Steven Gerrard is undoubtedly key to England's World Cup 2010 hopes this summer in South Africa, but after a difficult season with his club, Liverpool, has Fabio Capello made the right decision in naming Steven Gerrard as his England captain in the absence of Rio Ferdinand?
Steven Gerrard – Liverpool Legend
Steven Gerrard is the new England Football Team captain and has experience with captaining a team of players as he is also the current Liverpool captain in the English Premier League. He has constantly been a key part of Fabio Capello’s England squad and despite a poor season by his and Liverpool’s standards he is a world class midfielder.
He leads by example, which is a key attribute as far as Fabio Capello is concerned, as can be identified by the manner in which he replaced John Terry, his original England captain, with his defensive counterpart Rio Ferdinand.
There is also no doubt concerning his influence over his fellow players. At Liverpool he is the talisman of the team and has often driven the team forward to success. The most potent of examples of his influence can be found in Liverpool’s remarkable Champions League comeback against AC Milan and their FA Cup scoring of a terrific goal in the dying seconds of the game to break West Hams’ hearts.
Steven Gerrard and England
However at International level Gerrard has far less influence on games with either being played out of position on the left of midfield or struggling to form a successful partnership with Frank Lampard. Lampard is just as crucial to England’s hopes of success as Gerrard, however they play in a similar position in the midfield and often perform better with Gareth Barry alongside either of them. This allows the more attacking instincts of Gerrard and Lampard to be unleashed safe in the knowledge that Barry will sit back and provide the necessary cover.
This leaves Fabio Capello with a difficult decision to make concerning the central midfield partnership, as it is clearly apparent Gerrard is wasted on the left side of midfield. The alternative option is to play Gerrard off Wayne Rooney as a lone striker as he does with Fernando Torres at Liverpool. Rooney has predominately played a lone striker role at Manchester Untied this season and has been very successful. However, this may in turn reduce the influence of Rooney who many would argue is more important to England’s success than Gerrard is.
England’s World Cup Chances
Whatever Fabio Capello decides one thing can be guaranteed, Steven Gerrard will be key to England’s World Cup chances and if he is able to exert his drive and influence on to his team mates as he has done so well at Liverpool he may just be the man to lead England to World Cup glory.
Andrew Bunting - Andy is a fully qualified Financial Adviser in the UK and also has extensive knowledge on the world of Sport.
Join the Conversation