GERRARD HAPPY WITH 100

The England midfielder Steven Gerrard has said that he is extremely happy and thrilled to represent the England national team for the 100th match. The Liverpool midfielder will be able to make his 100th appearance for the England national team if he plays in the friendly match against Sweden next week. He made his debut for the national team in the 2-0 win over Ukraine back in 2000. During this period, he has been the shining light of the golden generation of the England national team. The 32-year-old midfielder is expected to compete with David Beckham in the next few years if he carries on the same level.

David Beckham is currently the record appearance holder for the England national team and he is a few matches ahead of the Liverpool man. Even though he was a peripheral figure at the World Cup 2010, he once again returned back strongly at the Euro 2012. Many of whom doubted his potential with the national team after the 2010 FIFA World Cup were extremely surprised to see him as one of the best players for England in an otherwise poor tournament at the Euro 2012. Gerrard recently said that he is enjoying playing for England just as in the same way when he made his debut 12 years ago.

“I’m loving it as much as if it was my first cap. I’ve been around the set-up an awful long time. But I don’t feel old; I’m not getting bored with it. I still feel fresh, looking forward to the next game as much as my debut. Every time you put the England shirt on, it is a proud moment,” said the England midfielder after his 99th match against Poland a few weeks back. England managed only a draw from this match.

GERRARD WILL START

The skipper of the England national football team, Steven Gerrard, has said that he is completely fit and he would definitely play in England’s next World Cup qualifying game against Ukraine. Gerrard had played for only 45 minutes in England’s first World Cup qualifying match against Moldova. He didn’t come to play in the second half. After that, there have been speculations that Gerrard is suffering from an injury. But, the English captain has denied all those reports and said that he just wanted to have a bit of rest. So, he decided not to go on the field in the second half. There is nothing to worry about his fitness.

Gerrard seemed to be delighted with the performance of his team in the match against Moldova. England won the match against Moldova by a huge margin of 5-0. The English team absolutely demolished Moldova in that match. The Moldova players didn’t have any answer of the attacking game of the English team. Gerrard said that it was nice to see the guys playing in full flow. The team went into the match with all guns blazing and the body language of the players was tremendous.

Gerrard said that when you play against a team like Moldova, you tend to get a bit casual at times. But, each and every player gave 100% effort and winning the first match in such a convincing fashion is something fantastic. On being asked about Frank Lampard who netted twice in the match against Moldova, Gerrard said that Lampard is an experienced player and it was nice to see him playing with such intensity after recovering from the injury. He looked in brilliant form and hopefully, he would keep playing with the same kind of energy level in the further matches as well.

GERRARD BACKS RODGERS

The skipper of Liverpool, Steven Gerrard, has said that the new manager of the club, Brendan Rodgers, is doing a very good job with the young guys in the training sessions and under his guidance, the team would be able to qualify for the Champions League in the upcoming season. Liverpool hasn’t been able to play in the Champions League since the last three seasons. In the last season, they finished at no. 8 in the premier league which was a very poor performance according to the standard of Liverpool. After that, Kenny Dalgish was terminated from the post of the manager.

However, the owners of Liverpool, Tom Werner and John W Henry, have said that Rodgers would not be pressurized and he would be given ample time to build the team. As per Gerrard, if the Liverpool players play up to their potential, the team could easily finish in top 4 in the upcoming season. On being asked about the termination of Dalgish, Gerrard said that the club’s decision to remove Dalgish was an obvious one. Finishing at no. 8 was awful. However, the English midfielder has also said that Dalgish was not solely responsible for the team’s poor performance. The players were equally responsible for that.

Gerrard said that Rodgers has brought a lot of positivity in the camp and he is trying to change the attitude of the team. He wants the team to be more aggressive and play like a champion side. He is a bit different from the other managers and he has his own working style. On being asked about the transfer rumours related to Andy Carroll, Gerrard said that it’s the duty of the management to decide about the transfer issues and he has nothing to do with it.

GERRARD WANTS TOP

England captain Steven Gerrard has said that he wants England to top the group ahead of France. England go into the final group match against Ukraine knowing that they can still finish top of the group D if results go their way. Steven Gerrard has said that it certainly does not matter whether England finished top of the group or not because either way they will be facing a former world champion in the form of Spain or Italy. However, Steven Gerrard wants to finish top of the group because it would provide great confidence for the members of the team.

England have been boosted by the return of Wayne Rooney, who is once again available for selection after being suspended for the first two matches of the Euro 2012. England drew the first match against France 1-1, but were more entertaining in the second group game against Sweden. The 3-2 victory coupled with the impressive performances from Danny Welbeck and Andy Carroll would have certainly been a great confidence for the other team members knowing that they need not really every time on the Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney. Gerrard is expected to play an important role in the match against Ukraine, despite reports suggesting that he might be rested.

He told I Love Liverpool “the aim is always to finish top of the group. It is important we do not get ahead of ourselves and start worrying about who we can meet in the quarter-finals. There is a very important and very difficult job to do tomorrow night first. The aim is to win the game and see where that takes us. he lads are working very hard. They are training very well. We are recovering very well. We have got an excellent team behind the main football team. It is a professional atmosphere. We are enjoying it, because we are playing well,” said Gerrard.