Steven Gerrard - A Commander and Leader

Steven Gerrard is a living legend and an inspiration to all the budding footballers, not only in England, but in the world. His willpower and drive to keep performing and give his best every time is what has earned him the respect that he rightfully deserves. But sadly, a man of such caliber and panache does not have the accolades he deserves in the form of trophies, be it for club or for country.

In an age when legendary status is being conferred to all and sundry, Stevie G, or Captain Fantastic as he is popularly known among scousers, truly deserves it. He has single-handedly won games for Liverpool and even trophies, for that matter. He’s played from the time when he and Owen were a lethal combination along with Danny Murphy, Gary McAllister, Robbie Fowler and Emile Heskey when they won the unique treble of 2001. Players came and went but Steven Gerrard stuck to Liverpool, right from making his debut till today which has earned him the respect he rightfully deserves.

But there is one trophy which Stevie G has never managed to grab hold of, and that is the FA Premier League. That has never been his fault, but a player of that standard deserves to hold that crown and everyone in Liverpool will then hold him to their hearts forever, for bringing back the glory days of Dalglish and Ian Rush. Managers came and went, and it was Rafa who came the closest to clinching the title in the 2008-09 season. The mistake Liverpool made in that season was that they drew a lot of games, even the must-win ones. But they deserved the title that season. They went to Old Trafford and beat Manchester United 4-1, ending Edvin Van Der Sar’s clean sheet record and Torres could make Vidic dance to his tune. The inspiration for Torres to perform so well was provided by Stevie G who, like a commander in battle, provided all the assistance, defense as well as offense.

For England, he’s been one of the most consisitent players of all times, and his versitality and the unique ability to play in every position was never utilized well enough. All the different managers of England did not look at his attacking abilities. He was always kept as the defensive midfielder and Lampard was given a free role to create and attack. But in this Euro 2012, Gerrard has proved a point that he deserves a place in that central attacking role of the English midfield. The 3 assists out of the 5 goals scored by England speak for themselves. He was also the player who managed to keep his composure and score in the penalty shootouts, and he has done so consistently.

Steven Gerrard has been a driving force, an inspiration. He is someone who has set and maintained such high standards. Such is the dedication of this man that his lack of a significant number of major trophies has just made him hungrier for success and made him a better player and a leader.