Gerrard retires from professional football

London: On 24 November, former English and Liverpool FC football captain Steven Gerrard announced retirement from professional football.

Gerrard posted on Instagram: “Following recent media speculation surrounding my future, I can confirm my retirement from playing professional football.” Graduating from Liverpool’s youth academy, Gerrard had made his professional debut in November 1998. Since then, the midfielder has played 710 games of Liverpool, netting 186 goals. Gerrard spent 17 years at the Anfield stadium and served as the captain since October 2003.

In 2005, Gerrard guided Liverpool to UEFA Champions League victory over Italian club AC Milan in a dramatic final in Istanbul, Turkey. Gerrard scored 1 of the 3 goals for Liverpool, trailing 0–3 at half time, in the final. Liverpool, under the management of Rafael Benítez, won by a penalty shootout.

Two years later, Liverpool, including Gerrard, collected the Champions League runners-up medal following defeat against AC Milan.

Gerrard was with the team when they won the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup during the 2000-2001 season.

The team, including Gerrard, also lifted the League Cup trophy in 2012, and 2006 FA Cup against the London-based club West Ham United.

In 2014, Liverpool failed to secure the Premier League trophy on the last day of the season. Manchester City FC won the title. Steven Gerrard has never won the Premier League trophy in his 17-year spell at Anfield.

Gerrard left Anfield for LA Galaxy in 2015. In 34 appearances for the Los Angeles club, Gerrard scored 5 goals and provided 14 assists, helping the club to find a spot in the MLS Cup playoffs.

Gerrard has played 114 matches for England debuting in 2000 and is the fourth most capped player in the country behind Peter Shilton, Wayne Rooney and David Beckham. Gerrard has scored 21 goals for England and featured in 6 major tournaments. He became the captain of the national team in 2102.

Gerrard also represented England in the U-16, U-18 and U-21 teams. He was voted England Player of the Year twice, in 2007 and in 2012. Gerrard retired from international football after the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

From Wikinews under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 licence