England’s G-Force

One of the key contests when England take on France in their opening Euro 2004 game in Lisbon on Sunday will be in midfield, where Steven Gerrard of Liverpool comes up against Patrick Vieira of Arsenal in what might be termed the Roy Keane Memorial Challenge. Gerrard wants to drive England the way Keane drives United — a tad difficult if you are stuck out on the left wing, but he will nevertheless do his best.

At the height of his career the Irishman was the most coveted midfielder in the Premiership and a considerable way beyond, a title that passed to Vieira two or three seasons ago and is now, with due respect to the emerging Frank Lampard, being contested by Liverpool’s rapidly maturing captain.

A key moment in British football came a couple of weeks ago when Sir Alex Ferguson named Gerrard as his ideal replacement for Keane — in a purely hypothetical scenario, naturally — and said Gerrard was at the same stage now as Keane was when he joined Manchester United from Nottingham Forest in 1993.

It would not do to believe everything Ferguson says — Gerrard certainly should not, for a start — but at the very least his observations marked the point where the United manager finally gave up hope of tempting Vieira away from Arsenal. Ferguson’s admiration for the Frenchman has been no secret over the years and while there might be pragmatic reasons for his public switch of support to Gerrard, who may be less firmly bonded to Liverpool than he appears, it was still an enormous compliment.

‘I was flattered and surprised by what Sir Alex Ferguson said about me,” Gerrard admits. ‘I didn’t see it as a come-on, I was just very flattered to be rated anywhere near Roy Keane. I’m a massive admirer of his. He has been the best midfielder for the last decade. I’ve got nothing but respect for him and if I can achieve half of what he’s achieved I’ll be very happy.”

Like everyone else at Liverpool, Gerrard is still waiting for the first Premiership title to arrive, although he already has the edge on Keane on the international front. Heroic though the Republic of Ireland’s progress has been in the past 20 years, they have never been in a position to win tournaments.

England, a difficult opening game notwithstanding, at least have the potential to go all the way in Euro 2004.

At 24, Gerrard is young enough to see several more tournaments, though he agrees with the general view that the time has arrived to cash in on potential. If the England team managed by Sven-Goran Eriksson and captained by David Beckham are ever going to win anything, Portugal this month or the next World Cup in Germany represent opportunities that must be accepted. After missing the last World Cup through injury, Gerrard realises that the future is here: this competition could be the one.

‘I have felt that since the Turkey game [in October],” he says. ‘There’s been a real good feeling of togetherness in the side since we had to go to Istanbul, backs against the wall, and pull a result out. From that day the players and the staff started to realise that we had a real good chance to win this tournament.

‘We never really played unbelievable football [in the goalless draw in Turkey], but there was a real togetherness and I just knew out there on the pitch that we weren’t going to get beat.

‘The situation with Rio [Ferdinand] helped in a strange way, team spirit definitely improved, it pulled everyone together and no one wanted to lose that night. It was as if there was a feeling out there we were unbreakable. Obviously we will miss Rio in Portugal. He’s a massive player. You look at United’s results since he hasn’t been there and it just goes to show. We’ve still got some great centre-halves, though, and we all want to win it for Rio as well as ourselves.”

Gerrard had to watch the last World Cup on television, as well as the rugby union version last year, and probably speaks for all Eriksson’s players when he says he is slightly fed up with other people claiming the glory.

‘We haven’t won a major tournament for many, many years and every player here wants to be a part of something that matters,” he says.

‘Especially after what the rugby lads did. Watching that has given us all a little bit of a boost and perhaps a little bit of jealousy as well. We want some of that. I felt the same way watching England play in Japan two years ago. I wanted to go there and be a part of it, but I had to make a decision [about fitness] and I feel as if I benefited from that decision now.”

Gérard Houllier’s decision to send Gerrard for an operation on a long-term groin problem surprised Eriksson on the eve of the last World Cup and there was no doubt the player who scored a memorable goal and helped to power England’s 5-1 triumph over Germany in qualifying for Japan and South Korea was missed when the tournament proper got under way.

Gerrard goals are only an occasional extra for England — he scores more regularly at club level — but his energy would have been welcome in a tournament where England eventually fell away through tiredness.

No one knows how good Gerrard could have been in Japan; equally, it is just as uncertain how his career would have progressed without surgery. At least the player picked up his England career where he left off, with two stirring performances in the qualifying games against Turkey, and insists his present levels of fitness and form are due to having his medical condition finally sorted out.

Gerrard’s league displays in the latter half of the season back up that view and he would be the first to pay tribute to Houllier’s patient and thoughtful input into his technical and physical development.

‘Stevie has been one of the best players in the Premiership this season,” says Beckham, who follows the matches on television in Madrid. ‘He plays great passes and has a lot of energy. You need ball-players and ball-winners like him. He had a lot to do with taking Liverpool to fourth spot and that has been noticed.”

Not least by Gerrard himself. Liverpool changing their manager this month has been an emotional maelstrom for the player Houllier appointed captain, certainly one of the Frenchman’s better decisions. On the one hand Gerrard lost a friend and ‘a father figure”, on the other he knew something had to change.

‘It’s been very frustrating at Liverpool the last couple of seasons,” he admits. ‘Finishing fifth the previous season was a disaster and this season it’s been hot and cold again. Finishing fourth was something, but it is still not good enough.

‘It hurts that we finished 30 points behind Arsenal. I’ve felt as if I’ve had a good season, things have gone well for me personally, but it’s well documented that I have not been happy with the way it’s gone for Liverpool. I’m very ambitious; you’ve got to be. Everyone knows how desperate I am to win the league.

‘The first three months of next season are going to be as important a time as there has been at Liverpool.”

Some have suggested that, without Gerrard, Liverpool might have finished fourth from bottom rather than fourth from top this season. So, did the responsibility of being captain improve his game?

‘It gave me a big boost, confidence-wise, putting that armband on every day,” he says. ‘I was playing well before that, but what I have been happiest about is having a consistent season from start to finish. In each of the past two seasons I’ve played 50 games and three years ago I would have snapped someone’s hand off if I had been told I could achieve that. Touch wood, I haven’t had any problems with the old injuries.

‘I’m 100% fit and confidence is high. The main thing now is to do well in training and make sure I’m in the starting XI against France.”

There is little doubt of that, even though the England midfield against Japan last week was so disorganised and ineffective that one would not rule out further tweaks against France. Someone has to take responsibility for tackling and there is no logical reason why Gerrard cannot play in the centre with Lampard, as he did against Iceland last weekend.

‘My most comfortable position is in the middle, but I can do a job on the left if I am asked,” Gerrard says. ‘It’s the manager’s decision. I’ve got to think of the team.

‘It wouldn’t be fair if I started thinking about myself and demanding to play in the middle. I know where I feel you would get the best out of me, but if I start against France, I’ll be happy.” —