DRIVE past the gates of Steven Gerrard’s house lately,
and you may spot an orderly queue of football legends waiting to
pay their respects.
Zinedine Zidane says he’s the best player in the world; Kenny
Dalglish wonders why it took Zinedine so long to reach that
conclusion, as he’s been saying the same for the last four
years.
And after the Gerrard-inspired demolition of Real Madrid and
Manchester United, Johann Cruyff has admitted the whole of Europe
is running scared of Liverpool’s red juggernaut. In the form of his
life, no-one is any doubt Gerrard is at its wheel.
The ballots for PFA Player of the Year will also be counted at
the end of the month. If Gerrard isn’t a leading contender, the
stewards' enquiry might last years.
Gerrard can hear the applause, but isn’t interested in being put
on a pedestal. All he cares about is leading Liverpool up winning
podiums. There remains one trophy above all others for him to get
his hands on, and only one club which can satisfy his personal,
professional and emotional ambition to grab it.
He and his club have come a long way and endured some fraught
moments since his debut in 1998, but the relationship is more solid
than ever. There was a time Liverpool looked incapable of
fulfilling their captain’s ambitions. Not now. Gerrard will finish
his career at Anfield for as long as the club wants to keep
him.
No wonder his 10th spring at Anfield finds him in a reflective,
determined mood. Anniversaries have been on his mind. From the
emotional scars of the Hillsborough tragedy (he still dedicates
every win to the memory of the cousin who died), to the images of
the nervous teenager making his Liverpool bow 10 seasons ago. But
for all the praise and recognition of a player at the top of his
game, he admits his journey is far from complete.
“There are times you look over what’s gone on in your career,
think about the highs and the lows and recognise so much has been
achieved,” says Gerrard. “But you never want to dwell too much
because there’s still a lot more to do. When I think of where the
club was when I made my debut and where we are now, I can see how
far we’ve come.
“I’ve reached a few milestones recently, such as 100 games in
Europe, reaching the anniversary of becoming captain, and the 10
years since my debut. I can’t believe how quickly it’s gone. A
career passes by in a flash.
“Back in 1998 when I made my debut we weren’t qualifying for the
Champions League and were well off the pace in terms of competing
for the title. We didn’t have the reputation in Europe we have
again now. Sometimes you have to stop and appreciate that, but be
careful not to think that’s enough.
“There are a lot of people at Liverpool, players and staff, who
deserve credit for taking us to a point where we now have someone
like Johann Cruyff saying we’re feared by the rest of Europe.
People have been saying a lot of nice things about us, and that all
comes from performances.
“As for being described as the best player in the world? It’s
really flattering to hear someone say that about you, especially
given the quality of players out there at the moment and the
calibre of some of those who have said it.
"I try not to read too much into it, but if people say that
about you it reflects well on the team. You can only look a good
player if you have good players around you.
“It’s great to have that level of respect, but the most
satisfying thing is always winning trophies. If we win the title,
it will rank alongside Istanbul as one of the greatest achievements
in our history. None of us will ever give up trying and we still
believe we can do it.
“I’ve said I’d swap every other medal I could win for the rest
of my career to win the league, and I mean that.” Too often, this
stage of the season has prompted Gerrard into a critical
self-assessment of Liverpool’s faltering title challenge.
The tone is different now. Liverpool may still be praying for a
United wobble to end their 19 year wait for their 19th crown, but
victories in the Mecca of The Bernabeu and Old Trafford have given
Gerrard the belief his side is in a position to pounce.
“After the start we had to the season, it’s been disappointing
to look at the league table over the last few weeks,” admits
Gerrard. "There has been a sense of 'what if' when we think of some
of the points we've dropped.
“But if you had come to me in pre-season and said we’ll still be
in the race in the middle of March, had beaten United, Chelsea and
Real Madrid home and away, not lost a game to the usual top four,
and reached the last eight of the Champions League, I’d have taken
it knowing we’d be in with a great chance of winning trophies.
“All we’ve been saying for a few years is we had to get to
February and March still competing. Last week’s result at United
means we’ve done that, but it’s what happens next which is still
most important.
“We’ve had some fantastic results and performances this season,
but they’ll mean a lot more if we’ve a trophy at the end of it.
“When we look over our careers and think of wins against
Juventus, Chelsea and AC Milan in 2005, they’ll always mean more
than those against Inter Milan or Arsenal last season because we
had a medal to hold. The same applies this season. Beating United
last week was great, but I want it to be more significant than just
three points.
“I’d rather lose to United home and away and win the league than
the other way around, and I’m sure the United players feel the same
way about us.
“The win at Old Trafford was unbelievable, but it won’t mean
much at the end of the season if we haven’t won the title.” The
Premier League remains Liverpool’s and their captain’s obsession.
Gerrard isn’t afraid to admit it consumes his professional
life.
No interview can pass without mention of the empty space in his
cabinet, nor the possibility of the greatest player of his
generation missing out on the medal to complete his
collection.
The turn of the year saw his side struggle to cope with leading
from the front, but Gerrard is sure the potentially paralysing fear
of another failure has now been banished for good.
“There is an obsession with the league here and there always
will be until we win it, but it can be a healthy one,” he insists.
"We all think about it all the time. I know it's something I'll be
thinking about until we finally do it. That's why I’ll always put
the league before the Champions League. I’m sure every Liverpool
fan will say exactly the same.
“We all want the title and if that desire is channelled in the
right way, it can help us achieve what we want.
“Our problems come if we think too negatively and put too much
pressure on ourselves. The difference in the last few weeks has
been the shackles have come off and all the anxiety we experienced
earlier in the season has gone.
Maybe that’s come from not being ahead and knowing we can’t make
any kinds of mistakes now. It’s different when your top and
everyone is looking for you to slip up, but maybe now we realise
we’ve got to go for it.
“There’s always big pressure and expectation at Liverpool FC and
there always will be, but the key for any successful team is to
enjoy it and be inspired by it, not fear it. I've always felt
pressure situations can bring the best out of me, because the big
occasions are what you want as a player.
“I sense everyone is really looking forward to every game
between now and the end of the season. There’s a buzz around
here I can’t remember for a long, long time. “Don’t get me
wrong, I’d rather be in United’s position than ours, but now people
aren’t expecting us to win the league it could have worked to our
advantage.
“When we’ve gone to places like Stamford Bridge and Old
Trafford, most people expect us to draw and we’ve gone out there
and given our best performances. At home, when we’ve played Hull,
West Ham or Stoke, we can feel the anxiety when we don’t score
early.
"I hope we’ve now learnt from all that, and I get the feeling
there’s a confidence around Liverpool with everyone just wanting to
give everything for the last nine league games.
“We can do no more than try to win every match. It still might
not be enough, but at least we can make sure United have to work
hard to win this title and keep breathing down their
necks.”
If Liverpool can recover strongly enough to pip their rivals,
the queue of Gerrard’s admirers will stretch further and wider.