Last night, plenty of emotional scenes and teary eyes were abundant at Anfield – when Liverpool hero Steven Gerrard, walked out onto the hallowed Anfield turf – to play his final match at home as Liverpool’s captain. This had been an English Premier League game against Crystal Palace – which the Reds unfortunately lost by three goals to one.
Liverpool hero Steven Gerrard.
Credit: bleacherreport.com
A rare breed of footballer
Gerrard is a very rare breed of footballer who has dedicated his entire life to a single European football club. Having spent the past 17 years plying his trade for Liverpool, Gerrard has never been tempted by the glitz and glamour of the top European clubs such as Barcelona and Real Madrid, despite the class and talent that he undeniably has. It is a dream for some players to chase success, but for Gerrard, this has never been the case. To him, loyalty is more important.
Gerrard will always be remembered by Liverpool fans and players as a true Kop hero for his career decisions and for everything that he has done for his club. And Gerrard will now be going to ply his trade for Los Angeles Galaxy in the USA.
Ups and downs in Gerrard’s football career
Throughout his career at Liverpool, Gerrard has definitely faced many ups and downs. One of the possible highlights of his career would most probably be the time when he rallied Liverpool to win the Champions League final in 2005 – after being down 3-0 in the final to AC Milan at half time. At that point, I think everyone was probably writing off Liverpool, but the English club had proved their critics wrong.
Gerrard must also surely be remembered too, for his heroics in the FA Cup Final 2006 against West Ham. Then, he had led the Reds to FA Cup glory by coming back from behind twice. He had firstly drawn level after West Ham had raced to a two-goal lead, before equalising again during injury time, when the Hammers managed to slot a third goal into the net. Liverpool eventually won that game on penalties to lift the trophy, thanks to Gerrard.
Moments that would surely hurt for Gerrard
But while Gerrard is definitely a Kop legend, there are also some moments that would surely hurt. For example, last season, Liverpool were so close yet so far, from winning the English Premier League title. Surely, if they had, it would have been a very memorable moment in Gerrard’s career. Unfortunately the Reds blew it – Gerrard had slipped up against Chelsea by gifting the Blues the opening goal of the match on a silver platter, in a pivotal moment of last season’s title race – and this led to the Blues eventually winning the game by two goals to nil. Liverpool never quite managed to recover from that, and this season they have not managed to do nearly as well.
Wearing Liverpool colours for the last time
Next week, Gerrard will be wearing Liverpool colours for the final time ever – in Liverpool’s final game of the season, in an away game at Stoke City. Though the result may not mean that much this time round, let’s hope that Gerrard can produce a final moment of magic for Liverpool – for their fans to remember him by.
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