English professional football player who was considered one of the most complete
footballers in the world in the early 2000s.
Gerrard was discovered by his local upper-division football club, Liverpool FC, at age nine. He played for Liverpool's youth squad and signed a professional contract with them at age 17. His first-team debut came in 1998, and he became a regular contributor the following year. Gerrard had established himself as a star midfielder by the 2000–01 season, when Liverpool won the League, Football Association (FA), and Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) cups and Gerrard earned England's Young Player of the Year honours.
Gerrard was named Liverpool's captain in 2003, at just age 23. In the 2004–05 season he led Liverpool to the club's first Champions League title in 21 years, scoring a key goal in Liverpool's dramatic three-goal comeback against AC Milan in the final. During the following off-season he became embroiled in a high-profile contract dispute with Liverpool that nearly resulted in his transfer to Chelsea FC before he ultimately re-signed with his longtime club. Gerrard then helped Liverpool win both the 2005–06 FA Cup and UEFA Super Cup, and he was named the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year at season's end. In 2007 Liverpool advanced to the Champions League final for the second time in three years but lost to AC Milan by a score of 2–1. Gerrard scored a career-high 24 goals in the 2008–09 Premier League season, which netted him the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year award.
Gerrard was a member of the English national under-21 team, and he debuted with the senior national team in 2000. He made one appearance in the 2000 European Championship (Euro 2000), but an injury kept him out of the 2002 World Cup. Gerrard was a regular contributor to England's runs to the quarterfinals in both the Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup.
Gerrard was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) in 2006.
0 comments:
إرسال تعليق