I'm back!
I've been reading a few biographies lately and I do recall agreeing with a friend how a sports biography is no biography at all. What's so great about the achievements of a sports personality in comparison to someone who's shaped a nation or built a business aempire out of nothing, the risks and the challenges that came along the way.
I was sadly mistaken. One of my GMs who ardently supports the Scousers lent me Stevie G's autobiography. I remember looking at him and thinking, "you want me to read this trashy stuff?" Of course I was joking. But as he handed me the book, he said, "You should read about this fantastic Liverpool player." To which I replied cheekily, "Stevie who? I don't know about the club, but I know a player who plays quite well for his country." (Of course we all know that in actual fact, I think we've seen him perform better for his club than country but that was the best I could come up with on the spot than to acknowledge that anything good could come out of Liverpool! cept for Owen who's made the right choice)
Now that exams are over, I've found time to read the book and I must say it's quite a good read. Football through his eyes, his determination for every challenge and every game, makes me want to kick a ball right now!
As great as a footballer he is, this what he has to say about greater footballers in his first ever training sesh with the England boys.
"All around, the quality was frightening. This is the first time I had seen Beckham cross a ball close to. 'F*** me!' I said to Michael. 'How does he do that?' When it was my turn to run in to finish one of Beckham's crosses, it was a goal before I touched it. Honestly. He was dead accurate. Beckham puts his crosses in just the right place; it is in fact harder to miss. We had a game after the crossing and finishing, and Beckham was again sensational. After only a couple of hours of training with England it was obvious who the top players were.
A couple of weeks earlier, Michael and I had been at Melwood, chatting away. 'Just wait till you get to Bisham and see how good Paul Scholes is,' said Michael. 'Wait till you see with your own eyes.'
I looked at him. 'Well, I've watched Scholes loads of time and I know he's good.' Michael just smiled. That set me thinking. Michael was going on as if Scholesy was different gravy, streets ahead of everyone else. During that shooting session at Bisham, I realized where Michael was coming from. Scholes was just so sharp, so clever. He banging in goals from anywhere. Crossing, finishing, volleys, the power in his shots, the dip and movement. 'F***ing hellfire,' I said to Michael. 'How do I get to this level?' The Man United players were just brilliant. I swear it. 'Just watch the United boys,' Keegan told me. 'Just watch the way they are around the place and in training. Learn off them.' The United lads gave a master-class. Bisham was heaving with top players, like Shearer, but Beckham and Scholes seemed to be just on a different level."
-Gerrard, My Autobiography-
For a lot of us who've followed football recently, we've seen quite a fair bit of great freekick goals and setpieces and thunderous shots from the outside including some from this Scouser. Reading this has brought fond memories of when I'd put on my United jersey to watch a match and each time Becks steps up to a freekick there'd be a buzz of excitement, and almost a certainty that a goal would be coming up. I think if someone were to do a count on percentages of goals scored from freekicks taken, Becks might be up there. We're not talking about one great wonder free kick. But more to come after each freekick goal. Every time Scholesy has the ball outside the penalty box with a view on goal, we'd almost be ready to celebrate. And then celebrating when it hits the back of the net.
It's a good read and I can't wait to read more. He's a great player, but I'll always love United more. Michael knows what I'm talking about.
