5) Finally winning a trophy at Wembley
It’s tradition for English cup finals to be played at the mecca of English soccer, Wembley Stadium. Wembley is the place for English soccer players to make their name. In Steven Gerrard’s case, he hadn’t played at Wembley as a Liverpool player until very late in his career. When Liverpool was still winning trophies, Wembley was going through massive renovations so those neutral site cup finals were played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
Liverpool finally came back to Wembley at the 2012 Football League Cup Final against Cardiff City. While Gerrard didn’t have the best game of his career (even missed a PK in the shootout), Liverpool still won in the penalty shootout and Steven Gerrard gets his (likely) last trophy as a Liverpool player at Wembley Stadium.
4) Captain Fantastic
Steven Gerrard became captain of Liverpool in 2003 and it has been a role he has had ever since. At 23, Gerrard took over the role of one of the most successful teams in history. In a high pressure role as Liverpool captain, Gerrard took it on without fear and thrived in that position.
3) “OH YOU BEAUTY! WHAT A HIT SON! WHAT! A! HIT!
One of the more memorable moments of Steven Gerrard’s career was during the final 2004-05 Champions League Group Stage game against Olympiacos. Liverpool had to win in order to advance to the Knockout stages. Gerrard’s laser of a goal near the end of the game was what clinched Liverpool’s win to move on. This was the same tournament where Liverpool won in the “Miracle of Istanbul.” So it can be argued that if it wasn’t for this, there may not have been Istanbul.
2) “The Gerrard Final”
The 2006 FA Cup Final pitted Liverpool against West Ham. After West Ham took an early 2-0 lead, Steven Gerrard took it upon himself to bring Liverpool up and take the FA Cup in a penalty shootout.
After Gerrard’s fantastic assist from midfield to Djibril Cisse, Gerrard scored two rockets of goals. It was a fantastic sequel to his number one moment.
1) Istanbul
Liverpool has many legends in their history. May 25, 2005 was the day Steven Gerrard became a legend in the likes of Dalglish, Rush and Fowler among many others who put on the Liverpool uniform. After going down 3-0 to AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League Final, Gerrard, the team and the Liverpool supporters at the Attaturk Stadium never gave up and brought forth one of the greatest comebacks in sports. Istanbul brought Steven Gerrard to iconic status and this is what he’s going to be remembered for for the rest of his life.
