STEVEN GERRARD

STEVEN GERRARD

Friday, July 10, 2009

Personal Information

Name: Steven Gerrard
Club: Liverpool (Eng)
Shirt Number: 8
Personal Position: CM
Nationality: England
Date of Birth: 30/05/1980
Place of Birth: Whiston, England
Height: 188 cm
Weight: 79 kg
International honours: Under-21 and full international caps
Goals: 104
International caps: 70 I
nternational goals: 14
Contract Date Signed: 01/08/1998
Contract Expiry: 06/2009
Speculated wage: £60,000 per week

Steven Gerrard has grown used to the plaudits that have rained down on him since his Premiership debut in December 1998. 'The future of England's success' is a strong claim to make about one player, but where Gerrard is concerned it is not an exaggeration. Having graduated from the Liverpool Youth Academy, Gerrard is one of the most exciting talents in the English game. He is a midfielder that combines commitment, aggression, attacking instincts and the ability to create as well as score goals. In short, the complete player.
2000/01 was a season of achievements for Gerrard. Having starred in England's Euro 2000 victory over rivals Germany, the young midfielder went on to collect Worthington Cup, FA Cup and Uefa Cup winners medals as Liverpool completed a tremendous treble. As if to prove his personal progress, he also picked up individual honours in the form of the prestigious PFA Young Player of the Year award and the Liverpool supporters' vote as Player of the Season.
He struggled to find his form early in 2001/02, but he was instrumental in England's 5-1 demolition of Germany in Munich, scoring the first goal. Injury problems once again meant that he was unable to make a regular impression on Liverpool's season, but when he was available, he was vital to their push for trophies. However, his season ended in disappointment as the Reds failed to emulate their previous glittering season and ended the season empty-handed. Dissapointment hit once more as a groin injury deprived him of a place in England's 2002 World Cup squad.
After overcoming that groin problem, Gerrard went on to perform brilliantly during the Reds' 2002/03 campaign, making 54 appearances in all competitions, and scoring 7 goals. He also featured heavily in Sven Goran Eriksson's England plans, playing in 6 international games and scored his second international goal.
However, the 2003/04 season was dissapointing for Gerrard as Liverpool could only finish fourth in the Barclays Premiership. Euro 2004 was to prove equally dissapointing for the hungry Gerrard. After a bad start losing a 1-0 lead to France in the last few minutes, England recovered briefly, escaping their group before eventually losing on penalties to hosts Portugal at the Quarter-Final stage.
2005/06 was a season that lasted almost 12 months for Gerrard with Liverpool kicking off their defence of the Champions League trophy in July 2005, while he was representing his country at the World Cup until early July 2006. It ended in despair for him as he missed a penalty in their shoot-out defeat to Portugal.Things didn't improve much for Gerrard in 2007/08. Although he was as talismanic as ever in the heart of the Liverpool midfield, he ended the season trophyless and was left frustrated as England failed to qualify for Euro 2008.
In the 2008/09 season he was once again the heartbeat of Liverpool as they pushed harder than ever to win the Premier League. They came up empty-handed but Gerrard won the Football Writers' Player Of The Year. In March 2009 he scored his first hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Aston Villa, as well as playing his part in a famous 4-1 win at Old TraffoRD