Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard made a debut for his new club Los Angeles Galaxy as he played the first half of the International Champions Cup match against Mexican side Club America in the StubHub Center stadium.
This is the first time for the boyhood Liverpool fan to wear any club’s jersey apart from Liverpool where he played all his 17 years of senior football.
Before Gerarrd’s first game for Galaxy, former Galaxy player and Gerrard’s former international teammate David Beckham wished Stevie G good luck for his new challenge.
He showed early glimpses of his class in the 45 minutes he played and Galaxy fans will be happy with their newest star’s opening display.
As his name was called out during the team announcement, there were roars from the 27,934 sell out crowd at LA Galaxy’s StubHub Center stadium.
It was apparent that he was popular with the fans even before he kicked a ball during the match which saw his new team win 2-1 in the International Champions Cup.
Gerrard almost doubled their cheer on the 21st minute when he burst into opponent’s penalty box in his like the “Trademark Gerrard” and took a shot with his left foot but denied by a great save by the goalkeeper of the Mexican outfit Hugo Gonzalez.
Gerrard came close twice to his dream California debut before that, once with a volley on the 20th minute that went wide of the post.
First few minutes were a little sloppy from the veteran midfielder as he was adapting to his new team for the first time in his career but he adapted very quickly and was improving with every passing minute on the field.
Though this was hardly surprising as the midfield legend hadn’t played a match since his final game for Liverpool nearly two months ago.
Gerrard’s new boss, LA Galaxy’s head coach Bruce Arena had nothing but positive words to say about his new player though, saying that his first match was “very encouraging”.
Speaking after the game, Arena said: “He looked like he belonged, his passing was very good, and his partnership with Juninho was very good too.
“It was very encouraging, his leadership was good.”
Arena, however, said he doesn’t expect his new star to be at his best just yet, adding: “It will probably take about a month for him to build into the team.
“He needs to play some games, but it was a good 45 minutes for him.”
Despite not getting his fairytale start, LA Galaxy won with Gerrard’s close friend Keane scoring with a fine first touch on the 44th minute to take the Californians level after they went 1-0 down following a sixth minute goal from Darwin Quintero.
And on the 80th minute, Alan Gordon scored the winner for Gerrard’s new side.
Gerrard will make his MLS debut on Friday against the San Jose Earthquakes, though he may star in LA Galaxy’s US Open Cup match away to Real Salt Lake on Tuesday.
Gerrard said making his debut for new team LA Galaxy was a “great feeling.”
However, the 35-year-old midfielder admitted that the 45 minute stint was physically “tough” having not played competitively for nearly two months following his emotional departure from Liverpool.
Speaking after the match, he said: “It was a difficult game and I thought [Club América] were very good.
“I thought after 15 or 20 minutes that the team settled really well, we played some good football and we got our deserved equalizer.
“For me personally, it was good to get 45 minutes under my belt and I’ll keep getting better and better and the more I get used to my teammates, I’ll improve.”
Now Stevie is looking forward to his next games.
He is hoping to play against Real Salt Lake on Tuesday in the US Open Cup, and is also excited at making his MLS debut on Friday.
The midfield ace added: “Physically, it was tough. I haven’t played a competitive match for six or seven weeks so it was very important that I got out there and got 45 minutes. “Hopefully I get some more minutes Tuesday [in the U.S. Open Cup match at Real Salt Lake] and be ready for the big game on Friday [against the San Jose Earthquakes].”
Gerrard arrived in Los Angeles two weeks ago with wife Alex, 32. He is reportedly earning £76,000 per week at the MLS club. The midfielder got a nice reception from the fans on his unveiling and on his debut and his first game showed that he will not disappoint his fans.