by Matamela Kenneth @Phathu_Mat_LFC
Having Grown in a generation that has been blessed with the magnificent talents and extraordinary footballers such as the legendary Zinedine Zidane, Alessandro Del Piero, Raul, Ronaldinho and more recently Lionel Messi & Christiano Ronaldo,it is indeed a blessing to be living in our era. that being said, for me only one player stands above the rest, and will forever remain the ultimate Player, the Mighty Steven Gerrard, Liverpool’s leader and Commander.
Having been one of the fortunate (or rather unfortunate) followers of Liverpool to be attracted to the club by a certain Michael Owen, little did I know that a legend in the making in the form of another Scouser was developing himself into the stalwart and Amazing captain that he is today and will forever be celebrated as a maestro of the game.
Undisputadley, Gerrard is by far one of the greatest Midfielders the English game has ever produced,being efficient in both attack and defense, Gerrard can be perfectly summed up by Zinedine Zidane’s words when quizzed about the Liverpool Captain, “He has great passing ability, can tackle and scores goals, but most importantly he gives the players around him confidence and belief. You can’t learn that – players like him are just born with that presence.”
Whether you are a Liverpool fan or not, We all love watching those blistering runs in the middle of the park, those perfectly timed long passes & those trademark long range goals he will forever be remembered for (Unless ofcourse he is scoring against your side)
Despite not having had the luxury of playing in the great and elite Liverpool Squads of the past, Gerrard has recently been polled as 2nd behind Kenny Dalgish in the “100 Players Who Shook The Kop” poll, this basically puts him as the second best player to ever grace the green of Anfield which is no small feat.
Having been installed as Liverpool captain in 2003, Gerrard has been at the forefront of many memorable moments in a red shirt and his goal against Olympiakos which took Liverpool to the knock-out stages of the Champions League, which sent commentator Andy Gray absolutely crazy, being one of his best ever and in his own words, the most important goal of his career. Many such moments were to follow as Gerrard continued to lead from the front and not being the most vocal of lads preferred to let his actions on the pitch serve as inspiration to his troops.
Over the years Steven Gerrard has evolved as a player having filled a number of positions and playing different roles in the team. He started his Liverpool career covering at Right Back then moved to Right Midfied and eventually into the Middle which has only helped him to become the complete footballer that he is today.
However with Age catching up with him, the Liverpool skipper now find himself playing in a slightly deeper role or what is known to liverpool fans as the “Xabi Role” alongside Lucas Leiva who currently is dividing opinions in Anfield. In this role Gerrard gets to control the tempo of play and build up play with his vision and world class passing and he managed to notch up an impressive 10 goals and 12 assists despite initially struggling at the beginning of the season.
And here’s to hoping we get to see many more fine years of the Legend that is Steven Gerrard.