Steven Gerrard on Leadership

"An excellent player, in my opinion, he is a modern player because he is a player who runs, marks, knows how to pass, cross, score goals and he is a leader on the field for Liverpool. So he is a player that I would like to have in my team."

"On a BBC documentary, Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney was asked who was the best player he played with for England. “I’d have to say Stevie . For me he’s an incredible player, an incredible leader. He helped me a lot during my early days with England."

"Asked who was the toughest English opponent he had faced over the years, Pirlo said, “That night in Istanbul, Liverpool’s fight back was centralized on Steven Gerrard. He was their leader, their star player, their man who made it happen. Carlo tried to sign Gerrard for Milan so we could play together, but he had no interest in leaving Liverpool,” Pirlo, 36, told ShortList magazine. “We could have played together, but now in MLS we will be playing against each other, and I will look forward to that"

"When people talk about the best footballers in Europe, they always single out Messi, and Ronaldo, but Gerrard is just as strong, Messi and Ronaldo are special talents and the fact that they are in teams winning the important trophies means they stand out from the rest. Maybe you need to win something to earn the big awards, I don't know, but we all understand how good Gerrard is. "I'm spoilt having a team-mate like Gerrard as I can count on him supplying me with perfect passes. You make the run into the space and however tightly marked he is, he finds a way to get the ball through in perfect condition. "The highest compliment I can pay him is that he's as creative as a Xavi at Barcelona, with something extra as well. When you add his energy, toughness, leadership and goal scoring ability and the result is a fantastic all-round player. "Maybe I am biased because he is my team-mate and friend, but Stevie does not get the credit he deserves either in England or with European fans. This can change in 2010 when he has a chance to confirm his class with Liverpool and in the World Cup."

"‘He has had a great career winning many things - but it would be a big shame for him if he was never to win the league with Liverpool’. ‘For everything that he has given - he deserves a league title.’ ‘I don't think that is any secret that Real Madrid and Chelsea had big interest in him and that is just the teams the media knew about. ‘He could have played for any team in Europe - but he turned them down. That sort of loyalty should be rewarded with a title.’ ‘England have probably produced the two best midfield players of the last 20 years in Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes,’ ‘There was a point when Gerrard was the best midfield player in the world. It is unusual to get complete midfield players who can do everything, but that is what he was. ‘His legs are not going to be what they were five or six years ago - but his presence and leadership are invaluable for Liverpool.’"

"Lampard was asked, "Who was your best opponent in the Premier league, directly in midfield?" Lampard's answer: "Steven Gerrard. I think over the period of my career playing against Stevie in those big games against Liverpool when he was on top of his game. You knew he was a force and we had great battles, I had a lot of respect for him as a player even though we had those rivalries. I think as you get older it is much easier to have a view on it rather than that view when you’re playing each other and you’re real rivals. I have to give Stevie complete respect for as a midfield player."