Biography
Steven Gerrard will join the Red’s youth academy at the age of nine but will have a hard time finding a team thereafter. At the age of 14 he will have numerous trials in order to find a club including with Manchester United. It is in 1997 that Steven Gerrard will sign a contract with Liverpool.
His first match will be against Blackburn Rovers where he will make a substitute appearance and he will play eleven games in the league and UEFA Cup during his first season. However he will be playing out of position and will fail to make a major impact at that time. It is in 2001 that he will make a name for himself on the European scene.
Under the guidance of Gerard Houllier he will win the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup. Gerrard will score the second goal of this final won 5-4 to Alaves and becomes the hero of Liverpool. That year, he was nominated as the best English player of the championship. In March 2003, he won one second League Cup against Manchester (2-0). And this time he will win it as the Liverpool captain.
In 2003-2004, Gerrard will allow Liverpool to finish fourth in the Championship- a season during which he will play 34 Premier League games and eight European games.
Among his greatest achievement will be the famous Istanbul night. Trailing 3-0 at halftime, Liverpool will accomplish a miracle. Gerrard score the second goal for his team and will allow Liverpool to win the trophy after 20 years. In the offseason, he will refuse an offer from Chelsea and re-sign four years at the Reds. He will finish third in the Ballon d’Or behind Ronaldinho and Lampard.
His 2005-2006 season was the most prolific in terms of goals since he scored 17 in 44 games in all competitions. Indeed he will be voted PFA Player of the Year during this season. For the 2006-2007 season, Gerrard will score 10 goals in league and once again Liverpool will put Chelsea out of the Champions League again but will be eliminated by AC Milan.
In 2008 Gerrard will celebrate his 300th appearance in the Premier League and will finish the season scoring 22 goals. This will surpass his previous record in the 2005-2006 season. He will be nominated for the PFA Player of the Year again this year.
in 2009, he made his 100th appearance in European competition in a match against Real Madrid and will score twice in this game. He will have some really good game from then on including a match against Manchester United and Aston Villa. These performances in that year will allow him to be voted as the 2009 Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year. He will surpass players such as Giggs and Rooney in order to win the award.