Steven Gerrard – Captain. Leader. Legend.

“He dons his Superman cape, comes on and changes the whole dynamic of the game. That is what great players do and this is one of the modern greats of the game.”

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said this to describe his team’s captain fantastic – Steven Gerrard. The club will honour Gerrard with a testimonial against Olympiacos, a team against whom he scored one of the finest goals of his career, at Anfield on Saturday, August 3, 2013, to celebrate the player’s illustrious 15 years at the club during which he has won a Champions League, a UEFA Cup, two FA Cups, and three League Cups. Gerrard was awarded MBE by the Queen in 2006 and is also the current captain of the English national team.

Gerrard has spent his entire career at Liverpool since making his professional debut in 1998 and is widely considered to be one of the finest players to have ever played for the club. He has scored 159 goals for the team in 630 appearances so far. Because of his achievements on the field, plus him being a “local lad”, having been born in Merseyside, Gerrard is regarded as one of Liverpool’s greatest footballing icons.

He is often referred to as a complete midfielder because of his passing ability, shooting prowess and a good tackling ability. While he can be often seen running box-to-box to create goal-scoring chances for himself and others, he’s more than willing to track back to his own half to help the defence.

Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho complimented Gerrard’s game, saying “For me, in the position he plays, he is one of the very best in the world. For the job he performs, for me he is one of the greatest.”

Born on May 30, 1980 in Whiston, Merseyside, Gerrard was brought up in neighbouring Huyton and spent his childhood there. He attended the Cardinal Heenan Catholic high school in West Derby, Liverpool. Unlike other famous Liverpool players like Robbie Fowler, Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen, who were boyhood Everton fans, Gerrard was a Kopite from the very beginning and joined Liverpool as a trainee when he was a school boy.

Gerrard was spotted by Liverpool scouts while playing for his local side Whiston Juniors, and was brought to the club at the age of nine. He failed to achieve much success in his early days with the Liverpool Academy, and trialled with other clubs when he was 14. Among other clubs, Gerrard had a trial with Manchester United. He later claimed that the trial was a ploy to pressure Liverpool to offer him a professional contract.

He began his stint as an Academy player in the defensive midfield position. At the age of 15, he wasn’t rated too highly for the future due to his lack of height. However, he experienced a significant growth in height in the mid-late teenage years, which helped kick-start his career. This sudden growth also resulted in various injury problems in his early years as a professional. However, he managed to earn himself a professional contract on November 5, 1997.

On November 29, 1998, Gerrard was handed his first-team debut for Liverpool by manager Gerard Houllier, when he came on as a 90th minute substitute for Norwegian Vegard Heggem in the right back position in a 2-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers at Anfield. Injuries to Liverpool captain Jamie Redknapp meant that Gerrard got the chance to stake his claim for a place in the first-team. However, this role required him to play in a more advanced position in the central midfield than what he had been used to.

He went on to represent Liverpool in 12 more games in the season, which included a European debut in a 0-1 defeat at home to Celta Vigo on December 8, 1998. He wasn’t able to leave a notable impression on the team as he later reflected: “I was out of position and out of my depth.” He continued to suffer due groin and back problems resulting due to the spurt in growth in his teenage years.

Despite the injuries, Gerrard managed to cement his place in the team in the 1999-2000 season, partnering Jamie Redknapp in the central midfield. He scored his first professional goal, which was a spectacular one against Sheffield Wednesday at Anfield. It was a memorable goal, as he picked up the ball in the midfield, danced through the opponents’ defence, before drilling a low shot into the net.

His performances got the attention of England manager Kevin Keegan, who gave him his international debut against Ukraine in May 2000. He was selected for the Euro 2000, but ended with a solitary substitute appearance in the tournament.

Gerrard played a key role in Liverpool’s treble in 2001, and scored one of the goals in the UEFA Cup final victory against Alaves. Gerrard capped a memorable season by winning the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

His first international goal was in the 5-1 thrashing of Germany, which helped England secure a spot in the 2002 World Cup. Cruelly though, Gerrard had to miss the finals due to a groin injury.

Gerrard helped Liverpool to victory in League Cup 2003 when he scored from long range to net the team’s first goal in a 2-0 win over Manchester United. He was appointed the side’s vice-captain as his influence over the team increased.

In a shock move in the following season, Houllier appointed 23-year-old Gerrard as Liverpool’s captain. The move was controversial due to Gerrard’s young age and previous skipper Sami Hyypia’s success in the role, but Houllier justified his move saying “I think Stevie has certain leadership qualities which I spotted very early in his career. When he was young, all he needed was time to mature. Now he is 23 and he is ready. There has been a maturing in his game and his personality.”

Upon taking the captain’s armband, Gerrard said “I was captain of my school side and I used to go along to Anfield to watch the team and I always looked up to people like John Barnes who captained the team during the 90s. I used to watch Barnes with the captain’s armband and dream that one day it would be me captaining the team I love.”

The decision to promote Gerrard proved a success as he led the English team against Sweden in the absence of regular captain David Beckham.

The 2003-04 season was a disappointing one for Liverpool and led to the sacking of Houllier and appointment of Rafael Benitez as his replacement. Chelsea, who were newly wealthy with cash from Roman Abramovich, were linked with a big-money move for Gerrard. The player admitted that he was not happy with the progress that Liverpool had made and had thought about moving on. However, after talks with Benitez, Gerrard decided to stay, saying “I’ve gone with my heart. I’ve made a decision to stay at Liverpool and I am 100% committed to the club.”

Liverpool didn’t impress in the Premier League in the 2004-05 season, but with some inspired performances, lifted the club’s fifth Champions League trophy at Istanbul.

On December 8, 2004, Liverpool were playing their final game of the group stage against Olympiacos at home and needed to win by a two-goal margin to progress to the knockout stages. Liverpool were 2-1 up in the 86th minute, and four minutes away from elimination from the competition, when Neil Mellor knocked down the ball for Gerrard outside the box, and Gerrard’s long range shot burst into the bottom corner of the net as Liverpool progressed to the next round.

The Champions League final at the Ataturk Stadium on May 25, 2005, against AC Milan got off to the worst possible start for Liverpool, and the team found themselves trailing 0-3 at half-time. Gerrard’s well executed header reduced the team’s deficit and they went on to equalize 3-3 and later win in the penalty shootout. Gerrard won the man-of-the-match award in the final and also won the UEFA Club Player of the Year award.

Despite him rejecting Chelsea’s advances a year before, there were still rumours of a move. When quizzed about the possibility of a transfer after the Champions League final, Gerrard replied “How can I leave after a night like this?”

However, the player rejected a record £100,000 a week contract from Liverpool after Chelsea bid for the player and Liverpool gave up hope of retaining their talisman. Chairman Rick Parry was quoted “Now we have to move on. We have done our best, but he has made it clear he wants to go and I think it looks pretty final.”

However, Gerrard made a U turn the next day and signed a 4-year contract with Liverpool. He later reflected on the whole situation:

“Madness broke out. I was sitting dazed at home, watching the TV, and when I saw fans burning an old No 17 shirt by the Shankly Gates, it did my head in. Show some respect. Don’t you know how this is tearing me apart? Dad begged me not to go, but I replied, ‘look at the TV, fans are burning my shirt, the club aren’t stopping them, Liverpool don’t want me any more’. I stared at the TV through flowing tears. I was suffocated by stress. My head was banging, and I was eating paracetamol like Smarties. I could see the great possibilities of Chelsea, but my heart wouldn’t let me leave. Finally, my mind was made up. At 11pm that night, on July 5, 2005, I called my agent to tell Rick Parry (Liverpool’s chief executive) that I wanted to sign. My heart stopped racing, and I put the paracetamol away. The following morning, I awoke with a smile on my face for the first time in weeks.”

With his future now sorted, Gerrard went on to have an impressive 2005-06 season where he scored 23 goals in 53 appearances and won the PFA Player of the Year award. He became the first Liverpool player since John Barnes in 1988 to win the award.

The season culminated with a FA Cup victory over West Ham in the final at Cardiff. Gerrard scored twice in the game, including a dramatic equalizer in the final moments of the game to force extra-time. The 35-yard volley was voted as the Goal of the season.

Gerrard had now scored in four major finals, a feat no England-based player had ever achieved before.

Gerrard appeared in his first World Cup at Germany 2006, where he scored two goals in the league stage, but missed his penalty in the shootout loss to Portugal in the quarter-final.

Liverpool qualified for the Champions League final in the following season, but this time the match ended with a heart-break as AC Milan got their revenge of Istanbul by winning 2-1.

The summer of 2007 saw Liverpool sign Fernando Torres, and Gerrard formed a lethal partnership with him. After an indifferent 2007-08 season, Liverpool finished a strong second to Manchester United in the 2008-09 as the Gerrard-Torres partnership flourished, and Gerrard also formed a potent midfield team with Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano. Gerrard won the Football Writers Player of the Year award in that season.

His performance won accolades from Zinedine Zidane, who said “Is he the best in the world? He might not get the attention of Messi and Ronaldo but, yes, I think he just might be. If you don’t have a player like Steven Gerrard, who is the engine room, it can affect the whole team. 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.”

However, a disappointing 2009-10 season followed as Liverpool managed to finish only 7th in the league. An injury to Rio Ferdinand meant that Gerrard led the English national team in the 2010 World Cup, where the team exited in the round of 16.

Liverpool saw changes in managers in quick succession after the departure of Rafa Benitez as Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish came and left (Dalglish brought a brief ray of hope when he led Liverpool to League Cup success in 2012), and now Brendan Rodgers is at the helm since 2012.

On August 9, 2012, Gerrard scored his 150th career goal for Liverpool in a 3-0 victory over FC Gomel at Anfield in the Europa League. This goal also gave Gerrard the distinction of being only the third Liverpool player after Ronnie Whelan and Billy Liddell to have scored in 14 consecutive seasons.

Gerrard has been named as England’s permanent captain by England boss Hodgson, and not surprisingly, he has impressed in the role.

Liverpool announced on July 15, 2013 that Gerrard had signed a contract extension committing his future to the Reds, and the player has often been quoted that he wants to end his career at Anfield.

Steven Gerrard has evolved as a player over the years, having played at a number of positions in the team. Having started his Liverpool career at Right Back, then moving to the Central Midfield, and also having played on the flanks, he can truly be called a complete footballer.

With age now catching up to him, we can look forward to Gerrard playing in a slightly deeper role alongside Lucas (in the position that Xabi Alonso had made his own at Liverpool). With his experience, vision and range of passing, Gerrard can certainly control the tempo of the game and contribute to the team’s cause.

Widely respected by his teammates, opponents and experts, Steven Gerrard continues to enthral us in the way he does best – by playing inspired and brilliant football.

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry is full of respect and admiration of Gerrard, saying “Whenever you play Liverpool you know you have to get him out of the game. If not, it’s all over for you. He’s a midfielder and if you look at all the important goals he’s scored, well I can’t even think of a striker in the world who has scored as many important goals, never mind a midfielder. How many times has he done it in the dying seconds of a game? I am trying to think of a striker now who does it – there aren’t any. Think about it. For me, and I have always said this, he will be regarded as one of the greatest midfielders ever when he finishes his career. No doubt.”

The Anfield faithful love their home-grown skipper and show their affection for Gerrard in the song dedicated to him:

“Steven Gerrard is our CaptainSteven Gerrard is a redSteven Gerrard plays for LiverpoolA Scouser born and bred…”