Gerrard made his Liverpool first-team debut on 29 November 1998 in a Premier League match against Blackburn Rovers as a last-minute substitute for Vegard Heggem. He made thirteen appearances in his debut season, filling in for injured captain Jamie Redknapp in centre-midfield. He also occasionally played on the right wing, but he scarcely contributed in the short on-pitch time he received, due to nervousness affecting his play. Gerrard recalled in a November 2008 interview with The Guardian, "I was out of position and out of my depth." The Liverpool hierarchy nonetheless remained convinced that he would improve. Gerrard saw himself as a defensive player primarily, looking to make key tackles rather than push the team forward.
Gerrard began to regularly partner Redknapp in central midfield for the 1999-2000 season. After starting the derby against Everton on the bench, he replaced Robbie Fowler in the second half but received his first career red card for a late foul on Everton's Kevin Campbell shortly afterwards. Later that season, Gerrard scored his first senior goal in a 4–1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday. However, he began to suffer from nagging back problems, which sports consultant Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt later diagnosed as a result of accelerated growth, coupled with excessive playing, during his teenage years. He was then beset by groin injuries that required four separate operations.
He went on to recover from this, and in the 2000–01 season made fifty starts in all competitions and scored ten goals as he won his first major honours with Liverpool – the FA Cup, League Cup, and the UEFA Cup. In the following season, he would go on to win both the FA Charity Shield and UEFA Super Cup.
No comments:
Post a Comment