“Giggs- 13 Gerrard- 0”, “Slippy G”, “Manchester United- 20 Gerrard- 0” rivals fans made sure that they remember the legend of Liverpool Football Club in their ways. But, what this man means to the Liverpool fans across the world, they can only imagine in their dreams. Mockery and banter are parts of the game, but these things sometimes went harsh for the iconic number 8 of Anfield.
Steven George Gerrard is a hero to Liverpool fans. Yes, he might not win as many trophies as legends like King Kenny or Ian Rush or Steve Heighway etc. but still the Kop ranks him as the first among ‘100 players that shook the Kop’. He just won 10 trophies during his 17-year long Liverpool tenure that is a pretty poor record for a team like Liverpool. But, he is an inspiration to millions of Reds across the world. If you have a doubt on that just ask yourself a simple question- how many of your club legend would have been adored as the biggest club legend even though he never won a League title?
It pains every single Liverpool fan to see the born and bred scouser to play in the white jersey of Los Angeles Galaxy. All our life, we considered him as a ‘one club man’ but that just was not meant to be. But frankly speaking, what else he had in his locker to offer the club he grew up supporting his whole life? Time and time again, he was the sole saviour of the team. When the likes of Michael Owen, Fernando Torres, Luis Suarez, Xabi Alonso etc. came and went after reflecting their magic on the pitch, the man was always there. He always stood by the club when no one could not add that spark and most of the times won the games individually. At the age of 35, he had nothing left to offer to the club. He knows that and that is why he stepped down rather than putting a pressure on the manager by staying at the club. And he deserved a break from the high and lows of his career, after all the mockings he went through for that unfortunate ‘slip’ that cost his team the title. He carried the club for his whole career on his shoulders but when his shoulders were not strong enough to do that, he did not want the club to carry him of its shoulders and we cannot blame him for that because he is one of the fans who love the club and want it to be successful, something he could not do despite putting his life into it.
But make no mistake, even though his slip cost Liverpool the title, no fan blames him for that from the core of his heart. They are grateful to him for the moments of joy he gave them on his own throughout his career, no matter how less they are. Not many gifted ‘one club men’ would have stayed loyal to the club even though he did not win trophies regularly and you can bet on that.
I am 21 years old and have never seen Liverpool win the English Premier League. But, there is no shortage of Liverpool fans in our generation and none of them are so-called ‘glory hunters’. That is how big a player Gerrard is. Sir Alex Ferguson might not consider him as ‘top, top player’ but how many top players had the caliber of attracting a whole generation of fans to the club who did not win the League title for 25 years.
Wanted by many of the top clubs like Chelsea, Real Madrid, Inter Mina, AC Milan etc. at his prime, he could have won a lot of things but he stayed loyal to Liverpool. Zinedine Zidane himself wanted him to Real Madrid to play alongside him in his dream midfield but openly stated that his loyalty towards Liverpool did not let that happen. “I would have really liked to have played alongside him, but he has always remained loyal to his own club, Liverpool, the club of his heart,” here is what Zidane had to say about Stevie G.
Gerrard is a player who could do everything and that is why Kaka touted him as the ‘best modern midfielder’. He is the king of scoring screamers. He could score 30-yard-screamers with ease and did those when his team needed them the most. Who can forget his late goal against Olympiakos in 2005 in the last group stage game of the UEFA Champions League, which helped his team progress to the knockout stage of the tournament which Liverpool won eventually and that inspiration was also given by none other that the young Liverpool captain? We got to see the best comeback in the history of football with the average Liverpool team coming back from 3-0 down at half-time to 3-3 against the AC Milan team which is one of the strongest teams in the history of football.
Now that, Gerrard has departed Liverpool, it is time for rivals to appreciate the tragic hero. If they cannot, at least do not mock him for the downs of his career. Because, whatever ups he experienced in his career, he achieved them on his own and not many could do that. That is why his individual honours list is huge and any legend of their club would envy that. At the end of the day, Football is a team game, not a game of individuals and it takes special individuals to win things with a team of average players around them.