England player profile - Steven Gerrard

Liverpool FC's Steven Gerrard was born on 30th May 1980 in a small town called Whiston, Liverpool. Steven Gerrard, or Stevie G as he is now affectionately known, was bought up in Huyton and attended the Cardinal Heenan Catholic high school in West Darby, Liverpool. A staunch Liverpool FC fan Steven Gerrard showed a flair for the game early on and at aged 8 his potential was spotted by Liverpool FC's scouts, while playing for his local team Whiston Juniors. At aged 14 Steven Gerrard trialled for a variety of clubs, 3 years later he signed his first professional contract and 1 year after, in 1988, Steven Gerrard made his professional debut for Liverpool FC as a substitute in a Premier League match against Blackburn Rovers.

Steven Gerrard has shown the ability to play in a number of positions but naturally he is a central midfielder with an ability to make strong darting runs through the centre of the pitch, to score from long range and to tackle effectively. In May 2000 Steven Gerrard made his England debut against Ukraine and a year later he scored his first goal for his country in the famous 5-1 defeat of Germany. Although Steven Gerrard missed the 2002 World Cup finals in Korea/Japan he featured in the Germany 2006 finals and has been a key player in the squad rising to vice captaincy during Steve McClaren's reign as England manager.

The next milestone in Steven Gerrard's career came in October 2003 when Gerard Houllier handed him the Liverpool captaincy, an honour he has retained ever since. In his career to date Steven Gerrard has been a pivotal player in the Liverpool team and has guided them to a number of trophies including the FA Cup in 2006 and the Champions League in 2005. He has also won a number of personal awards including the 2001 PFA young player of the year, the 2005 most valuable player in the Champions League and 2006 PFA player of the year.