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PREPARING SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE WORLD |
Steven Gerrard is one of England's 'golden generation' of footballers, a group, including Frank Lampard, John Terry and David Beckham, seen as the country's best chance of winning a major international tournament for the first time since 1966. The 29-year-old midfielder has lifted the FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, League Cup and UEFA Cup in his time at Liverpool, where he has become a legend among the Reds fans as their 'Captain Fantastic'. However, the Anfield favourite has yet to taste glory at international level. Having qualified for the 2010 World Cup with a near-perfect record of nine wins from ten games, Gerrard is out to put that right. He spoke to FIFA.com...  What was the highlight of the qualifying campaign? I don't think there was one moment, but if you consider the overall campaign, we were very consistent. We became a very difficult team to beat and we put in some excellent performances, but the most important thing is that we still keep working hard to improve ahead of the World Cup. We've still got a long way to go. How do you think Fabio Capello will cope at his first FIFA World Cup? He'll bring many qualities to the team. He's a winner; he's got an unbelievable amount of experience and has enjoyed a remarkable amount of success. He's transmitting a winning mentality to the team, so fingers crossed that will stand us in good stead for the tournament. What are your responsibilities within the team? What does England manager Fabio Capello want from you? The manager wants me to play with freedom, to express myself. It's starting from the left, but he doesn't want me to stay in the one position. He wants me to move around and cause the opposition problems by getting into areas where they don't want me to be. England expects this team to win the FIFA World Cup. Does that weigh heavily on your shoulders? As players, we have to deal with the expectations and the pressure of playing for England. The supporters and media are very passionate about the country and a lot is expected of us. It's important that we, as players, cope with that in the best way we can. Some people are saying England's group in South Africa will be easier than some of the others. What do you think? We are pleased with the draw and we're very confident that we can qualify from the group, but at the same time we have to show the teams respect. Every team has done fantastically well to get to the World Cup and all three teams against us in the group [Algeria, Slovenia and the USA] are desperate to beat England. We know they're going to play the game of their lives, so we need to make sure we perform well to win. We are pleased with the draw and we're very confident that we can qualify from the group, but at the same time we have to show the teams respect. Gerrard's on England's South Africa 2010 section. more interviews...
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