Steven Gerrard and the beauty of imperfection

If the great playwright William Shakespeare were to come back to life and write a football tragedy, the life and career of the recently retired former Liverpool captain would make excellent material.

"Let the blood in my body spurt out and dye the Liverpool sky red. I love Liverpool with a burning love. My determination to reach the top at Anfield has increased even more after Jon-Paul's death." Those were the words that Gerrard said in his autobiography "My Autobiography" published in 2006, the book won the "Sports Book of the Year" award at the 2006 British Book Awards.

Jon-Paul is the name of Gerrard's cousin, the youngest of the 96 victims who never woke up in the Hillsborough disaster that occurred on April 15, 1989, during the match between Sheffield and Liverpool. Hillsborough took away from Liverpool a little angel of only 10 years old (Jon-Paul), but planted in the heart of another 9-year-old boy (Steven Gerrard) the desire to do something for the team, the motivation that created a great legend of Anfield.

Gerrard's great love for Liverpool comes from family tradition and a tragedy with his cousin.

Liverpool FC is the Gerrard family’s religion, and Jon-Paul’s death is a prayer of that religion inside Gerrard. On the way to Liverpool’s training ground, Gerrard’s car always slowed down when passing the Hillsborough Memorial. He stopped at the place where the name Jon-Paul Gilhooley was on the memorial, made the sign of the cross and quietly drove on.

Gerrard, with his boundless love for Liverpool, understood that the Hillsborough disaster not only took away his cousin. That incident also left him and millions of Liverpool fans with a grievance that lasted for 23 years, taking away many titles they deserved. And he, Steven Gerrard, the captain, the second in the 100 best players in Liverpool's history, saw himself shouldering the responsibility of bringing the team the English championship. That would be the day when the pain, the grievance, the shame would be left behind, giving way to the glory and smiles of Liverpool standing at the top of England.

Don't wonder why Gerrard cried in the 34th round of the 2013-2014 season, after the decisive 3-2 victory over Man City. That was when he saw the championship title just a few steps away. That was when his childhood dream was about to come true, and Jon-Paul would smile in his grave. But with only four more steps to go to heaven, Gerrard fell on the second step in a disastrous slip in the match against Chelsea in the 36th round.

The tragedy of Gerrard's life lies in the fall that prevented him from joining Liverpool in reaching heaven - the Premier League championship.

If the great English playwright William Shakespeare were to come back to life to write a tragedy dedicated to football, what better material could there be than the story of Steven Gerrard and his love for Liverpool. A player who rose through love and pain with Liverpool, devoted himself tirelessly for 17 years of playing, played more than 500 matches and scored 120 goals, just to bring his beloved team an English championship title, but in the end it was blown away by the wind.

What could be more unfinished for a story that should have been as beautiful as a novel, when Gerrard almost fought with the prayer beside the memorial stone at Shankly Gates? But instead of a smile, he also received bitterness and ridicule after a thousand-year-old slip that could not be washed away.

Istanbul, May 25, 2005, 54th minute of Champions League final, AC Milan - Liverpool, Milan was leading 3-0 thanks to a brace from Hernan Crespo and a goal from Paolo Maldini. Almost everyone thought the match was over, but Gerrard did not. He jumped high to head the ball past Dida, reducing the score to 1-3. Afterwards, Gerrard celebrated the goal by gritting his teeth, spreading his arms wide, and shouting to all his teammates not to surrender.

Responding to that call, in just six minutes, from 54 to 60, the Istanbul stadium witnessed the unthinkable when Liverpool equalized 3-3. Milan's spirit collapsed, they fell in the penalty shootout and watched Liverpool win the title. Liverpool's coach at that time, Rafael Benitez, confided: "The magical night in Istanbul would never have come true without Gerrard".

The classic comeback to win the 2005 Champions League was the only shining milestone in Gerrard's unfinished career.

During his nearly 20 years of professional football, Gerrard was at his best in that match, and the prestigious Champions League Cup was the greatest consolation for the unfinished life in the foggy land of the young man who always rushed to suppress his fear, to seek victory for the shirt that he was willing to shed blood to dye red. Gerrard played with emotion, and won on sublimation, and lost regretfully also because of emotion.

Yesterday, Gerrard said goodbye to his career. That was the moment when the world officially no longer saw Steven Gerrard on the football field. On the farewell day, he thanked all the places he had been, those who had given him faith, and the fans. In response, on Twitter, former teammate Xabi Alonso posted a picture of Gerrard, and wrote a small, short but meaningful line: "Forever a legend".

According to VNE