There have
been times in the past five years, particularly on Tuesdays and
Wednesdays, when turning on the TV pushed Steven Gerrard to the limit.
Liverpool’s
captain is a football fanatic who never misses a chance to sit down at
home and watch a game. But, at various points since December 9, 2009 —
the date his club relinquished a place among Europe’s elite — Gerrard
has found viewing the Champions League almost intolerable.
‘When
you aren’t involved, there is a big jealousy,’ Gerrard admits. ‘I was
jealous of the teams and players who were involved when Liverpool had
nothing to do it with it. But that’s a good thing, isn’t it? It’s the
best competition to play in at club level. There’s a hole there when you
are out of it.’(continue reading)...
Gerrard’s
message is clear: returning to the Champions League has provided a
colourful narrative but it is not the summit of ambitions.
‘Maybe
you forget how lucky you are,’ he says. ‘When you are consistently
getting to the latter stages and popping up in finals, it was such an
unbelievable achievement. But I’ve got confidence that might not be too
far away, if the owners continue to back (manager) Brendan Rodgers as
they have done.
‘I’ve got a
lot of confidence in Brendan and in the squad. Listen, I’ll put it
another way. If we go out in the group stages, or the last 16, we will
be majorly, majorly disappointed. We want to progress. We want to go as
far as we can. This can’t be a one-off. This can’t be, “Isn’t it great
where we are?”
‘This
isn’t a reward for finishing second last year. I don’t see it as a
reward. This is where Liverpool should be — and should be consistently.
It’s the responsibility of myself and the players to give it our best
crack. It is important that we have got the Champions League next year
as well.
‘The
players who haven’t sampled this and then get a taste of it — once they
have had that taste I know they are going to love it. Hopefully, it
will drive them on to want to keep it at Liverpool for a long time to
come.’
‘We
understand that we are not one of the favourites,’ he says. ‘There are
some big hitters that people will be tipping to win it, but the message
from me, as captain of this team, is that we are not making up the
numbers. No way.
‘We
have got such a big advantage over two legs, with Anfield, that other
teams haven’t got. Let me tell you right now: you come to Anfield,
you’re getting a terribly hard 90 minutes. And we are going to make it
even harder for you.’
But
how will they do that? They have struggled to replicate the blitzkrieg
starts of last season so far and life without Luis Suarez is still
causing adjustments.
However,
the stage is set for someone to take over his mantle and Gerrard hopes
it will be the man who has been entrusted with the No 45 shirt.
Mario
Balotelli might split opinion but he is already the subject of a banner
on The Kop and Gerrard, in quiet moments at the Melwood training
complex, has told the Italian where he could be propelled if he scores
the goals to give Liverpool back their Champions League season ticket.
‘There
is no doubt Luis Suarez is going to be one of the big players in the
Champions League this season,’ Gerrard says. ‘I know how much he wants
to play in the competition. I had many conversations with him about it.
But we have got Mario now and we have got to move on.
‘If
we get the best out of him, we have got him. If people want to write
stories about him and say that he is crazy or he is a nutter, let them.
But he is one of us now. We have welcomed him into this clubs with open
arms and we want to help him succeed. Everyone is hoping he is going to
be a hit. He has got a great set of team-mates who will work for him and
back him. He has got to do the same for us.’
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