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Gerrard: My Autobiography
Steven Gerrard is a hero to millions, not only as the inspirational captain of Liverpool FC, but as a key member of the England team. Here, for the first time, he tells the story of his lifelong obsession with football, in an honest and revealing book which captures the extraordinary camaraderie, the soul-destroying tensions and the high-octane thrills of the modern game as never before. He speaks for the first time about the torturous will-he-won't-he Chelsea rumours and his undying passion for Liverpool. We experience first-hand the highs of winning in Istanbul and elsewhere, as well as the occasional lows of being parted from his much-loved family and friends. And of course, the book contains a full blow-by-blow account of England's world cup campaign in Germany 2006.
512 pages, Paperback
First published September 2, 2006
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July 19, 2015
You know how people say that when you read A Clockwork Orange, the first 100 pages are a real strain to get through? Well, the first 100 pages of Gerrard’s Autobiography are like that. The prose in the entire book is monosyllabic, full of an embarrassing level of romanticising of Liverpool FC and their supporters, and replete with sentences so short as to make Hemingway raise a bushy eyebrow, and it takes a while before you stop grinding your teeth and get used to it. What makes it worse is the knowledge that these aren’t actually Gerrard’s words; rather, this is the work of two journalists who have tried to imagine what Gerrard’s writing style would be like. They couldn’t have been more patronising.
Quite honestly, you can skip the first 64 pages – all they do is paint the picture of a spoilt brat, constantly crying when mum and dad wouldn’t buy him the latest replica kit or other such banal tragedies – because once that obstacle has been overcome, you reach the stage where Gerrard’s book becomes one of those rare things in this genre: a sports autobiography where the subject isn’t afraid to get a few things off his chest. Igor Biscan is “a tit”, gamesmanship is branded solely “a foreign disease” (swiftly followed in the next paragraph by an account of Gerrard himself once diving to win a penalty), Clinton Morrison is “a complete prick”.
For that reason alone, Gerrard’s book is worth a read compared to most modern-day footballers' efforts. You may well not agree with a lot of what he says – his sincere belief that Liverpool somehow have more of a right to win trophies than other clubs is a bit baffling – and he can come across as a little confused at times – the attempt to paint Liverpool as the bad guys during his flirtation with Chelsea fails completely, and you have to wonder if Steven Gerrard himself can’t make himself out to be the one sinned against in that situation, who can? – and truth be told he does come across as a little dull, but you have to acknowledge he hasn’t held back with this.
Quite honestly, you can skip the first 64 pages – all they do is paint the picture of a spoilt brat, constantly crying when mum and dad wouldn’t buy him the latest replica kit or other such banal tragedies – because once that obstacle has been overcome, you reach the stage where Gerrard’s book becomes one of those rare things in this genre: a sports autobiography where the subject isn’t afraid to get a few things off his chest. Igor Biscan is “a tit”, gamesmanship is branded solely “a foreign disease” (swiftly followed in the next paragraph by an account of Gerrard himself once diving to win a penalty), Clinton Morrison is “a complete prick”.
For that reason alone, Gerrard’s book is worth a read compared to most modern-day footballers' efforts. You may well not agree with a lot of what he says – his sincere belief that Liverpool somehow have more of a right to win trophies than other clubs is a bit baffling – and he can come across as a little confused at times – the attempt to paint Liverpool as the bad guys during his flirtation with Chelsea fails completely, and you have to wonder if Steven Gerrard himself can’t make himself out to be the one sinned against in that situation, who can? – and truth be told he does come across as a little dull, but you have to acknowledge he hasn’t held back with this.
September 20, 2011
Autobiography:
Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard is an average boy who had a common love for football as much as I do.
He had to realise from a young age that life doesn't always go as planned, because when his cousin went to support his favourite team Liverpool, he never came back. And it was all the fault of bad building structures. Steven Gerrard didn't have many friends in school except for Michael Owen. While being in school he was very lucky to practise football in Liverpool academy by the sides of Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen. Unfortunately he had a bad accident by playing with his brother and his friends on the other side of the road, where there was a greenfield and when Gerrard went to fetch the ball he got a big gardeners fork stuck in his foot, while screaming in agony someone was witnessing this and called an ambulance immediately he was taken to accidents and emergencies, when he was going into operation they were thinking of cutting his toe off and putting a stop to his football career but his coach refused to let them do that so they tried their hardest to find another way. In the end they succeeded and he is now one of the worlds greatest football players and my idol.
Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard is an average boy who had a common love for football as much as I do.
He had to realise from a young age that life doesn't always go as planned, because when his cousin went to support his favourite team Liverpool, he never came back. And it was all the fault of bad building structures. Steven Gerrard didn't have many friends in school except for Michael Owen. While being in school he was very lucky to practise football in Liverpool academy by the sides of Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen. Unfortunately he had a bad accident by playing with his brother and his friends on the other side of the road, where there was a greenfield and when Gerrard went to fetch the ball he got a big gardeners fork stuck in his foot, while screaming in agony someone was witnessing this and called an ambulance immediately he was taken to accidents and emergencies, when he was going into operation they were thinking of cutting his toe off and putting a stop to his football career but his coach refused to let them do that so they tried their hardest to find another way. In the end they succeeded and he is now one of the worlds greatest football players and my idol.
April 10, 2010
Steven Gerrard is one of the most iconic footballers of the current generation. He is very much a player capable of playing a number of roles on the pitch, possessing great tackling and passing ability, a vicious shot, and great athleticism. A local Liverpool lad, he joined the Liverpool FC youth setup at an early age. He rose steadily through the ranks and broke into the Liverpool first team in 1999. He was made captain of the club in 2003 and is also a key player in the England team. Widely recognised as one of the best footballers in the world, he has made over 450 appearances for Liverpool and scored over 100 goals. In that time he has won every major club honour except the Premiership (at least at the time of writing). He was voted the PFA Young Player of the Year in 2001, and was voted Player of the Year in 2006. He was voted the Champions League most valuable player for the 2005 campaign after Liverpool won the trophy for the fifth time, and has been included in the Premiership Team of the Year on six occasions.
Those are the statistics for the Steven Gerrard on the pitch. Off the pitch he is known very much as a private individual who largely keeps himself and his family out of the limelight for non football related reasons. His autobiography, released when he was 26, was therefore much anticipated. It was well received by fans and critics, and won the Galaxy British Book Awards Sports Book Of The Year in 2007.
Personally (as may or may not be obvious from the information provided so far) I was born and bred as a Liverpool fan. I have a season ticket, and travel to watch the team in a decent number of away matches (including European matches on occasion). As such I'm surprised it has taken me this long to pick up a copy of Steven Gerrard's autobiography. But was it worth the wait?
WHAT IT COVERS
As previously stated, Steven Gerrard released this book at the age of 26, which for footballers is only really middle age. Most professional footballers don't retire until their early thirties, and indeed the likes of Ryan Giggs (who is an iconic footballer in his own right, and still playing first team football for Manchester United at the age of 35) have shown that it is possible to go on longer than that at the highest level. Personally I felt that at the time of releasing this book Steven Gerrard had at least another five or six years left at the very top level of club football. As such, it was something of a disappoint that he released this book only two thirds of the way through what is, up to now, a glittering career. You can't help but feel at the end of this book (especially if you've read it recently) that a second book is likely at some point down the line.
In terms of content, as expected the book covers his early life and football career, starting when he was aged nine. It progresses in a logical fashion, with later chapters generally alternating between Liverpool and England events, all the up to the end of the 2006-07 season, which is when Liverpool reached the final of the Champions League, but lost to AC Milan. So within the book you get his take on classic Liverpool moments such as the Treble in 2001 and winning the Champions League in 2005, as well as similar moments for England such as the 5-1 thrashing of Germany in 2001.
In addition to the obvious topics, Steven Gerrard also writes quite frankly about other not so obvious topics, such as a career threatening injury that he suffered at the age of nine, tackling his discipline problems on the pitch, and his parents splitting up. These topics will take the reader by surprise as few will have been aware of them from general media coverage or otherwise, and help to pad out the book in terms of content. As such, despite the premature release of the book, I didn't feel in any way cheated out of content here. He certainly crams plenty in.
STYLE
It is so often the case when reading an autobiography that you just think "s/he didn't really write this". The case in point is when a celebrity who is clearly not an academic produces an autobiography with flowing language and a superb vocabulary range. To be honest I did wonder whether or not this would be the case with Steven Gerrard, and the answer is that it very much isn't. One thing that certainly does stand out in this book is that there is no doubt that Steven Gerrard has written this. Granted it has probably had a spell checker go through it and been proof read to within an inch of its life, but the words on the page are clearly Steven Gerrard's and no one else's.
But is this a good thing or a bad thing? The short answer is both. On the one hand it is fantastic to read about Gerrard's life in his own words. You always feel that you're getting the genuine truth, not only in the words but the style, and this does add to the impact of the book. On the other hand this is not, nor does it ever pretend to be, a literary masterpiece. Steven Gerrard is not a writer, and at no point is he going to win the Booker Prize.
As such seasoned readers may well be put off by the style of this book. It is not particularly welcoming, and you almost need to skim the words rather than trying to take them all in as individual sentences. Certainly if you try to read the book intricately it will become a struggle, because in all honesty it just doesn't flow that well from sentence to sentence. Then again this is something that should be expected and persevered with. If you want a literary masterpiece, don't buy the autobiography of a professional footballer.
MY OPINION
Personally this book stood out for me for a number of reasons. The first is the stark contrast between the private nature of Steven Gerrard from day to day, and how revealing he is in this book. It would have been so easy for a footballer with this career up to this point to concentrate on the professional highs and lows, and not delve too much into the personal side of things. Indeed, taking this route must have been tempting for someone who works hard to keep himself out of the media limelight.
But this is not the approach that Gerrard takes. As well as covering the most well known professional moments of his career, he also covers personal issues that he quite frankly didn't need to cover at all. If he hadn't, I don't think the reader would have known any different. This approach is actually one that adds depth to the book. As he goes through he talks about the impact of his family, his upbringing, his attitude and his outlook on a personal level, bringing in deeply personal issues such as his parents breaking up as he does so. Autobiographies are usually about gleaming information about your chosen celebrity, but as I read this book I actually felt connected to Gerrard, which meant that even when reading about topics that I know about so well, I felt like I was looking at them from a completely new perspective. This is one of the strengths of the book and a credit to the way that Gerrard has chosen to approach this. In revealing more personal information that he strictly had to he makes the book a lot deeper, and a much more satisfying read. At the same time, I never felt that the information revealed wasn't relevant, which shows good balance and judgment in terms of the content that is included.
The other thing that stood out for me is how honest yet professional he managed to be throughout when dealing with other high profile players and managers. There are plenty of ex professionals out there who have stirred up a lot of controversy in their autobiographies by being unnecessarily brutal, to the point where you feel like they are stirring things up for the sake of it.
Gerrard doesn't do this, and in my opinion he strikes the balance between honesty and professionalism perfectly. He deals with a lot of players and managers in this book (so much so that he has an index of names in the back and where he has referred to them), and deals with them honestly. Predictably there are people that he either didn't get on with, or didn't approve of, and he describes these players and expresses his opinions without ever over stepping the mark. There are times throughout the book when he described heated arguments between himself and other big names in Liverpool's history, but also manages to maintain a level of respect.
He gives his views on current and ex players, managers, and even referees, and deals with them all in the same way. Personally I found it refreshing to read about his opinion of these people without ever feeling that he was trying to stir things up. I was surprised with his outlook on some people, and not at all surprised with others (he doesn't think Jeff Winter was a good referee, but then again I have never met anyone who thinks he was), but at all times I felt like I was getting an interesting and informed opinion from some with real inside knowledge of the modern game.
SHOULD YOU READ IT?
As stated above, I personally read this book because I am a huge Liverpool fan. And because of that, but also the overriding positives described above, I breezed through this in record time and loved ever second of it. I'll re read it at some point, too. As such, I would certainly recommend it to any Liverpool fan, but then again most of them wouldn't need my recommendation to pick it up.
So what about you non Liverpool fans who nonetheless like football on a broader scale and can tolerate reading the thoughts of a rival player? To be honest you're not going to like every part of the book. If you're a Manchester United fan, you may wish to just skip certain parts altogether. Because let's be honest, no amount of honest opinion is going to make you enjoy reading about Liverpool's fifth Champions League win in Istanbul. It just isn't.
But the book is still worth reading for the real football fans, because this book is genuinely interesting and not just blind propaganda for Liverpool fans to read about the glory moments all over again. Football fans of all allegiances will find his revelations and opinions about other players and staff, as well as his England experiences, interesting and surprising all in one go. The book is about learning more about an iconic footballer as much as it is learning about the game from his own experiences and opinions. And because of that it is a great read for anyone who simply holds a love for football. And to each and everyone one of those people, I would highly recommend it.
Those are the statistics for the Steven Gerrard on the pitch. Off the pitch he is known very much as a private individual who largely keeps himself and his family out of the limelight for non football related reasons. His autobiography, released when he was 26, was therefore much anticipated. It was well received by fans and critics, and won the Galaxy British Book Awards Sports Book Of The Year in 2007.
Personally (as may or may not be obvious from the information provided so far) I was born and bred as a Liverpool fan. I have a season ticket, and travel to watch the team in a decent number of away matches (including European matches on occasion). As such I'm surprised it has taken me this long to pick up a copy of Steven Gerrard's autobiography. But was it worth the wait?
WHAT IT COVERS
As previously stated, Steven Gerrard released this book at the age of 26, which for footballers is only really middle age. Most professional footballers don't retire until their early thirties, and indeed the likes of Ryan Giggs (who is an iconic footballer in his own right, and still playing first team football for Manchester United at the age of 35) have shown that it is possible to go on longer than that at the highest level. Personally I felt that at the time of releasing this book Steven Gerrard had at least another five or six years left at the very top level of club football. As such, it was something of a disappoint that he released this book only two thirds of the way through what is, up to now, a glittering career. You can't help but feel at the end of this book (especially if you've read it recently) that a second book is likely at some point down the line.
In terms of content, as expected the book covers his early life and football career, starting when he was aged nine. It progresses in a logical fashion, with later chapters generally alternating between Liverpool and England events, all the up to the end of the 2006-07 season, which is when Liverpool reached the final of the Champions League, but lost to AC Milan. So within the book you get his take on classic Liverpool moments such as the Treble in 2001 and winning the Champions League in 2005, as well as similar moments for England such as the 5-1 thrashing of Germany in 2001.
In addition to the obvious topics, Steven Gerrard also writes quite frankly about other not so obvious topics, such as a career threatening injury that he suffered at the age of nine, tackling his discipline problems on the pitch, and his parents splitting up. These topics will take the reader by surprise as few will have been aware of them from general media coverage or otherwise, and help to pad out the book in terms of content. As such, despite the premature release of the book, I didn't feel in any way cheated out of content here. He certainly crams plenty in.
STYLE
It is so often the case when reading an autobiography that you just think "s/he didn't really write this". The case in point is when a celebrity who is clearly not an academic produces an autobiography with flowing language and a superb vocabulary range. To be honest I did wonder whether or not this would be the case with Steven Gerrard, and the answer is that it very much isn't. One thing that certainly does stand out in this book is that there is no doubt that Steven Gerrard has written this. Granted it has probably had a spell checker go through it and been proof read to within an inch of its life, but the words on the page are clearly Steven Gerrard's and no one else's.
But is this a good thing or a bad thing? The short answer is both. On the one hand it is fantastic to read about Gerrard's life in his own words. You always feel that you're getting the genuine truth, not only in the words but the style, and this does add to the impact of the book. On the other hand this is not, nor does it ever pretend to be, a literary masterpiece. Steven Gerrard is not a writer, and at no point is he going to win the Booker Prize.
As such seasoned readers may well be put off by the style of this book. It is not particularly welcoming, and you almost need to skim the words rather than trying to take them all in as individual sentences. Certainly if you try to read the book intricately it will become a struggle, because in all honesty it just doesn't flow that well from sentence to sentence. Then again this is something that should be expected and persevered with. If you want a literary masterpiece, don't buy the autobiography of a professional footballer.
MY OPINION
Personally this book stood out for me for a number of reasons. The first is the stark contrast between the private nature of Steven Gerrard from day to day, and how revealing he is in this book. It would have been so easy for a footballer with this career up to this point to concentrate on the professional highs and lows, and not delve too much into the personal side of things. Indeed, taking this route must have been tempting for someone who works hard to keep himself out of the media limelight.
But this is not the approach that Gerrard takes. As well as covering the most well known professional moments of his career, he also covers personal issues that he quite frankly didn't need to cover at all. If he hadn't, I don't think the reader would have known any different. This approach is actually one that adds depth to the book. As he goes through he talks about the impact of his family, his upbringing, his attitude and his outlook on a personal level, bringing in deeply personal issues such as his parents breaking up as he does so. Autobiographies are usually about gleaming information about your chosen celebrity, but as I read this book I actually felt connected to Gerrard, which meant that even when reading about topics that I know about so well, I felt like I was looking at them from a completely new perspective. This is one of the strengths of the book and a credit to the way that Gerrard has chosen to approach this. In revealing more personal information that he strictly had to he makes the book a lot deeper, and a much more satisfying read. At the same time, I never felt that the information revealed wasn't relevant, which shows good balance and judgment in terms of the content that is included.
The other thing that stood out for me is how honest yet professional he managed to be throughout when dealing with other high profile players and managers. There are plenty of ex professionals out there who have stirred up a lot of controversy in their autobiographies by being unnecessarily brutal, to the point where you feel like they are stirring things up for the sake of it.
Gerrard doesn't do this, and in my opinion he strikes the balance between honesty and professionalism perfectly. He deals with a lot of players and managers in this book (so much so that he has an index of names in the back and where he has referred to them), and deals with them honestly. Predictably there are people that he either didn't get on with, or didn't approve of, and he describes these players and expresses his opinions without ever over stepping the mark. There are times throughout the book when he described heated arguments between himself and other big names in Liverpool's history, but also manages to maintain a level of respect.
He gives his views on current and ex players, managers, and even referees, and deals with them all in the same way. Personally I found it refreshing to read about his opinion of these people without ever feeling that he was trying to stir things up. I was surprised with his outlook on some people, and not at all surprised with others (he doesn't think Jeff Winter was a good referee, but then again I have never met anyone who thinks he was), but at all times I felt like I was getting an interesting and informed opinion from some with real inside knowledge of the modern game.
SHOULD YOU READ IT?
As stated above, I personally read this book because I am a huge Liverpool fan. And because of that, but also the overriding positives described above, I breezed through this in record time and loved ever second of it. I'll re read it at some point, too. As such, I would certainly recommend it to any Liverpool fan, but then again most of them wouldn't need my recommendation to pick it up.
So what about you non Liverpool fans who nonetheless like football on a broader scale and can tolerate reading the thoughts of a rival player? To be honest you're not going to like every part of the book. If you're a Manchester United fan, you may wish to just skip certain parts altogether. Because let's be honest, no amount of honest opinion is going to make you enjoy reading about Liverpool's fifth Champions League win in Istanbul. It just isn't.
But the book is still worth reading for the real football fans, because this book is genuinely interesting and not just blind propaganda for Liverpool fans to read about the glory moments all over again. Football fans of all allegiances will find his revelations and opinions about other players and staff, as well as his England experiences, interesting and surprising all in one go. The book is about learning more about an iconic footballer as much as it is learning about the game from his own experiences and opinions. And because of that it is a great read for anyone who simply holds a love for football. And to each and everyone one of those people, I would highly recommend it.
August 30, 2014
This book comes under the category "an award winner"
1. I decided to read this book because I am huge Liverpool fan, and I am interested in football autobiographies. I am reading another football book because I find them very easy to read, because I love the sport.
2. A person I found interesting in this book was Steven Gerrard. His desire and determination has crafted him to become one of the all time England greats, and a captain that will never die at Liverpool football club. He is a leader and has a winning mentality like no other person on the planet.
3. A quote that I found interesting was. "It's to easy to blame people in football." I found this interesting because this quote sums up his attitude as a person. Work hard, never take the easy way out of things. The book really shows you what made Steven become such a great player, and I think this attitude is one of those things.
4. Just like the other football autobiography I read, this book has shown me that you need to be brutal and hard to make it as a footballer. If you are weak mentally than you are just as weak physically. It has made me think about what I need to change in order to become a better player and even a better person.
1. I decided to read this book because I am huge Liverpool fan, and I am interested in football autobiographies. I am reading another football book because I find them very easy to read, because I love the sport.
2. A person I found interesting in this book was Steven Gerrard. His desire and determination has crafted him to become one of the all time England greats, and a captain that will never die at Liverpool football club. He is a leader and has a winning mentality like no other person on the planet.
3. A quote that I found interesting was. "It's to easy to blame people in football." I found this interesting because this quote sums up his attitude as a person. Work hard, never take the easy way out of things. The book really shows you what made Steven become such a great player, and I think this attitude is one of those things.
4. Just like the other football autobiography I read, this book has shown me that you need to be brutal and hard to make it as a footballer. If you are weak mentally than you are just as weak physically. It has made me think about what I need to change in order to become a better player and even a better person.
December 9, 2025
As a lifelong Red, Steven Gerrard has always been the player for me, the heartbeat of every Liverpool side I grew up watching, and one of the finest to ever kick a football. His autobiography feels like sitting down with the captain himself, hearing the real stories behind the moments that shaped our club and our memories.
What I loved most is the honesty: the highs that still give me goosebumps, the heartbreaks we all felt together, and the relentless drive that made Gerrard the legend he is. It’s raw, human, and brilliant.
For any Liverpool supporter, this book isn’t just a read; it’s a reminder of why we fell in love with the game and why Gerrard will always be our captain.
What I loved most is the honesty: the highs that still give me goosebumps, the heartbreaks we all felt together, and the relentless drive that made Gerrard the legend he is. It’s raw, human, and brilliant.
For any Liverpool supporter, this book isn’t just a read; it’s a reminder of why we fell in love with the game and why Gerrard will always be our captain.
September 23, 2009
This is the type of autobiography you always hope for but rarely find: personal, detailed, captivating, and most of all: brutally honest. The competitive spirit and sheer will that Steven Gerrard evinces in recounting all the highs and lows of his soccer career (dating back to his childhood days in the Liverpool Academy) is amazing. Equally revealing are his personal (i.e., frank and no holds barred) assessments of the various teammates, competitors, referees, managers, and even fans he has been associated with. This sort of honesty is refreshing -- and probably would never be found in any published American autobiography.
September 8, 2007
"Ste Gerrard, Gerrard, can pass the ball 40 yards, he's big and he's f**king hard, Ste Gerrard, Gerrard.
Read it.
Read it.
March 9, 2018
Was reading this book for sometimes now and recently finished it! An awesome supply of life by the author and one of the most respected footballers in the world! Inspiring and a little exciting too.
June 19, 2017
I am a massive Liverpool fan. I will rate 5/5 to anything which is coming off Stevie. Be it a ball or words. This is an amazing read for a true Red. Someone who has experienced Liverpool, someone who has lived Istanbul, someone who has cherished FA cup final versus West Ham. I have read Carra as well, and to be honest Istanbul was described way better by Carra. Fair play to both as both shared their own perspectives.
But I honestly feel that he had written this too early, now was the perfect time. After reading this I am dying to know about Owen's decision to join United, I am dying to know about Rafa's step down and Rodgers taking control. That slip!!!! God that slip!!!! I want to know what does he think about Jurgen Klopp. Where does he see the future in 2017? How much does he rate FSG?
Hopefully someday we will all get to read second part of dream that was StevieG.
But I honestly feel that he had written this too early, now was the perfect time. After reading this I am dying to know about Owen's decision to join United, I am dying to know about Rafa's step down and Rodgers taking control. That slip!!!! God that slip!!!! I want to know what does he think about Jurgen Klopp. Where does he see the future in 2017? How much does he rate FSG?
Hopefully someday we will all get to read second part of dream that was StevieG.
July 14, 2015
En tant que fan du Liverpool FC, et bien évidemment de notre Captain Stevie G, je me suis enfin décidée à commander son autobiographie.
J'ai beaucoup apprécié ce livre, notamment car on ressent la détermination de Steven, sa frustration, sa joie ect, aux moments venus. Il n'hésite pas à dire ce qu'il pense, ce que je trouve vraiment intéressant. De plus j'ai aimé découvrir son point de vue personnel et en apprendre plus à son sujet.
J'ai été agréablement surprise.
Cependant j'ai dû arrêter un peu cette lecture car j'ai trouvé qu'elle était vraiment répétitive par moment et je ressentais le besoin de m'arrêter un peu et de lire autre chose.
Gros plus pour les photos à l'intérieur du livre!
J'ai beaucoup apprécié ce livre, notamment car on ressent la détermination de Steven, sa frustration, sa joie ect, aux moments venus. Il n'hésite pas à dire ce qu'il pense, ce que je trouve vraiment intéressant. De plus j'ai aimé découvrir son point de vue personnel et en apprendre plus à son sujet.
J'ai été agréablement surprise.
Cependant j'ai dû arrêter un peu cette lecture car j'ai trouvé qu'elle était vraiment répétitive par moment et je ressentais le besoin de m'arrêter un peu et de lire autre chose.
Gros plus pour les photos à l'intérieur du livre!
July 18, 2007
This book makes me think higher of steven gerrard than i already did, in the book it showed me that he never thought he would make it as a proffessional football and he did, he said in the book strive for your abitions and never give up.THis man has achieved so much in his career and is a legend in my eyes for his country and club.
September 24, 2015
Steven Gerrard ;one of the best midfielders to have graced the football pitch. Hailing from a humble background , Gerrard rose to the pinnacle of the sport with his hardwork, skill , dedication and most of all his love for Liverpool. That Istanbul final was one of the best UCL finals ever played and thinking of it still gives me goosebumps. The book is a must read for any football lover.
September 8, 2016
This book is an excellent story of Gerrard growing up through to his older years at Liverpool, it is very interesting and inspiring how Gerrard never gave up in his career to get as far as he could. Great book, wonderful story. Never gets boring.
May 21, 2022
Mjög góð
July 8, 2020
Brilliant autobiography, citing the triumphs, setbacks and challenges behind my childhood hero. Despite being written midway through his career, the stories/emotions mentioned express how human and resilient he was for club & country. Truly inspirational
November 15, 2012
This book is written by Steven Gerrard, one of the best England soccer players of all time. It starts when he had a possible early end to soccer when he was 9, all the way to the 2007 soccer season. He is a loyal player, sticking to one team for his whole life: Liverpool. He has played for England 100 times, only 5 other player have managed that. This autobiography does not hide anything, it shows all the controversy in soccer, all the things unknown before, everything. This book is not just about soccer, it is about Stevens life off the field, the struggles of being homesick on tournaments, his many serious injuries. It is also full of his highlights, Becoming captain of Liverpool and seeing his two daughters born.
This book is an autobiography of a soccer player, so it will not appeal to many people. It is not fiction, it is not unrealistic, and this is a person’s life. If you like soccer, or really any sport, you should read this book, because it shows that these professional athletes are not just what you see on TV, they are real humans, with the same struggles and life as we have. This autobiography really opens your eyes to the world of a professional soccer player, and much of it is quite surprising.
I am VERY satisfied with this book. I expected a story of all the big games that Gerrard has been in, but this does not focus on soccer, this focuses on his life, and everything that comes from it. It shows his mindset in situations in his life, explains why he has done things in the past. It is a proper autobiography, everything about his life is in this book, and I admire him even more after reading this book.
This book is an autobiography of a soccer player, so it will not appeal to many people. It is not fiction, it is not unrealistic, and this is a person’s life. If you like soccer, or really any sport, you should read this book, because it shows that these professional athletes are not just what you see on TV, they are real humans, with the same struggles and life as we have. This autobiography really opens your eyes to the world of a professional soccer player, and much of it is quite surprising.
I am VERY satisfied with this book. I expected a story of all the big games that Gerrard has been in, but this does not focus on soccer, this focuses on his life, and everything that comes from it. It shows his mindset in situations in his life, explains why he has done things in the past. It is a proper autobiography, everything about his life is in this book, and I admire him even more after reading this book.
June 13, 2012
Steven Gerrard is an English football player who currently plays for Liverpool FC and captains their side. It was really interesting and entertaining to read about such an amazing player. Also, since I play a lot of football myself, it was very inspiring and innovative. For some footballers, it is easy to be successful, but for Gerrard this was not the case.
It was pretty cool to read about his times at school with Michael Owen and Jamie Carragher who are other rather famous football players. When he was very young he got spotted by the youth scouts. He got spotted at only 14. He was scouted by several organizations but his true home was at Liverpool. It was nice to see that even though he was benched so many times when he started off and he played 13 games without scoring, he still got chances to play. He scored the winning goal in the Uefa Cup and won Young Player of the Year that year.
Gerrard had to go through so much, his parents got divorced in 2002. He didn't score or play well for a little while probably because he was saddened by his parents decision. There was a time where Gerrard had got dropped because he got injured so often but he still never gave up and performed everytime he got the chance.
I really learnt a lot from the book as I play football aswell. I recommend this to anybody who follows football or plays the sport.
It was pretty cool to read about his times at school with Michael Owen and Jamie Carragher who are other rather famous football players. When he was very young he got spotted by the youth scouts. He got spotted at only 14. He was scouted by several organizations but his true home was at Liverpool. It was nice to see that even though he was benched so many times when he started off and he played 13 games without scoring, he still got chances to play. He scored the winning goal in the Uefa Cup and won Young Player of the Year that year.
Gerrard had to go through so much, his parents got divorced in 2002. He didn't score or play well for a little while probably because he was saddened by his parents decision. There was a time where Gerrard had got dropped because he got injured so often but he still never gave up and performed everytime he got the chance.
I really learnt a lot from the book as I play football aswell. I recommend this to anybody who follows football or plays the sport.
October 29, 2007
This book is an autobiography about a famous football player that plays for liverpool called Steven Gerrard. He is one of the most famous players in the world right now. You don't need to like football to like this book because it tells you about perseverence and many other qualities you need if you want to achieve anything. It tells a lot more about his personal life than you would here in newspapers or websites and tells you why he tries extra hard all the time. The book also tells you about many bad times in his life some which are injuries and some are rejections. In the book he says he never forgets when he failed and always tries harder when he plays against the people that rejected him showing them what they missed out on. This is a great book for anyone to read because it is extremely interesting in every part of the story. He talks alot about his childhood and can relate anything he talks about to when he was young. You would think that because he got horrible grades in school he couldn't really explain himself well to readers but you could really understand anything he explains
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September 24, 20141. I decided to read this book because I am huge football fan. I am reading a football book because I love the sport.
2. A person I found interesting in this book was Steven Gerrard. His desire and determination has great an made him to become one of the all time England greats, and a captain at Liverpool football club. He is a leader and has a winning mentality like no other person on the planet.
3. A quote that I found interesting was. "It's to easy to blame people in football." I found this interesting because this quote sums up his attitude as a person. Work hard, never take the easy way out of things. The book really shows you what made Steven become such a great player, and I think this attitude is one of those things.
4. Just like the other football autobiography I read, this book has shown me that you need to be hard working and dedicated to make it as a footballer. If you are lazy than you wil never make it. It has made me think about what I need to change in order to become a better player.
2. A person I found interesting in this book was Steven Gerrard. His desire and determination has great an made him to become one of the all time England greats, and a captain at Liverpool football club. He is a leader and has a winning mentality like no other person on the planet.
3. A quote that I found interesting was. "It's to easy to blame people in football." I found this interesting because this quote sums up his attitude as a person. Work hard, never take the easy way out of things. The book really shows you what made Steven become such a great player, and I think this attitude is one of those things.
4. Just like the other football autobiography I read, this book has shown me that you need to be hard working and dedicated to make it as a footballer. If you are lazy than you wil never make it. It has made me think about what I need to change in order to become a better player.
July 12, 2012
I expected to like Gerrard's autobiography. Unlike many others, I always liked him best. Not Becks, no for me it was always Gerrard. Being German, you don't always admit you like an English football player. That's all beside the point. The question why Gerrard wrote his autobigraphy while he was still in the middle of his career is one I can't answer, but I suppose it has to do with money. Or it was because of Istanbul. I don't care. Would I prefer to read one (another one) in about 30 years? Definitely. For the most part the book was really entertaining and informative. Sometimes I felt it was rather artificial; not really about him, not deep enough. Therefore he only gets 4 stars. Apart from that, I liked it. Highly recommend it to any Gerrard fan, but also to others who love football. Most of you will have already read it. Those who haven't: you should.
October 24, 2008
Shameful but true fact: I bought the book in the evening, then was up from 12-6 reading it, with about an hour of trying-to-sleep time in between. Why does a book with suspect grammar and too many uses of the phrase "top man" make a good enough read to keep me going on past the edge of exhaustion? I don't know the answer to that! In any case, an altogether honest and charming autobiography, very Stevie in all aspects.
A tip: while at the bookstore or library, it might be tough trying to withstand the embarrassment of holding a book with Stevie's face all over the cover, but this will only build character and is totally worth it.
A tip: while at the bookstore or library, it might be tough trying to withstand the embarrassment of holding a book with Stevie's face all over the cover, but this will only build character and is totally worth it.
May 16, 2013
I thought it was a pretty good book because I learned about all the process of becoming a successful athlete and all the failures he had to endure to get where he is today. He grew up in a small town and would constantly play soccer and his dream of one day making it pro seemed to be out of reach. Gerrard was able to move and his goal of becoming a pro was becoming more realistic because of the exposure he had gotten. Eventually he would start to get noticed and he made his way onto a professional squad. I would recommend this book to anyone who's interested in learning all about a soccer players life and just want to read a good book about soccer
November 15, 2016
Doesn't matter which team you support, Steven Gerrard is one of us. A fan. In it for the love of the game.
As good a footballing autobiography as you're ever gonna read. A book full of banter with anecdotes every fan would be intrigued by - the antics of the pranksters at Liverpool, the incidents on and off the pitch, the transfer sagas, the good and bad tackles....
A great insight into life within the England set up too - Stevie G gives a brutally honest assessment of his and England's tournament highs and lows. I suggest all England fans to read it and re-live the pain from a different angle....
A book you really cannot put down.
As good a footballing autobiography as you're ever gonna read. A book full of banter with anecdotes every fan would be intrigued by - the antics of the pranksters at Liverpool, the incidents on and off the pitch, the transfer sagas, the good and bad tackles....
A great insight into life within the England set up too - Stevie G gives a brutally honest assessment of his and England's tournament highs and lows. I suggest all England fans to read it and re-live the pain from a different angle....
A book you really cannot put down.
January 23, 2014
this book inspires me to become something great as gerrard is one of the greatest footballers to ever play the beautiful game. He has this 'never give up' mentality, with some examples like the West Ham game (FA cup 2006) and the AC Milan game (Champions League 2005); both were 3-3 and the winner was liverpool through penalties. His leadership and determination almost makes me want to become a football player myself. Although the book contains a fair amount of bad words, I could cope with it, however I would not recommend the book to very young children as it could disturb them quite a bit.
April 21, 2015
A must read for any football watcher. The book is both comprehensive and honest, discussing the practical affairs of a footballer's life apart from the passion. Like wages, club jealousy, and most of all management, from a player's perspective. We get to know Stevie G's footballing career until the year 2006, but it is still a relevant read as i type this review in April, 2015. For he is bidding his childhood club goodbye, and we all need to appreciate the character behind this legend from Liverpool :)
May 24, 2013
May be the 5 star rating is a bit biased but then there was no reason for me to pick up this book if it was not for Steven Gerrard.
The language may not be as suave as you may except, but Paul Joyce and Henry Winter have done an admirable work in imitating Gerrard's thoughts to perfection. You can feel the heart and emotions behind the textual account of the life of Liverpool's Captain and I'd surely suggest all the Liverpool supporters at least, to get a copy for themselves.
The language may not be as suave as you may except, but Paul Joyce and Henry Winter have done an admirable work in imitating Gerrard's thoughts to perfection. You can feel the heart and emotions behind the textual account of the life of Liverpool's Captain and I'd surely suggest all the Liverpool supporters at least, to get a copy for themselves.
March 14, 2014
The personal aspect of footballers such as Steven Gerrard, footballers who maintain a very low profile and keep to the comforts of the interiors, are often lost in details. Steven Gerrard's autobiography is an honest and crisp insight of the life of one of the era's finest players. Filled with memorable events punctuating his career, the book also ventures into his modest childhood days. A must read for fanatics.
December 6, 2015
I did enjoy Gerrards autobiography, and considering its length it didn't take me long to get through it. I particularly loved reading about the Champions League and 2006 World Cup, I have my own memories of watching those events and it was fascinating to read the player view point.
The book reads a little like an interview transcript, but you get a real insight into Gerrards mind and you can really tell it is his own words.
The book reads a little like an interview transcript, but you get a real insight into Gerrards mind and you can really tell it is his own words.
June 29, 2011
Stevie G is and will always be my favourite soccer player, i loved that book and read it twice and i'm gonna read that one again! Such an honest and motivating autobiography for everyone who wants to become as popular as Captain Fantastic!
But to be fair... I'm a big Stevie-Fan, so this might be one of the reasons why i think so high of this autobiography :)
But to be fair... I'm a big Stevie-Fan, so this might be one of the reasons why i think so high of this autobiography :)
December 4, 2012
Sebagai seorang Liverpudlian, sosok Steven Gerrard hingga saat ini belum tergantikan. Seorang pribadi yang luar biasa, sportif, inspiratif dan tak kenal menyerah. Sang Captain Fantastic adalah sosok yang dicintai fans, maupun rivalnya.
Apapun klub yang Anda sukai dan Anda bela, saya pastikan bahwa Anda tidak akan bisa membenci pemain yang satu ini.
Apapun klub yang Anda sukai dan Anda bela, saya pastikan bahwa Anda tidak akan bisa membenci pemain yang satu ini.
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