greatest moment in a Liverpool shirt was when he helped to inspire the dramatic comeback win over AC Milan in the Champions League final in 2005.