In an extract from his book on captaincy, Steven Gerrard talks about some of the other outstanding leaders he has come up against in his time as a player. It is clear that, in spite of frequently locking horns with them out on the pitch,  the current Liverpool Captain holds a number of his fiercest opponents and rivals from key fixtures in particularly high regard…

Steven Gerrard: Other captains I admire  
 
ROY KEANE & PATRICK VIERA

I know he played for Manchester United but Roy Keane was a good captain. As far as learning from a captain, for the good and the bad, I probably looked to him for some of the things he did.

Keane & Patrick Viera were the two main captains when I arrived on the scene and, as it happens, they were two players who I always seemed to do well against. I was very young when I first played against those two, probably about 22 or 23. They were top players in their prime then. They had a big advantage over me at that time, were a lot stronger than me and had so much more experience. But I felt I held my own.

That experience helps me now when I come up against younger players who want to play well against me. I used to be itching to prove myself against players like that because they were the best around at that time. These young 19 and 20 year old kids that come up against me now, I know just how much they want to kill me basically.

I have to prepare myself against that to make sure I come out on top.

As a captain, you sometimes have to contend with this as well as leading the team. But that’s the way I like it. I like the challenge of other people trying to get the better of me on the football pitch.

 
JOHN TERRY

John Terry is someone who I’ve come up against a few times in recent seasons. He’s a good leader on the pitch and someone who conducts himself in the right way.

When we beat Chelsea in the Champions League semi final in 2005, you had to admire his sportsmanship. He must have been devastated but he came and spoke to us after the game and wished us all the best – he went further actually and told us to go & win it. You appreciate that a lot and it tells you everything you need to know about him as a player and a person. It can’t have been easy, but he did it and was a credit to his club.

 
PAOLO MALDINI

It was one of the proudest moments of my life leading the lads out alongside Paolo Maldini in Istanbul.

He’s one of the best that’s ever played the game. But I remember thinking that ‘he’s won this competition before so he doesn’t need another winners medal’. That’s how it worked out – but he had to go & get his own back 2 years later didn’t he!!

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  Extract taken from Steven Gerrard – My Captain’s Book – www.gerrardmycaptainsbook.co.uk
Reproduced with kind permission from the publishers.