Steven Gerrard on leaving Liverpool: ‘I always knew this moment was going to be the toughest’
After 17 years, 708 games, 185 goals and 10 trophies, Steven Gerrard will make his 354th and final Anfield appearance on Saturday. Tickets are being sold for over £1,200 as fans clamour to bid farewell to the Liverpool captain, who is dreading the sound of the final whistle ...
Your last competitive game at Anfield after 17 years – has the reality hit home yet?When I made the announcement in January this was the time I was dreading and regretting because I knew how tough it was going to be. But it’s here now, I have to get on with it, play and say my goodbyes in the right way. I always knew this moment was going to be the toughest for the simple reason I am going to miss it so much.
Do you think the emotion will get to you on the final whistle? Carra said I couldn’t cry! I don’t know, I really don’t know. I don’t want to, I want to keep it in check and say goodbye properly to the fans. I remember Sami Hyypia cried after his last game. Sami was a big, tough centre-half but definitely had an emotional side. I have, too, but I don’t think there’s anything to be ashamed of if you shed a tear, especially if you have a love and affection for the supporters. Even when the likes of Robbie Fowler and Jamie left it was very emotional for me as their team-mate. I am dreading that moment when the final whistle goes, actually. I know I’ll be thinking of the people who have been there with me since day one. I remember getting on the bus with my dad to the centre of excellence at the Vernon Sangster [a now demolished sports centre on Stanley Park], getting two buses in the rain and the cold and the ice and snow, and I’ll just go back to that moment when it all began.
On the plus side, the end of your Liverpool career might be a release? I think there will be a sense of that in a couple of weeks. I have been in the spotlight in this city, in this team, for 17 years and had some highs and some lows in that time. What some people don’t understand is that sometimes it’s a tough place to live and be a player as well. So I think there will be a relief and a release in a couple of weeks.
Has there been a time in the last five months when you’ve regretted your decision to go? No, not really. I did not make the decision lightly. I was honest enough to say when I came away from England at the start of this season that I thought I’d be playing on for another season after this. But the way the season’s gone, I have been getting messages and feelings that I got the timing right. I have grown up alongside players like Robbie Fowler and Carra, and we spoke about this moment a lot. When do you make the decision? When is it right? I have always agreed, especially with Jamie, that you go a touch early, when people want a tiny bit more, rather than when people on the terraces or around the city are saying: “You stayed too long,” and they’re trying to kick you out of the door.
After the announcement, you picked up an injury and were then sent off against Manchester United. Did you worry that your Liverpool career was fizzling out? I did. Certainly sitting in the dressing room after the sending-off against Man U, I was thinking: “I don’t want it to fizzle out in this way, and people to remember a hamstring injury, the suspension against Man U and some bad performances.” So I am really happy the last couple of games have gone well and I am hoping the final two games go the same way. But I think people will remember me not for a period of four, five or six games or even six months. I think once it’s done and I’m away, if my name ever crops up, they will remember what I have done for 17 years rather than a short space of time. I hope they do, anyway.
Everyone has been having a say on your Liverpool career for years. How would you assess it? I’d assess it over the 17 years. When I first started watching Liverpool on the terraces and playing football in the street it was a hobby. Playing for Liverpool was always a dream and one I never thought I’d get near. So looking back now at what I’ve achieved I’m immensely happy and proud of how it’s gone. I’ve got a couple of regrets, of course, but I think that’s totally normal. I don’t think there are many footballers who finish a career and have only good memories. Everyone, if they analyse their careers in the way I analyse things, will always have a few regrets in there.
That there isn’t a Premier League title in there? That’s the biggest one, yes.
Could you have imagined at the start of your career that a league title would elude you? Not at the very beginning. I always felt I had the talent and ability to stay around for a long time when I made my debut for Liverpool at 18. I knew I had to work hard to do that but I thought over the 15-year period that I wanted to stay for I’d get the chance to win it and I did on a couple of occasions, last season being the best chance. That makes it a bit more painful because it’s so recent.
Not bowing out with an FA Cup final appearance must be another? It was too good to be true, wasn’t it? Winning the FA Cup on your birthday on your last game? I’ll still watch the final, though. I’ve watched the last 30 so I’m not going to miss this one.
If you had your career all over again, what would you do differently? I don’t think I’d do much differently because I’ve always tried to apply myself in the right way. I’ve lived for my profession on and off the pitch. I’ve made some mistakes along the way of course, maybe had a few nights out at the wrong time, and there are some performances I’d like to change for the team and individually. But that’s just not possible; that’s life. I don’t want to look back too much on what I’d like to change – I want to look forward. I’m actually sitting here now thinking about whether there’s a role for me to come back to at the club in the future, and to contribute again, rather than thinking about what I’d like to change about the past.
And is there a role for you to come back to at Liverpool? I don’t know at the moment what’s going to be there after America but I’ll certainly be coming back.
You’re part of a dying breed of players who have spent their entire Premier League careers at one club. What has happened over the last 17 years to facilitate that change?The power of owners and the money in the game. Money talks in certain situations. Everyone has their price and sometimes, if an owner or a club wants a player that much, they are prepared to go beyond it to make it happen and pay well over the odds. There’s a lot more movement in the game but I always had a connection with this club that I didn’t want to let go of. I had the chance to leave probably five or six times but when you play for your family and your people, I always wanted to achieve success and win trophies to share with them and not just go looking for glory, which I could have done.
You gain respect throughout football as a one-club man, though, don’t you? I am proud of that. I have always tried to be honest, on and off the pitch, with the way I play. I have always tried to be honest with the media. I have always wanted to show people that what they see is real, that there is no falseness or me trying to be something I am not. I have always tried to play in a certain way, so that people enjoy what they see. That is how I have tried to go about it, really.
Do you fear that, when you leave, a crucial link between Liverpool and its past will be severed? People say it’s vital to have a scouse heartbeat and local players. I think it’s nice but I don’t think it is the be-all and end-all. It is important there is a group of players here who are very good footballers and they have a coach who is very good tactically. That is when success comes. I don’t think it comes down to whether there is a scouse lad in the team. That is just a bonus for the supporters because they can feel a connection. The important thing for the future is that we keep trying to attract world-class players that can contribute to success. That is how you win games and tournaments. It is as simple as that.
Those players might be more likely to join Liverpool if you were around to help persuade them … I tried with the last four or five and none of them came so don’t look too much into that! I don’t think people come because of me or Jamie Carragher or anything else. I think they come because of the badge and the club, its wonderful history and tradition. The way football has gone now, players just want to play in the Champions League. That is the key. That is the disappointing thing from this season. We have come up a bit short but there is no doubt in my mind that if we had Daniel Sturridge fit from day one we would be talking about Champions League for this team this year. I think we have got the right owners in charge, the right manager and there is a core of potential. The important thing for me – and this is just my opinion – is adding some players to that who are ready. I wouldn’t buy any more potential in the short term. I would buy players who are ready to come and fight and be successful.
You gave your England career a “six or seven out of 10” when you finished. What would you give your Liverpool career? No one is interested in what I would give it.
They are … I’m not going to judge my Liverpool career out of 10. But I can judge two performances for you. I’ll giveIstanbul nine and I’ll give the last Man United one at home zero.
Danny Welbeck has slim hopes of facing Manchester United for Arsenal
Knee injury has ruled former United forward out of last two games
• ‘Danny Welbeck has a little possibility to be fit,’ says Arsène Wenger
• ‘Danny Welbeck has a little possibility to be fit,’ says Arsène Wenger
Danny Welbeck has only an outside chance of being fit for Arsenal’s trip toManchester United on Sunday, when his club will attempt to secure a top-three place in the Premier League, and with it automatic qualification for the Champions League group stages, at the expense of the forward’s former side.
Welbeck, who moved to the Emirates Stadium last August and scored the goal that enabled Arsenal to advance in the FA Cup at United’s expense in March, has missed the last two matches with a knee injury.
“Danny Welbeck has a little possibility to be fit,” Arsène Wenger told the club’s website. “Maybe Welbeck will be available but at the moment he looks short.”
Arsenal have three games remaining and lead United, who have played a game more, by two points entering this weekend’s fixtures. Win at Old Trafford andArsenal will consign United to a Champions League qualifying tie early next season and enter the group phase automatically themselves.
Wenger is still without Mikel Arteta (ankle), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (groin) and Mathieu Debuchy (hamstring), along with Abou Diaby (knee). Aaron Ramsey is still to return to training following the leg injury he sustained against Hull.
“I don’t think we have any big injuries,” the manager added. “I don’t know how long the others will be out for, it’s difficult to say, but hopefully they will play again this season.”
Andre Schurrle: Jose Mourinho texted me to say I'd won the title
Former Chelsea winger Andre Schurrle received a welcome surprise when a message flashed up on his phone recently - it was Jose Mourinho texting to say a Premier League winner's medal was waiting for him.
Schurrle, 24, completed a £22m move from the Blues to German side Wolfsburg in February.
The Germany international had made 14 appearances for Chelsea earlier this season, most of those as a substitute, and had not been expecting to receive any recognition when Mourinho's side sealed the league title on 3 May.
Speaking in an interview with BBC World Service's World Football programme, Schurrle said: "I didn't know that I'd get a medal when I didn't play most of the second half of the season.
"Jose Mourinho sent me a text to say that I'd get a medal and he asked me to come to the last game. That was very nice for me.
"I'm really happy for the boys. They played a very good second half of the season so of course, for me, it's good to get a medal but the boys did the work."
Players must make at least five appearances to be eligible for a medal.
"Exhaustion played a part in Chelsea departure"
A Premier League title-winner's medal means Schurrle could feasibly end with a hat-trick of medals this season.
He was a World Cup winner with Germany in Brazil last year, while Wolfsburg will play Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup final on 30 May.
Schurrle feels his World Cup-exploits accelerated his departure from Chelsea, admitting the volume of football he played, coupled with little time off between the tournament and the start of the Premier League, left him exhausted.
"I had the World Cup which was very perfect for me and the start of the season was good as well," he added.
"Then there came a little bit of a period for me where my body didn't feel very good, I was not clear in my head and I didn't have as many good moments for Chelsea.
"I wanted to come back to the Bundesliga, I wanted to feel a little bit more in the team and to get a bit more playing time.
"I love Chelsea still, I'm not frustrated, it was a great experience."
"If you have the chance, go to Chelsea"
Schurrle had joined Chelsea in June 2013 for £18m, but made just 20 Premier League starts for the club, with a further 24 appearances from off the bench.
Despite ultimately being a bit-part player for Chelsea, Schurrle says he would not hesitate recommending other players to move there if they get the chance.
"It can be difficult to get first team football because you have so many good players," he said.
"I think I took my chances very well because normally every time I got playing time I did something good and I scored.
"The manager doesn't need to change anything because the team is winning, then it's very difficult. You just have to be clear in your head and take the chances when they come.
"If you have the chance, you have got to go there."
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