Young Gerrard wasn’t intimidated by the stars…
Former captain Paul Ince, who decided to criticise Mario Balotelli last week, has spoken about the Italian’s teammate Steven Gerrard, but in far more glowing terms!
Ince was an experienced international when Gerrard began training with the first-team, and has recalled the enthusiasm and drive that the 17-year-old future Champions League winning skipper impressed the older players with.
“I remember strolling around in a training game when this little rascal steamed into me. I was angry and asked what he was doing, and he told me to “f***ng shut up!” Ince said.
“I asked Jamie Redknapp who this upstart was.’That’s Stevie G’ he replied.
“You could tell he wanted it so much and what he’s done for Liverpool will never be repeated. Now he has to make a decision about his future,” the Daily Express reported.
Gerrard of course went on to prove that he had every right to throw his weight around early on, and 16 years later he’s arguably regarded as the club’s greatest ever player alongside Kenny Dalglish.
Ince is currently out of a job, which perhaps explains the time he has on his hands right now to speak so much about the current Liverpool squad.
The ex-Manchester United, West Ham, Inter Milan and Middlesbrough battler reckons that Balotelli is disrupting the squad, and that Brendan Rodgers should offload him at the nearest possible opportunity, too.