I was watching him being interviewed prior to the England v
Italy game. He was asked by the rather flattering interviewer: “Do you think
that you will go down as an England Legend?” Steven simply replied No, and
added “to become a Legend you need to have won the world cup for your country”.
The England midfielder is without a doubt as humble as they come.
It is only his misfortune that he is stuck with the wrong
set of players. He is definitely “world cup winner quality”. He would most
certainly have won the world cup for his country a handful of times, had he
been of a Brazilian, or perhaps an Argentine nationality.
I shall never forget the night Liverpool were playing AC
Milan, in the Champion League final in Istanbul (2005), as long as I live, It
was a piece taken out of a fairy tale.
Although. I am a devout Gunner, I do support Liverpool when
they are in an ambassadorial duty. However, I often opt to mention that in the
presence of my old man, who claims to be a Liverpool fan of late. The veteran
switches teams as often as he switches his car engine on. I remember him once
claiming to be a man united fan since mountains settled down, another time he
was going on about his Glorious memories as a young Nottingham forest fan. I
also witnessed him praise Arsenal on numerous occasions (whenever they are
enjoying one of their many and so close in-between “winning streaks”). I
suppose he is like most of his post-war Generation counterparts, always
cheering for the victorious.
Anyways, to cut a long story short; I was watching the game
at a pub not far away from the halls of residence where I lived. The first half
was adequately frustrating to put me off football all together; Liverpool were
trailing 0/3 going into the second half wishing for a miracle, it was at that
stage that I decided to call it a night.
By the time I settled in my room and switched the television
on. Liverpool managed to turn the tables around. They miraculously managed to
equalise in the space of five minutes, Stevie G scoring a goal and assisting in
the other two goals, forcing a shootout resulting in Liverpool being crowned
champions of Europe for the fifth time.
Since that day I idolised the young chap. Stevie G is one of
the most fascinating footballers a person would ever come across. He is as
humble as they come, a noble man who has always stuck by his beloved club
through the good times and bad times, a role model in his loyalty to both club
and country. It goes without saying his politeness and exquisite manners always
command respect.
The 34 year old Merseyside legend is ahead of his time, and
ahead of the English game by at least a couple of decades, the English football
has not yet truly and fully evolved, it is in need of major changes, maybe the
FA can draw few lessons from the Spanish experience.
Having said that brilliant stuff happens when you expect it
the least, maybe 2014 will go down as the year where dreams materialise into
reality; the year Steven Gerrard becomes Sir Stevie G and the year football finally
arrive back home. Come on England.
And that was my Introduction to the humble Merseyside Lad.
What an Inspiration.
Retraction
In Medieval England, publishing such an article would
probably result in being dragged to the stake and set alight, alongside Stevie
G, and other legends like Lampard. Rooney would probably escape this life with
a more honourable death, given that he scored once. However, he will lose his
20 grand hair in the process.
Luckily, neither do we live in Medieval England,
nor did the late Medieval English think much of football.
Before you judge me, allow me to present my defence. I do
not know what come up to me and made me write the article in question. Maybe
the sense of optimism and patriotism impaired my usually sound judgment. Or
perhaps my forgiving nature blinded me from the truth; the reality is that the
same players were given a chance to prove themselves once and once again.
Anyways, or why not use the oldest defence in the game’s history, I was
legless.
The truth of the matter is that I wrote the article prior to
England kicking off their world cup campaign, and before witnessing them exit
in the most disgraceful manner in half a century.
Probably all the mitigating factors I mentioned above are
true; it is amazing how a person’s perceptions could change overnight.
I suppose we are going to have to depend on a Scot man to
put a smile on our disappointed faces, now that Wimbledon has started. Even if
Andy achieve the impossible and win the trophy for a second consecutive year,
we are unlikely to celebrate for long, with the independence referendum in the
horizon.
