Tributes from players, clubs and fans came flooding in as the famous number eight finally hangs up his boots. Carragher, Torres, Suarez, Barcelona, Kaka, all current LFC players including captain Jordfan Henderson, all took to social media to praise Gerrard, crediting his kindness and character on and off the pitch and to pass on their best wishes to him and his family.
Since making his debut in November 1998 against Blackburn, the Huyton bored lad has come a long way. Being made captain of his boyhood team in 2003 and just 2 years later went on to lead the red men to that famous night in Istanbul, raising ‘big ears’ in front of the travelling KOP - something that will certainly stand tall within his legacy.
Making 860 combined appearances which included 212 goals in a 19-year career along with 9 trophies won with Liverpool, Gerrard has certainly given the fans a lot of memories. Gerrard has gone on to have a glittering club career winning 2 FA Cups, 3 League Cups, a Community Shield, Champions League trophy, UEFA Cup and an UEFA Super Cup. He has previously stated he wishes to be remembered by fans as someone who gave their all and tried their very best for them. As many players came and went, offers from all over came in every summer for Gerrard during the height of his career, but he always remained.
Gerrard is the only player to score in an FA Cup final, League Cup final, UEFA Cup final and UCL final. He is also the only visiting player to have scored five Premier League goals at Old Trafford, against of course his lifelong rivals Manchester United. He also holds an impressive National career, receiving 114 caps, 38 of which he captained, scored 21 goals and played in 6 Major tournaments.
Despite coming very close in 13/14 season to completing his trophy cabinet, the Premier League trophy just wasn’t meant to be and represented one of the worst moments within his career, “my slip against Chelsea will haunt me forever.” However in 2015 the Gerrard family moved to sunnier climates of LA as he joined Keane in LA Galaxy to endure his last playing moments.
Now speculation surrounds the future of the Kop’s best LFC player of all time. Last week there were discussions with MK Dons but everyone knows he will want to return to Anfield after completing his Management badges, "cut my veins open and I bleed Liverpool red." Whilst Klopp has always said Gerrard is always welcome at Liverpool, he has also advised the best footballers, do not always make great managers but only time will tell.
It is true that most of us grew up listening to stories of past greats such as Rush and Dalglish, but Gerrard will certainly be the player many will tell their kids and grandchildren about!
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