Steven Gerrard: My Liverpool Story (20 page)

It’s There!

Complacency undermines everything you do as a footballer and makes life harder. We almost found that to our cost in the FA Cup Final in 2006 against West Ham. To be honest, I thought we just had to turn up and wipe the floor with them, winning two, three, four-nil. We were the favourites, the pitch at the Millennium Stadium was huge, surely we would make our superiority tell? Any thought of that was soon banished as they grabbed a two-goal lead to leave Liverpool staring humiliation in the face. Djibril Cisse halved the deficit before the break and I scored the first of my two goals afterwards following a knock-down from Peter Crouch. The ball just sat up nicely for me and I was in the right place at the right time to smash it into the roof of the net. Typically, the drama didn’t end there.

Cramp – The Downside of Extra Time

I build myself up so much for the big games that I tend use up a lot of energy before I even kick a ball simply because I want to win so much. I’ve never been a good sleeper before important matches because it’s whirling around my head just what is at stake. Liverpool as a club was fashioned on winning silverware, so every chance you get to make new history you have to take it. Cramp is a consequence of all that. The Millennium Stadium pitch was huge, it was a blazing hot day and for a large part of the game we were chasing round trying to get ourselves back into contention. When cramp takes hold you feel like you are restricted, like your muscles are snapping. It’s horrible. It’s different, too, from the cramp you sometimes get when you are in bed. Sami Hyypia is on hand here to try and get me going again, bending back my toes in order to freshen my legs up.

Sweet as a Nut

As a one-off shot, I have never connected with a ball better than here. It flew past Shaka Hislop from 35 yards. It really was a boom or bust moment. There were just seconds left before the final whistle and West Ham were still leading 3–2. If I’d had more energy, I would have sought to control the ball and looked to have found a team-mate. As it was, it was all that I could do to whack it. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t. You can see the West Ham fans in the background, standing up in their seats, probably praying that it goes a yard wide. I surprised myself because you never expect to score a goal like that in those circumstances.

Taking Responsibility

Even in extra time West Ham gave us a couple of scares, but once we reached penalties I was confident we would come out on top. After Istanbul the previous season, we had experience of the pressure that comes with a shoot-out. I was due to have taken the fifth penalty in the Champions League Final, but ultimately I was not required. Here, I am first up. Rafa Benitez put his trust in me and I always feel I can deliver because I am not afraid to miss. That is the key. Believe in yourself and don’t fear what might happen.

Jubilation Reigns

People talk about ‘The Steven Gerrard Final’ but you can see from this picture it wasn’t all about me. Ultimately, we celebrated because of the role Pepe Reina played in the shoot-out. To get another FA Cup winners’ medal to add to the one I won in 2001 was brilliant. I really like this photo: Hyypia, Hamann, Finnan, me, Sissoko, Carragher, Morientes, Riise. I trusted these team-mates and it is one of the best Liverpool teams I have played in. We were strong, physical and had a real sense of togetherness.

Rafa, Me and the Pursuit of Trophies

The perfect end to the perfect day. Rafa became the first ever Liverpool manager to win two major trophies in his first two seasons. At the time, it seemed like we would just carry on winning silverware, but unfortunately it didn’t work out like that. I think Rafa has respect for me as a player, but I don’t think he appreciated how lucky he was to have Carra and me in our prime. Maybe I didn’t appreciate fully what being manager of Liverpool is like when you have Chelsea and Manchester United to compete with.

DEALING WITH FAME

It is strange the first time someone asks for your
autograph. You are a star in the eyes of the person thrusting a pen and a piece of paper at you, yet you are the one who feels awkward and shy initially.

Like everyone does I’d practised my signature lots of times growing up, imagining making the grade for Liverpool, but being in the public eye has never sat easily with me. Even now, I don’t really like doing interviews for the media. I try to be honest whenever I do them and I respect the media not only because I know how big and important they are, but only because they have always been respectful to me.

But I am happiest coming into work just to play football: to train and play the game at the weekend. Yet, it is not possible when you are playing in the best league in the world to simply do that. I had noticed that more people had started to take notice of me when I returned from Euro 2000 with England.

Things snowballed from there. Winning the Champions League in the awe-inspiring manner Liverpool did in 2005, the performance I produced in the FA Cup Final in 2006 and then scoring twice for England in the World Cup Finals later that same year simply ensured that my reputation spread.

Reaching a second Champions League Final in three seasons as we did in 2006–07 ensured that the focus was rarely off the club and myself.