Gerrard (Classic Football Heroes)--Collect Them All! by Matt Oldfield

Author:Matt Oldfield [Matt and Tom Oldfield]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781786068729
Publisher: John Blake Publishing
Published: 2017-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

CAPTAIN OF LIVERPOOL

Stevie signed a big new contract at Liverpool. ‘This is my home!’ he told the fans happily.

Everything was going so well for him but one problem remained – he had to stop getting sent off for dangerous tackles.

‘That was really stupid,’ Macca told him after another red card against Aston Villa. Stevie had let his team down and he felt very ashamed. ‘When you get frustrated, you can’t just do that. You have to think about when to tackle hard and when to take a deep breath and walk away.’

‘You’re my vice-captain now,’ Houllier told Stevie, ‘and so you have to lead by example.’ The player could hear the disappointment in his manager’s voice. ‘You’ll be a great Liverpool captain soon,’ Houllier went on, ‘but only if you calm down on the pitch.’

Stevie listened to all of the advice and began to learn from his mistakes. He was still young but there were no excuses for his behaviour. Aggression and bravery were very important parts of his playing style but if he didn’t learn to control his temper, he could hurt other players and he could hurt himself too. As a result of a groin injury, he had to miss the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan.

‘I can’t keep playing like this,’ Stevie said to himself.

He was really upset to be watching the tournament on TV. He had played a key role in England’s great qualifying campaign, notably at the Olympiastadion in Munich. Germany had taken the lead after six minutes but Michael scored an equaliser. In the last minute of the first half, a Beckham cross was headed out to Stevie, who was at least thirty yards from goal.

Stevie had nothing to lose. He chested the ball down and struck a powerful shot. The ball flew through the air, bounced and then zipped along into the bottom corner. The goalkeeper had no chance.

Gooooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaalllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!!!!!!

It was Stevie’s first goal for England – and what a goal it was. He ran towards the corner flag and then dived along the grass. His teammates were right behind him and jumped on top of him.

‘What a shot!’

‘That’s a worldie!’

The game finished 5–1 to England, with Michael scoring a hat-trick. It was one of the best days of Stevie’s life.

Now, Stevie focused on getting fit for the new Premier League season. He needed to show that he was more mature now.

Liverpool weren’t playing well in the Premiership but they were through to the League Cup Final again. This time, they were up against massive rivals Manchester United. Stevie couldn’t wait.

‘There’s nothing like beating United!’ he told Michael in the dressing room before kick-off. ‘When I was a young Liverpool fan, they were always the games I wanted to win most. Now, I get to play and win the games myself!’

As the first half came to an end, Stevie got the ball about thirty yards out. That first England goal had shown the fans that he was brilliant at shooting from long range.

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