Steven Gerrard - Thank You for the Memories!

26^th May, 2005.

12:15 AM

Class 11. Summer Vacation.

I am awake, watching a late night football match for the first time in my life…

Just a week before, my ICSE results were announced. I’d done well, so my spirits had been high the whole week. Something else I’d been looking forward to very keenly was the Champions League final between Liverpool and AC Milan which was just about to start.

All year long, this being the year of the Board examination, I followed Liverpool’s exploits in the UEFA Champions League, without ever actually staying up for the match. By now, everyone knows my fascination with Liverpool FC. It’s like a love affair. The love affair is four years old now. I can’t explain to people why I like this particular team so much, why I wait all week to see them play, having absolutely no connection to anything remotely close to Merseyside. Even to this day, I still can’t!

Because I couldn’t stay up for the games in the early season, I read about them tearing up Bayer Leverkusen, winning 3-1 both home and away. I used to watch the sports news at 6:50 AM while having breakfast before leaving for school half an hour later. I saw on the news how Luis Garcia beat the now legendary Gianluigi Buffon with an audacious long-range effort in Turin in the Quarter Final. I watched on the news again, the same Garcia squeeze the ball just over the line in the semi-final against Chelsea to seal progress to the final. But before all that, the defining moment of Liverpool’s progress was Steven Gerrard’s screamer to beat Olympiakos in the last group match. One of the greatest goals of his life, for both the shot and it's importance.

As the final started, so did the deflating reality of the gulf of class between the teams. Liverpool went behind after less than a minute. They were 3-0 down at half-time. I had the distinct urge to turn off the TV and go to sleep. Surely, there was no chance of a comeback now. I was also preparing my responses to friends who I was sure was not going to let me hear the end of this possible drubbing. As the second half started, I was just watching for the heck of it. But then something strange happened. Liverpool put the simply outstanding Milan side under tremendous pressure. The man himself, Steven Gerrard, pulled a goal back. Within six more minutes, the score was 3-3! What a brilliant decision to stay awake and watch the full match.

As they say, the rest is history. Liverpool went on to win what has been called arguably the greatest final in UCL history. It definitely was the greatest comeback achieved in any UCL final. It was dubbed as ‘The Miracle of Istanbul’. Steven Gerrard, already Liverpool captain for a couple of years, lifted the trophy. Despite this fairy-tale culmination, this was only the start of Liverpool’s captain fantastic.

The following year, Liverpool faced West Ham in the FA Cup final. They were 2 goals down before they came back to tie the game at 2-2, the second goal being scored by Steven Gerrard. A fine half-volley into the roof of the net. West Ham then took the lead again with about 20 minutes remaining. The scores stayed the same till injury time at the end of the match. Then, running on to a bouncing ball 30 yards from goal, by his own later admission, a tired Gerrard, instead of looking for a pass inside the box, teed up and shot a low drive which beat the goalkeeper. The game was tied, again at 3-3. Liverpool would go on to win the FA Cup on penalties, once again.

The two instances above made the man a legend. The man himself, kept his legend alive by carrying what was often a less than world-class side on his back, almost single-handedly. In a game like football, where team-work reigns supreme, I have witnessed Steven Gerrard change results, turning losses to draws and draws to wins when his teammates seemed clue-less.

Besides Gerrard, there were always a couple of players of caliber in the Liverpool squad, the likes of Xabi Alonso, Javier Mashcherano, Fernando Torres and very recently, Luis Suarez, who could be match-winners on their day. Yet, if you read what they have to say about Gerrard, all of them have the same opinion – this man was the living personification of what Liverpool Football Club stood for. His famous quote, “When I die, don’t bring me to the hospital. Bring me to Anfield. I was born there and will die there” describes him completely.

I used to be absolutely terrified when talks of his transfer to clubs like Chelsea and Real Madrid surfaced. To put things into perspective, Jose Mourinho, him of the Liverpool hating, wanted to buy Gerrard, despite having Frank Lampard in his squad. The duo never played well together when turning out in English colours. And yet, here was Mourinho, then dubbed the greatest manager in the world, ‘The Special One’ if you may, willing to risk potential disaster by playing them both in his Chelsea team.

Often derided for not having won the league, Gerrard leaves behind a legacy that very footballers can dream of achieving at their boyhood club. He is revered by the club’s supporters, and often called the greatest ever at Liverpool. Whether that is true or not is a topic of debate. The fact that such utterances are made, for a team that has seen the likes of Dalglish, Rush, Sounness and Keegan play for them and achieved immense success in their history, speaks for itself. He turned down big money moves to other clubs, where he probably would’ve won more trophies. He has the unique record of scoring in the Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup finals. He has captained England in three major tournaments, albeit without much success. He leaves after having played the game at the top level for 19 years. I’ve been lucky to have followed 15 of those.

To put things into perspective, Gerrard is not the reason I started supporting Liverpool. It was another academy boy Michael Owen whom I admired at the start. But Steven Gerrard is well and truly the reason I persisted with Liverpool. Steven Gerrard was the reason Liverpool football club was still relevant for much of the first decade of this millennium. Steven Gerrard will always remain the footballer I idolized in my teens and beyond. Steven Gerrard will always remain the first player to pop into my mind when I think of my sport heroes. When Gerrard said, “How can I think of leaving Liverpool after a night like this?” after winning the Champions League, he meant it. All of us younger fans mean it too when we say he is the best!

Farewell and enjoy the retirement Steven Gerrard. Thank you for the wonderful memories...