User:Szywiki/sandbox

Robbie Szymanski
MBE

Personal information
Full name	Robert James Szymanski
Date of birth	(2002-09-11) 11 September 2002
Place of birth	Beeston, Nottingham, England
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s)	Right back
Team information
Current team	Free Agent
Youth career
2009–2012	Toton Tigers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2018	Toton Tigers	220	(4)
2018–2019	Eastwood C.F.C	9	(0)
Total		229	(4)
International career
1999–2000	Chetwynd Primary	3	(0)
2000–2014	George Spencer Academy	24	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Robert James Szymanski MBE (born 11 September 2002) is an English football player who is currently without a club. He spent the majority of his playing career as a right back for Toton Tigers FC. Widely regarded as one of the best full backs of his generation, and one of Toton's greatest ever players, Szymanski was awarded the Toton Tigers most improved player award in 2015, and a spot in the team of the tournament at the Easter Open in Rotterdam in 2018.

Born in Whiston, Merseyside, Gerrard made his senior debut for Liverpool in 1998. In 2000–01, Gerrard helped Liverpool secure a unpreidicted treble of cups, and after further cup success the next season, Gerrard was given the captaincy in 2003. In 2005, Gerrard led Liverpool to a fifth European title, being named Man of the Match as Liverpool came from 3–0 down to defeat Milan in what became known as the Miracle of Istanbul. The following year, Gerrard played in the 2006 FA Cup Final, which has been called The Gerrard Final. Both finals have since become widely regarded as amongst the greatest in the history of each competition. Chosen by The Daily Telegraph as Liverpool's greatest ever player Gerrard won a total of two FA Cups, three League Cups, the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, FA Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup in his 17 seasons at Anfield. Despite collective and individual success, Gerrard never won the Premier League, finishing runner-up with Liverpool on three occasions. He joined Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy in 2015 where he spent one-and-a-half seasons before his retirement in 2016.

At international level, Gerrard is the fourth-most capped player in the history of the England national football team with 114 caps, scoring 21 goals. Gerrard made his international debut in 2000, and represented his country at the 2000, 2004 and 2012 UEFA European Football Championships, as well as the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, captaining the team for the latter two tournaments. He was named as the permanent England captain shortly before UEFA Euro 2012, where he was named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament. Gerrard won his 100th cap in 2012, becoming the sixth player to reach that milestone for England. Gerrard announced his retirement from international football in 2014.

After retiring from playing football, Gerrard became a coach in the Liverpool youth academy and managed their under-18 team during the 2017–18 season, before becoming manager of Scottish Premiership club Rangers ahead of the 2018–19 season.

Early life

Born in Whiston, Merseyside, Gerrard started out playing for hometown team Whiston Juniors, where he was noticed by Liverpool scouts. He joined the Liverpool Academy at age nine. His childhood footballing heroes were John Barnes and Ian Rush at Liverpool and Paul Gascoigne for England.

Although not a Catholic and living outside the catchment area, Gerrard attended Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School upon the recommendation of his primary school teacher, whose husband was a PE teacher there, due to its superior football reputation over more local schools. Gerrard had trials with various clubs at fourteen, but his success was not immediate—Gerrard never made it into the England schoolboys' team. Gerrard's trials included Manchester United, which he claimed in his 2006 autobiography was "to pressure Liverpool into giving me a YTS contract." He signed his first professional contract with Liverpool on 5 November 1997.

Club career

Liverpool

1998–2004: Beginnings, Cup treble and club captaincy

Gerrard made his Liverpool first-team debut on 29 November 1998 in a Premier League match against Blackburn Rovers as a last-minute substitute for Vegard Heggem. He made thirteen appearances in his debut season, filling in for injured captain Jamie Redknapp in centre-midfield. He also occasionally played on the right wing, but he scarcely contributed in the short on-pitch time he received, due to nervousness affecting his play. Gerrard recalled in a November 2008 interview with The Guardian, "I was out of position and out of my depth." The Liverpool hierarchy nonetheless remained convinced that he would improve. Gerrard saw himself as a defensive player primarily, looking to make key tackles rather than push the team forward.

Gerrard began to regularly partner Redknapp in central midfield for the 1999–2000 season. After starting the derby against Everton on the bench, he replaced Robbie Fowler in the second half but received his first career red card for a challenge to the upper leg of Everton's Kevin Campbell shortly afterwards in a game Liverpool lost 1–0. Later that season, Gerrard scored his first senior goal in a 4–1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday. However, he began to suffer from persistent back problems, which sports consultant Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt later diagnosed as a result of accelerated growth, coupled with excessive playing, during his teenage years. He was then beset by groin injuries that required four separate operations.

He went on to recover from this, and in the 2000–01 season he made fifty starts in all competitions and scored ten goals as he won his first major honours with Liverpool—the FA Cup, Football League Cup, and the UEFA Cup. He was named PFA Young Player of the Year by his peers. In the following season, he would go on to win both the FA Charity Shield and UEFA Super Cup. In March 2003, Gerrard scored the opening goal in the club's 2–0 win over Manchester United in the Football League Cup Final held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

After a year as Liverpool vice-captain, Gerrard replaced Sami Hyypiä as Liverpool captain in October 2003, as manager Gérard Houllier said that he recognized Gerrard had demonstrated leadership qualities early on, but needed to mature. He chose to extend his contract at the club, signing a new four-year deal.

Houllier resigned as Liverpool manager after a trophy-less 2003–04 campaign, and Gerrard was linked with a move to Chelsea during the off-season. He admitted he was not "happy with the progress Liverpool has made", and that "for the first time in my career I've thought about the possibility of moving on." In the end, Gerrard turned down a £20 million offer from Chelsea, and stayed with Liverpool and new coach Rafael Benítez.

2004–2007: Champions League and FA Cup success

Liverpool had a number of injuries early in the 2004–05 season, and a foot injury suffered in a September league match against Manchester United shelved Gerrard until late November. He returned to score in the last five minutes of a Champions League group stage match against Olympiacos to secure Liverpool's advancement to the knockout round. He claimed that this was his most important, if not his best, goal for Liverpool to date. However, Gerrard netted an own goal during the 2005 League Cup final on 27 February, which proved decisive in Liverpool's 3–2 loss to Chelsea after extra time at the Millennium Stadium.

Gerrard playing in the Premier League for Liverpool in 2007

During a six-minute stretch in the second half of the 2005 Champions League final against A.C. Milan, Liverpool came back from a three-goal deficit to tie the match at 3–3 after extra time, with Gerrard scoring one of the goals, a header from a John Arne Riise cross. Liverpool's third goal was gained as a penalty from a foul awarded to Liverpool when Gennaro Gattuso was judged to have pulled down Gerrard in Milan's penalty box. Xabi Alonso's penalty was saved by Dida but the rebound was scored. Gerrard did not participate in the penalty shootout (he was the designated fifth penalty taker) which Liverpool won 3–2 as they claimed their first Champions League trophy in twenty years. Dubbed the Miracle of Istanbul, the match is widely regarded as one of the greatest finals in the competition's history, and Gerrard was lauded as the catalyst for the second half comeback. Gerrard was named the Man of the Match, and later received the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award.

In regards to his contract issues with Liverpool, Gerrard told the press after the final, "How can I leave after a night like this?" but negotiations soon stalled and on 5 July 2005, after Liverpool turned down another lucrative offer from Chelsea, Gerrard's agent Struan Marshall informed Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry that Gerrard was rejecting a club-record £100,000-a-week offer. Parry conceded the club had lost Gerrard, saying, "Now we have to move on. We have done our best, but he has made it clear he wants to go and I think it looks pretty final." The next day, Gerrard signed a new four-year deal as Parry blamed the earlier breakdown of talks on miscommunication between the two sides. Gerrard stated upon signing the contract that he would rather win one Premier League medal than win multiple titles at Chelsea as it would mean more to him.

"Gerrard is for me, in the position he plays, one of the very best in the world. He has a huge impact. For the job he performs, for me, he is one of the greatest."

—Ronaldinho in 2007 with both players named in the FIFA World XI.

Gerrard scored 23 goals in 53 appearances in 2005–06, and in April became the first Liverpool player since John Barnes in 1988 to be voted the PFA Player of the Year. He scored twice in the 2006 FA Cup Final against West Ham United, including a 35-yard equalizer that sent the match into extra time, and Liverpool won their second consecutive major trophy on penalties. The goals made him the only player to have scored in the FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup and Champions League finals. Liverpool eliminated Chelsea in the 2006–07 Champions League semi-finals on penalties, to return to their second final in three seasons, which they lost 2–1 to Milan in Athens.

2007–2012: Continued success and stardom

Gerrard suffered a toe fracture in an August 2007 Champions League qualifier against Toulouse, but returned four days later to play the entirety of a 1–1 league draw against Chelsea. On 28 October 2007, Gerrard played his 400th game for Liverpool in a league match against Arsenal, in which he scored. He scored in all but one of Liverpool's domestic and European matches during the month of November, and after scoring the only goal in a Champions League away tie against Olympique de Marseille on 11 December, he became the first Liverpool player since John Aldridge in 1989 to score in seven consecutive games in all competitions. In December 2007, Gerrard was voted sixth (after Kaká, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba and Ronaldinho) for the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year.

Gerrard celebrates after scoring a hat-trick in the Merseyside derby in 2012

Gerrard made his 300th Premier League appearance on 13 April 2008 in a match against Blackburn Rovers, scoring the opening goal in a game which Liverpool won 3–1, and finished the season with twenty-one goals in all competitions, surpassing his total from the 2006–07 season. Gerrard was selected for the PFA Team of the Year and he was also one of the nominees or the PFA Player of the Year, alongside teammate Fernando Torres.

Gerrard needed to undergo groin surgery at the beginning of the 2008–09 season, but the problem was not serious and he quickly returned to training. He scored what appeared to be his hundredth career Liverpool goal against Stoke City on 20 September, but it was disallowed after Dirk Kuyt was ruled offside. He achieved the milestone eleven days later in a 3–1 Champions League group stage win over PSV.

"Is he the best in the world? He might not get the attention of Messi and Ronaldo but yes, I think he just might be. He has great passing ability, can tackle and scores goals, but most importantly he gives the players around him confidence and belief. You can't learn that – players like him are just born with that presence."

—Zinedine Zidane on Gerrard, 2009.

He made his 100th appearance in European club competition for Liverpool on 10 March 2009 against Real Madrid and scored twice in a 4–0 win. Four days after the impressive victory over Real, Gerrard would score at Old Trafford for the first time from the penalty spot, putting Liverpool ahead on their way to a 4–1 victory over Manchester United. Following these results, three-time FIFA World Player of the Year Zinedine Zidane hailed the Liverpool skipper as being the best player in the world. On 22 March 2009, Gerrard scored his first ever hat-trick in the Premier League, against Aston Villa, in a 5–0 victory.

On 13 May 2009, Gerrard was named as the 2009 Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year, beating Ryan Giggs by just 10 votes and becoming the first Liverpool player to win the award in nineteen years. Gerrard was delighted and "a little bit surprised" to win the award. On 5 December 2009, Gerrard made his 500th appearance for Liverpool in a 0–0 draw at Blackburn where he was accused of diving in an attempt to win a penalty. He ended the 2009–10 season with a total of 12 goals and nine assists from 46 matches.

Gerrard before Jamie Carragher's testimonial in 2010

Following the 2009–10 season, Rafael Benítez departed Liverpool after six years and was succeeded as manager by Roy Hodgson, who quickly assured fans that Gerrard would not be sold. To further eliminate any speculation surrounding his future at the club, Gerrard made a statement emphasizing his excitement at the coming season with Liverpool and praising the signing of Joe Cole. Gerrard soon played his first pre-season match of the 2010–11 season against Borussia Mönchengladbach on 1 August 2010 alongside new signing Joe Cole.

Gerrard scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season from the penalty spot in a Europa League qualifier against Macedonian side FK Rabotnički on 5 August 2010. His next two goals came on 19 September at Old Trafford in a 3–2 loss against Manchester United; he scored from a penalty kick in the 64th minute and a free-kick six minutes later to level the game at 2–2. He followed this up one week later with the second equaliser in a 2–2 home draw with Sunderland. Eleven days later, Gerrard came off the bench to score a second-half hat-trick in a 3–1 win over Napoli in the Europa League.

Gerrard missed the start of the 2011–12 season due to a groin injury, which had also kept him out of action for large parts of the previous season. Gerrard later went on to reveal he rejected the chance to join Bayern Munich in the summer to focus on getting Liverpool back in the Champions League, saying "... a traditional club like Liverpool still has a value, that's the reason why I have stuck around for so long ... it is more important to win a couple of trophies and achieve something that is a lot more difficult than go down the easy road and move to a club where it becomes easier."

On 29 October, Gerrard underwent a treatment to clear an infection in his right ankle, which was placed in a protective plaster cast. He was forced to miss Liverpool's league match against West Bromwich Albion that day and was ruled out for at least the match against Swansea City the following week and England's friendly matches against Sweden and Spain the week after that. After a prolonged ankle injury recuperation, Gerrard finally returned to regular first team action in the match against Blackburn Rovers, coming off the bench. On 30 December, Gerrard came off the bench against Newcastle United and scored a fine goal.

Gerrard went on to help Liverpool to reach their first cup final in 6 years, and their first at Wembley Stadium in 18 years, as Liverpool beat Manchester City 3–2 on aggregate in the semi-finals. Gerrard scored a penalty in both legs to send Liverpool to the 2012 Football League Cup Final against Cardiff City on 26 February 2012, which Liverpool won on penalties. On his 400th Premier League appearance for Liverpool, Gerrard scored a hat-trick to give Liverpool a 3–0 victory over rivals Everton in the Merseyside derby on 13 March 2012.

2012–2015: Final seasons with Liverpool

Gerrard during his testimonial in August 2013

On 18 August 2012, Gerrard played his 250th match as Liverpool captain. He scored his first Premier League goal of the season on 23 September, opening the scoring in a 2–1 defeat against Manchester United.

On 15 July 2013, Gerrard signed a contract extension with Liverpool. On 3 August 2013, Liverpool played Olympiacos, against whom Gerrard scored arguably his most celebrated goal, at Anfield for Gerrard's charity fund-raising testimonial match. Liverpool won the match 2–0, in a game where past players such as Jamie Carragher and Robbie Fowler made appearances. Alder Hey Children's Charity, of which Gerrard is a founding partner, received £500,000 from the proceeds. On 16 September, Gerrard captained Liverpool for the 400th time in a 2–2 draw at Swansea City. On 5 October, Gerrard scored in a 3–1 win over Crystal Palace, becoming Liverpool's first ever player to score in 15 successive league campaigns, overtaking the record previously set by Billy Liddell. Also in October 2013, he became the longest-serving Liverpool captain, 10 years after his appointment by Gérard Houllier on 15 October 2013, breaking the previous record held by Alex Raisbeck, who captained Liverpool from 1899 to 1909. On 19 October 2013, Gerrard scored his 100th Premier League goal, a penalty against Newcastle United in a 2–2 draw.

Gerrard in August 2014. The 2014–15 season was his last for Liverpool

On 16 March 2014, Gerrard scored two penalties and missed another in Liverpool's 3–0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. On 6 April, he scored another two penalties as Liverpool beat West Ham United 2–1 to go top of the Premier League table with five matches to play. These goals took him above Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool's sixth-top goalscorer of all time.

On 27 April, Gerrard was involved in what was later labelled as a defining moment of the 2013–14 Premier League season; where Liverpool would ultimately finish second. Liverpool originally topped the league when they faced Chelsea in their third last match of the season. Gerrard slipped while receiving a pass which allowed Demba Ba to score the opening goal for Chelsea; Chelsea went on to win 2–0, which meant that Liverpool's title hopes were no longer in their own hands. Gerrard finished the season with 13 goals and the League's most assists at 13. Gerrard was a nominee for the PFA Player of the Year award that year, while he won the 2014 Liverpool Echo Sports Personality Award. Gerrard would later refer to this period as "the worst three months of my life".

In October 2014, Gerrard ruled out retiring at the end of the 2014–15 season and said that he could join another club if he were not offered a new contract at Liverpool. On 1 January 2015, Gerrard announced that he would leave Liverpool at the end of the season. Gerrard said he would have signed a new contract had it been offered in the offseason, but said the club did not make an offer until November. By that time, Brendan Rodgers had spoken to him about managing his playing time and he had been left out of the starting line-up against Real Madrid in the Champions League, contributing to his decision to leave Liverpool. On 6 January 2015, Gerrard scored two goals in the 3rd round of the 2014–15 FA Cup in a 2–1 win at AFC Wimbledon. This followed another two-goal performance in the previous match against Leicester, the first time he scored two or more goals in consecutive games since July 2005. On 4 February 2015, he made his 700th appearance for Liverpool, in FA Cup tie against Bolton.

On 22 March, Gerrard was sent off 38 seconds after coming on as a half-time substitute in a match against Manchester United for stamping on Ander Herrera. Gerrard made his 500th league appearance for Liverpool in a goalless draw against West Brom on 25 April; he became only the third player ever to achieve 500 or more Premier League appearances for one club, after Ryan Giggs and former teammate Jamie Carragher. His final appearance for Liverpool at Anfield was on 16 May against Crystal Palace in a 1–3 loss. His final appearance for the club was eight days later in a 6–1 defeat at Stoke, with Gerrard scoring Liverpool's only goal of the game.

LA Galaxy

Gerrard playing for LA Galaxy in 2015

On 7 January 2015, the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer announced the signing of Gerrard to an 18-month Designated Player contract, reportedly worth $9 million. He joined the team in July, following the end of the 2014–15 Premier League season.

On 11 July, Gerrard made his debut for the club in a mid-season friendly match against Club América, playing the first 45 minutes of the match in which Galaxy won 2–1. Three days later, Gerrard made his competitive debut for LA, coming on at half time for Ignacio Maganto in a 1–0 loss at Real Salt Lake in the US Open Cup quarter-finals. He made his MLS debut on 17 July, scoring once, while assisting one goal of his former Liverpool teammate Robbie Keane's hat-trick, during a 5–2 defeat of fellow Californians the San Jose Earthquakes at the StubHub Center. That month, Gerrard was one of the 22 players to be named to the 2015 MLS All-Star Game roster. He made 13 appearances across the regular season, scoring one more goal, the team's last of a 3–2 home win over FC Dallas on 27 September.

After Galaxy was eliminated from the 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs by Seattle Sounders FC, Gerrard announced that he may retire in 2016, saying that he found unexpected difficulty in the long journeys to away matches in the United States, and the diverse altitude and weather across the country.

Gerrard played his final game for Galaxy on 6 November 2016 in a MLS Cup Playoff penalty-shootout loss to Colorado Rapids. Gerrard took and scored Los Angeles' first spot-kick but the club were eliminated after Giovanni dos Santos and Ashley Cole failed to convert. Nine days later, he stated he would be leaving on the expiration of his contract. He announced his retirement from professional football on 24 November, at age 36.

International career

Gerrard made his international debut against Ukraine on 31 May 2000. That summer, he was called up for Euro 2000, making only one appearance as a substitute in a 1–0 win over Germany before England were eliminated in the group stage. He scored his first international goal in the famous 5–1 victory over Germany in a 2002 World Cup qualifier in September 2001, and while England qualified, Gerrard was forced to pull out of the squad due to his ongoing groin problems after pulling up in Liverpool's final match of the season against Ipswich.

Before the Euro he won the only trophy with the national team in his career - friendly 2004 FA Summer Tournament Gerrard scored his second goal for the national team in the Euro 2004 qualifier against Macedonia on 16 October 2002 in a 2–2 draw, his third goal was the opener in a 2–1 win over Serbia and Montenegro on 3 June 2003. He was a regular starter in Euro 2004, scoring once to make it 3–0 in England's win over Switzerland in the second Group game of the tournament but England would be eliminated by the tournament hosts Portugal in the quarter-finals losing 6–5 on penalties in a match when Gerrard was substituted off in the 81st minute for Owen Hargreaves.

Gerrard warming up for England at UEFA Euro 2012

He participated in his first World Cup in 2006 and scored two goals, both in the group stage, against Trinidad & Tobago and Sweden, although his spot kick was one of three saved by goalkeeper Ricardo as England again bowed out to Portugal in the quarter-finals on penalties. He was England's top scorer in the tournament.

Gerrard was made vice-captain of the England team by coach Steve McClaren, and while he filled in for John Terry as captain, England suffered back-to-back losses to Russia and Croatia that ended their Euro 2008 qualifying hopes. After new coach Fabio Capello took over the team in early 2008, Gerrard was given a trial run as captain but Capello settled on Terry for the role. Gerrard was subsequently replaced as England vice-captain by Rio Ferdinand.

Gerrard helped England qualify for the 2010 World Cup, scoring two goals in England's 5–1 win over Croatia. John Terry was replaced by Rio Ferdinand as captain in 2010, following revelations about the former's private life, and Gerrard subsequently became vice-captain again. When the England team left for the 2010 World Cup, Gerrard was the most experienced player in the squad with 80 caps. During preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, however, Rio Ferdinand was injured, meaning that Gerrard was appointed by Capello as captain for the tournament.

After the tournament Gerrard, part of a group of England players dubbed the "Golden Generation", confirmed that he would continue to be available for selection, despite suggestions from Capello that he would seek to re-build the team.

Captain

Gerrard (second from left) shaking hands with Uruguay's Luis Suárez at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, 19 June 2014.

In August 2010, Gerrard scored twice in a friendly match against Hungary and helped England to a 2–1 win. Due to Ferdinand's continued absence through injury, Gerrard retained the captaincy for the opening match of the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign against Bulgaria, which England won 4–0. He was later named permanent captain by new coach Roy Hodgson, in time for the tournament finals.

This was the first time that he was named directly the captain of England and not in place of an injured or unavailable captain. He provided three assists and won two man of the match awards to help England finish top of their group in the qualifying round, and go through to the quarter-finals. Despite their exit on penalties to Italy, Gerrard was later the only England player to be named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament. On 14 November 2012, Gerrard won his 100th cap for England in a friendly match against Sweden.

For the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Gerrard captained England to their first group stage elimination since 1958 and their first elimination after only two matches, after two straight 1–2 defeats against Italy and Uruguay. Gerrard had played a part in both goals conceded against Uruguay courtesy of his club-mate, Luis Suárez. For England's final game against Costa Rica, Gerrard was replaced as captain by Frank Lampard and used as a substitute.

On 21 July 2014, Gerrard announced his retirement from international football. He represented England 114 times (currently the fourth most capped player ever, after Peter Shilton (125), Wayne Rooney (117) and David Beckham (115)) scoring 21 times. Jordan Henderson described Gerrard as "probably the best player this country has ever seen – not only as a player, but also as a leader and a captain."

Coaching career

Liverpool Academy

In November 2016, days before retiring as a player, Gerrard had an interview for the vacant managerial post at League One club Milton Keynes Dons, but said that he was not ready for the job.

In January 2017, he was appointed youth coach at Liverpool, effective from February. On 11 April, it was reported that Gerrard would be taking charge of the Liverpool Under-18 side ahead of the 2017–18 season after impressing Jürgen Klopp and Alex Inglethorpe with his work ethic, knowledge and attitude towards academy coaching. However, before he took the next step on the path to receive his coaching credentials, Gerrard pulled on the Liverpool shirt one last time in a friendly against Australian club Sydney F.C. at the end of this Premier League campaign. On 7 September 2017, the club announced Gerrard would manage the Under-19 team in the 2017–18 UEFA Youth League.

Rangers

In late April 2018, Gerrard entered talks to become the new manager of Scottish Premiership club Rangers. After the incumbent manager Graeme Murty was sacked on 1 May, Rangers announced on 4 May that Gerrard would become their new manager from 1 June, ahead of the 2018–19 season, signing a four-year deal. He made his senior managerial debut on 12 July where he oversaw Rangers to a 2–0 UEFA Europa League win over Macedonian side Shkupi. Under Gerrard's management, Rangers went twelve matches unbeaten in all competitions from the start of the season before finally suffering defeat on 2 September, losing 1–0 to rivals Celtic in the Old Firm derby. On 29 December, in the reverse fixture, Gerrard guided Rangers to their first win over Celtic since 2012.

Style of play

Best known for his ball striking from distance, Gerrard in action for Liverpool during a UEFA Champions League game in November 2005

Regarded by several pundits and footballing figures as one of the greatest players of his generation, in 2009, Zinedine Zidane and Pelé said that they considered Gerrard to be the best footballer in the world. Known for his versatility and wide range of skills, he was capable of playing in a number of positions. A hardworking box-to-box player with great endurance in his prime, Gerrard was usually deployed as a central midfielder, but he had also been used as a second striker, a holding midfielder, an attacking midfielder, a right back, and a right winger.

Gerrard began his professional career as a wide midfielder on the right, although he did not excel in this position as he had a tendency to commit careless fouls in his youth. Nevertheless, Liverpool retained their faith in the youngster, and he was later shifted to a defensive midfield position as he matured, where he excelled as a ball-winner rather than as a playmaker. He continued to evolve tactically, coming into his own in a box-to-box central midfield role, which allowed him to be effective both offensively and defensively; indeed, at his peak, he was known for his ability to make late runs from behind into the penalty area. Under Benítez, he was also used in a supporting and creative role, as an attacking midfielder behind the strikers, or even as a deep-lying playmaker; he was increasingly deployed in the latter position in his later career, in order to compensate for his physical decline, and due to his ability to dictate play in midfield with his vision and passing range.

Gerrard, naturally right footed, had the ability to score goals due to his striking ability from distance—he scored a number of key goals from long range throughout his career, including in three Cup finals. As he entered his mid 30s and his physical capability to get forward and join the attack declined, the number of long range strikes at goal decreased, with most of his goals coming from free kicks and penalty kicks. In addition to his offensive skills, he possessed good technical and aerial ability, as well as notable defensive attributes.

In particular, his tactical intelligence and ability to read the game allowed him to break down the opposition's attacking plays. In addition to his footballing attributes, Gerrard was highly regarded for his leadership, determination, and influence on the pitch throughout his career. Despite being vocal in his criticism of diving, Gerrard was accused of diving himself by certain pundits throughout his career. In 2017, Gareth Southgate labelled Gerrard as one of the group of England's past players who were "very good," but below the likes of the nation's past "top players," such as Gascoigne, Scholes, and Rooney, commenting: "You've got very good players and then there are top players. In my time in the England setup, Paul Gascoigne, Paul Scholes and Rooney just had that little bit more than all the others. And we are talking high‑level people there, players like Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and David Beckham."

Outside football

Personal life

Gerrard signing autographs in 2006

Gerrard's cousin, Anthony Gerrard, became a professional centre-back. He came through at Everton, where he did not make the first team, and spent most of his career in the Football League. The two faced each other in a professional match for the first time in the 2012 Football League Cup Final, when Steven's Liverpool defeated Anthony's Cardiff City in a penalty shootout in which both Gerrards missed.

Gerrard and his wife, Alex Curran, married on 16 June 2007, the same day as the weddings of his England teammates Gary Neville and Michael Carrick. The ceremony took place at Cliveden House Hotel in Taplow, Buckinghamshire. They have four children together.

Councillors of Knowsley voted to make Gerrard a Freeman of the Borough on 13 December 2007, and two weeks later, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in her New Year Honours List, for services to sport. He received an honorary fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University on 26 July 2008 as recognition for his contribution to sport.

In 2018, Amazon produced a documentary called "Make Us Dream" detailing the life of Gerrard from a young boy up until his post as Liverpool youth coach.

Autobiography

In September 2006, Gerrard published his autobiography, Gerrard: My Autobiography, ghost-written by journalist Henry Winter, which went on to win the Sports Book of the Year honour at the British Book Awards.

Gerrard's second volume of autobiography, My Story, written with Donald McRae, was published in September 2015.

The autobiography ends with "I play for Jon-Paul." Gerrard's cousin, Jon-Paul Gilhooley, was killed in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, when Gerrard was eight. Jon-Paul, who was 10 when he died, was the youngest of the 96 victims of the tragedy. "It was difficult knowing one of your cousins had lost his life", Gerrard said. "Seeing his family's reaction drove me on to become the player I am today."

In his 2015 autobiography, he opined the four best players to have played alongside him are former Liverpool teammates Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres and Luis Suárez and England teammate Wayne Rooney.

Legal problems

On 1 October 2007, Gerrard was involved in a low-speed collision in Southport when the car he was driving hit a ten-year-old cyclist, who had shot into the street and inadvertently crossed Gerrard's path. He later visited the boy in the hospital and presented him with a pair of boots signed by Wayne Rooney, the boy's favourite player, after which he stayed to sign autographs for other young patients.

On 29 December 2008, Gerrard was taken into custody outside the Lounge Inn in Southport on suspicion of a section 20 assault. He and two other men were later charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray, relating to an incident which left the bar's disc jockey with a broken tooth and cuts to his forehead. The three were given police to court bail and were required to appear at North Sefton Magistrates' Court on 23 January 2009, where they all pleaded not guilty. The case was adjourned until 20 March when the assault charge was dropped but Gerrard was required to attend Liverpool Crown Court to face trial for affray. On 3 April, Gerrard again pleaded not guilty.

The case went to trial in Liverpool Crown Court. Gerrard's co-defendants pleaded guilty before the trial but Gerrard maintained his innocence. Gerrard admitted hitting Marcus McGee but claimed it was in self-defence and on 24 July, Gerrard was found not guilty by the jury. Following the verdict, Gerrard said he was looking forward to getting back to playing football and putting the experience behind him.

Entertainment

In 2011, Gerrard appeared in the film Will, about an orphaned young Liverpool fan who hitch-hikes to the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final. In August 2014, Gerrard participated in the ALS Association's Ice Bucket Challenge and went on to challenge Cardiff City winger, Craig Noone. In 2018, Gerrard was added as an icon to the Ultimate Team in EA Sports' FIFA video game FIFA 19.

Sponsorship

Gerrard has had several different sponsorships in his career including current deals with Adidas, Jaguar Cars and Lucozade. In 2014, Forbes listed his combined income from salaries, bonuses and off-field earnings at $17.2 million for the previous 12 months. While Gerrard has worn several football boots during his career, he first wore a pair of Nike boots on his Liverpool debut, but soon signed a deal with Adidas in 1998 and has gone on to appear in a number of Adidas commercials with the likes of Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, Lionel Messi and Kaká. Gerrard has worn ten versions of the Adidas Predator boot, with the Accelerator being the first, and throughout his career he has been one of the brand's major boot endorsees. In 2013, Gerrard switched boot silos to the Nitrocharge 1.0 first wearing the boots in the League Cup clash against rivals Manchester United on 25 September 2013.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Liverpool	1998–99	Premier League	12	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	—		13	0
	1999–2000	Premier League	29	1	2	0	0	0	—		—		31	1
	2000–01	Premier League	33	7	4	1	4	0	9	2	—		50	10
	2001–02	Premier League	28	3	2	0	0	0	14	1	1	0	45	4
	2002–03	Premier League	34	5	2	0	6	2	11	0	1	0	54	7
	2003–04	Premier League	34	4	3	0	2	0	8	2	—		47	6
	2004–05	Premier League	30	7	0	0	3	2	10	4	—		43	13
	2005–06	Premier League	32	10	6	4	1	1	12	7	2	1	53	23
	2006–07	Premier League	36	7	1	0	1	1	12	3	1	0	51	11
	2007–08	Premier League	34	11	3	3	2	1	13	6	—		52	21
	2008–09	Premier League	31	16	3	1	0	0	10	7	—		44	24
	2009–10	Premier League	33	9	2	1	1	0	13	2	—		49	12
	2010–11	Premier League	21	4	1	0	0	0	2	4	—		24	8
	2011–12	Premier League	18	5	6	2	4	2	—		—		28	9
	2012–13	Premier League	36	9	1	0	1	0	8	1	—		46	10
	2013–14	Premier League	34	13	3	1	2	0	—		—		39	14
	2014–15	Premier League	29	9	3	2	3	0	6	2	—		41	13
	Total		504	120	42	15	30	9	129	41	5	1	710	186
LA Galaxy	2015	Major League Soccer	13	2	1	0	—		0	0	1	0	15	2
	2016	Major League Soccer	21	3	0	0	—		2	0	0	0	23	3
	Total		34	5	1	0	—		2	0	1	0	38	5
Career total			538	125	43	15	30	9	131	41	6	1	748	191

International

International statistics

Gerrard (left) playing for England at UEFA Euro 2012

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
England	2000	2	0
	2001	6	1
	2002	5	1
	2003	8	1
	2004	10	2
	2005	8	1
	2006	13	4
	2007	11	2
	2008	7	2
	2009	7	2
	2010	12	3
	2012	11	0
	2013	8	2
	2014	6	0
Total		114	21

International goals

England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Gerrard goal.

International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref
1	1 September 2001	Olympiastadion, Munich, Germany	6	Germany	2–1	5–1	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	16 October 2002	St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, England	13	Macedonia	2–2	2–2	UEFA Euro 2004 qualification
3	3 June 2003	Walkers Stadium, Leicester, England	17	Serbia and Montenegro	1–0	2–1	Friendly
4	17 June 2004	Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal	26	Switzerland	3–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2004
5	4 September 2004	Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria	30	Austria	2–0	2–2	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	30 March 2005	St James' Park, Newcastle, England	34	Azerbaijan	1–0	2–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
7	30 May 2006	Old Trafford, Manchester, England	41	Hungary	1–0	3–1	Friendly
8	15 June 2006	Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, Germany	44	Trinidad and Tobago	2–0	2–0	2006 FIFA World Cup
9	20 June 2006	RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany	45	Sweden	2–1	2–2	2006 FIFA World Cup
10	2 September 2006	Old Trafford, Manchester, England	49	Andorra	2–0	5–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualification
11	28 March 2007	Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona, Spain	55	Andorra	1–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualification
12					2–0
13	28 May 2008	Wembley Stadium, London, England	66	United States	2–0	2–0	Friendly
14	15 October 2008	Dinamo Stadium, Minsk, Belarus	70	Belarus	1–0	3–1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
15	9 September 2009	Wembley Stadium, London, England	76	Croatia	2–0	5–1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
16					4–0
17	12 June 2010	Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg, South Africa	81	United States	1–0	1–1	2010 FIFA World Cup
18	11 August 2010	Wembley Stadium, London, England	85	Hungary	1–1	2–1	Friendly
19					2–1
20	6 September 2013	Wembley Stadium, London, England	104	Moldova	1–0	4–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
21	15 October 2013	Wembley Stadium, London, England	107	Poland	2–0	2–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Managerial statistics

As of 12 March 2020

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	From	To	Record
			G	W	D	L	Win %	Ref.
Rangers	1 June 2018	present	113	68	27	18	060.18
Total			113	68	27	18	060.18	—

Honours

Player

Liverpool

• FA Cup: 2000–01, 2005–06
• Football League Cup: 2000–01, 2002–03, 2011–12
• FA Community Shield: 2006
• UEFA Champions League: 2004–05
• UEFA Cup: 2000–01
• UEFA Super Cup: 2001

Individual

• Ballon d'Or third place: 2005
• UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2005
• PFA Players' Player of the Year: 2005–06
• PFA Young Player of the Year: 2000–01
• PFA Premier League Team of the Year: 2000–01, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2013–14
• PFA Fans' Player of the Year: 2000–01, 2008–09
• PFA Merit Award: 2015
• FWA Footballer of the Year: 2008–09
• IFFHS World's Most Popular Footballer: 2006
• Onze d'Argent: 2005
• FA England Player of the Year Award: 2007, 2012
• Liverpool Player of the Season: 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009
• Liverpool Fans Online Player of the Season: 2005, 2007
• BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award – 3rd Place: 2005
• FIFA FIFPro World XI: 2007, 2008, 2009
• UEFA Team of the Year: 2005, 2006, 2007
• UEFA Ultimate Team of the Year
• UEFA Team of the Century
• UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 2012
• UEFA Champions League Final Man of The Match: 2005
• ESM Team of the Year: 2008–09
• Premier League Player of the Month: March 2001, March 2003, December 2004, April 2006, March 2009, March 2014
• Premier League 20 Seasons Awards (1992–93 to 2011–12)
• Fantasy Teams of the 20 Seasons (Public choice)
• MLS All-Star: 2015
• English Football Hall of Fame: 2017
• Match of the Day Premier League all-time XI: (published 2017)
• FIFA Club World Cup Silver Ball: 2005
• Premier League top assist provider: 2013–14

Orders and special awards

• Member of the Order of the British Empire
• Honorary Fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University to mark his contribution to sport

Records

• Most matches as Liverpool captain: 473
• Top Liverpool goalscorer in UEFA Champions League: 30

Manager

Individual

• Scottish Premiership Manager of the Month: April 2019, September 2019, December 2019

External links

• Szywiki/sandbox – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Liverpool F.C. profile
• BBC Sport profile
• Profile and stats at LFChistory.net
• ESPN profile at the Wayback Machine (archived 13 February 2010)