Steven Gerrard - Steven Gerrard: My Liverpool Story

Copyright 2012 Steven Gerrard

The right of Steven Gerrard to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

First published as an Ebook by Headline Publishing Group in 2012

Every effort has been made to fulfil requirements with regard to reproducing copyright material. The author and publisher will be glad to rectify any omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library

eISBN : 978 0 7553 6397 1

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CONTENTS

Picture Credits

Laurie Fletcher: see (Dominic Lipinski)

Rex Features: see (Piers Allardyce)

DEDICATION

I would like to dedicate this book to my family, especially my wife, Alex, and my three beautiful daughters, Lilly-Ella, Lexie and Lourdes.

I hope that, by reading it, they better understand my story and can learn from my experiences, both good and bad, in a game I love.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Struan Marshall and Kathryn Taylor at Wasserman and Andy Sterling of Benson McGarvey for their advice and help throughout my career. Thanks also to Jonathan Taylor and Richard Roper of Headline Publishing Group for their expertise in putting the book together, Paul Joyce of the Daily Express for helping to get my thoughts down and to Ged Rea for collating all the statistics.

FOREWORD

Football players are forever finding themselves pigeon-holed. You hear claims all the time that so and so is the best at this, someone else is the best at that, or no one has ever done this quite as well before. In the end, I am not sure any of it really matters. It is down to personal preference most of the time, anyway.

But when I think about Steven Gerrard and Liverpool, one fact is indisputable: the enormous contribution Steven has made to the history of the football club from the moment he first stepped out on the turf wearing that red shirt.

People should just be grateful that they have had the opportunity to watch Steven grow as a player, and as a person, before their very eyes, and take heart from the reality that he has brought so much excitement and joy to everyone in the process.

I have admired Steven from afar as a fantastic midfielder who leads by example on the pitch, but also off it with the way he conducts himself and speaks so honestly and passionately about Liverpool, and I count myself lucky to have worked closely alongside him, day in, day out, when I returned to Anfield as manager.

It was disappointing that I couldnt select him as often as I would have liked due to injury in that period, but I know exactly what Steven went through for Liverpool Football Club during my time back at the helm, especially the lengths he went to in order to make himself available for selection.

I am not being disrespectful to any of the other players, but when Steven trained with the squad the quality in the sessions simply went up another notch firstly because he is such a good player, but also because his team-mates sensed that quality amongst them and knew they had to raise their own games to try and match his. That tells you something about his presence and also the respect he receives as a colleague and a captain.

When I think about Steven Gerrard and Liverpool, I consider theirs to be the perfect fit. On the one hand you have a marvellous player who is living out his dreams with his boyhood favourites and, on the other, you have a magnificent club that has helped him to fulfil most of his ambitions.

Theirs is a relationship that has suited both parties. A match made on Merseyside.

Kenny Dalglish, August 2012

INTRODUCTION

Every year, I am presented with countless opportunities to do books about my career. I usually turn them down flat. However, the chance to tell My Liverpool Story through my words and the photographs which frame my life was too good a chance to overlook.

Sifting through all the pictures stirred great memories and I hope those who read this book gain the same level of enjoyment I have had in writing it. Each day I realise how lucky I am to live the dream.

Hopefully, there are a few more chapters still to be written in my time at Anfield, a few more trophies to lift and a few more highs to sample.

Steven Gerrard, August 2012

THREE WORDS CHANGED MY LIFE: LIVERPOOL WANT YOU

I didnt realise it at the time, but when my dad told me of the interest from Anfield one night at home in Huyton everything altered for me: my direction in life, the path Id take growing up, the choices Id make from that day on.

I was just a baby eight years old but that was that. A full-blown love affair had been ignited.

Dave Shannon, a coach at Liverpools Centre of Excellence, had approached Ben McIntyre, the manager of my local Sunday League team, Whiston Juniors, and he then relayed the news to my dad.

My dad wasnt really surprised. He had grown used to scouts pulling him to one side after games. Is the midfielder your lad? they would ask. We like him. We would like him to come and train with us.

Manchester United, Everton and Manchester City had all been in touch and basically Liverpools interest snowballed from there. They didnt want one of their deadly rivals pinching a talent from under their noses and so invited me to go for a trial in the old Vernon Sangster Sports Centre that used to be in the shadow of Anfield, but is now no longer there, or to Melwood in the school holidays.

Melwood? The place where Liverpools first team train? Me?

Just to be driven through the iron gates of the training ground was an amazing feeling and on the way there with my dad I was imagining bumping into the likes of John Barnes and Ronnie Whelan.