When we speak about the legendary generals of English football – the players who go out on the pitch and dominate the other 21 players – can we say they have any traits in common? Many display a flair for cruelty and a casual attitude toward the rules. But if a single characteristic united them, it would be their near delusional levels of self-belief.

With his insights, Gerrard is likely to ruffle a few feathers and not everyone is likely to view his book positively. But, for a boyhood Liverpool (and Gerrard) fan, this is going to be a regular re-read in the foreseeable future. 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.The haunting memories of Hillsborough, where his 10-year-old cousin, Jon-Paul Gilhooley, was the youngest of the 96 Liverpool fans to die in 1989, still upset Gerrard. It is clear these passages, as each new anniversary of the tragedy unfolds at Anfield, cause Gerrard the most pain and distress. He admits he found the one occasion when he was asked to read at an anniversary service almost too much to bear. 5) He’s not afraid to cry Di mata Gerrard, kita juga akan melihat, bahwa bermain di liga Premier bukanlah hal yang mudah. Bakat, kemampuan teknis, dan banyak hal lainnya yang saling bertautan, menentukan si pemain mampu bersaing di liga paling kompetitif sedunia. Belum lagi masalah dengan pers lokal yang doyan menguliti pemain. Kemampuan fisik itu yang dirasakan Gerrard, merupakan salah satu prasyarat seorang pemain mampu berkompetisi di EPL. Bek tangguh EPL bukan masalah mudah bagi seorang Aspas, Ballotelli, misalnya. It turned out Ferguson hadn't spoken as freely as everyone had hoped, since he hasn't really retired. As a director at Manchester United, he's the power behind David Moyes's throne, and the book had been vetted by the club prior to publication. It therefore elided certain mysteries, such as why Ferguson chose Moyes as his successor, rather than José Mourinho, with whom he had always appeared to be so friendly.

Selagi membaca buku ini dengan lahap. Saya teringat masa nonbar pertama di markas Big Reds Jogja. "Stu!" kau, pahlawanku malam itu. Memori malam Liga Champions saat masih duduk di bangku sekolah. Permainan kelas wahid yang disuguhkan Pool saat mentas di kasta tertinggi Eropa. Beberapa momen saya langsung cari videonya di youtube. Seperti gol Gerrard kala melawan Olympiakos di tahun 2005. Tontonan yang berujung dengan melihat video gol-gol legendaris milik Gerrard. Tendangan-tendangan spekakuler yang mengangkat performa tim dan memberikan dampak luar biasa bagi fans dan kawan sepermainan. Sang kapten mengupas perjalanan Liverpool bersama dirinya selama satu dekade terakhir itu rasanya wow. Mengesankan. Makélélé was the guy who gets the ball and gives it to someone with more ability. Gerrard was the guy with more ability. He wasn't Liverpool's Makélélé; he was their Zidane. It was ironic that Benítez took ceaseless criticism for "playing Gerrard out of position." In truth, he was the first coach to understand that, for Gerrard, "out of position" meant central midfield. He would never be a general, an orchestrator, because those players need a wider emotional range. They have to know when to be aggressive and when to be crafty, when to keep it simple and when to try something outrageous, when to speed it up and when to slow it down. Technically and physically, Gerrard was Liverpool's best player by far; he could do things with the ball nobody else could. But his barometer was permanently set to hurricane. Membaca buku ini membawa saya ke masa itu, sekaligus menjadi jawaban doa saya sejak lima tahun lalu bahwa akan ada biografi Stevie yang diterjemahkan (karena kalau beli yang asli mahal sekali). Saya juga senang sekali buku ini datang di momen yang tepat, yaitu ulang tahun saya dan beberapa waktu setelah ia pensiun.

Bagian yang seru lagi, menurut saya adalah cerita pertandingan-pertandingannya. Jika saya punya kesan sendiri terhadap pertandingan itu, saya bisa membacanya dari sudut pandang Stevie. Ini juga bagian yang harus dibaca langsung di bukunya.

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. Bu kitabi ciktiginda on siparis ile almistim. Cunku icinde cok merak ettigim birkac bolum vardi. Onlari okuduktan sonra kalani zamana yayarak ara ara okudum. There are also some excellent chapters. The chapter on Gerrard’s injuries and surgeries is painful to read, not because of the writing, but because the gruesome detail. The section about Steve Peters, the sports psychiatrist, the theory of the inner chimp, and Gerrard’s thirty-eight seconds of crazy genius and madness in his last game against Manchester United, is also an entertaining read. It was interesting to read about him heading to Monaco with his wife right after the slip against Chelsea during the tilt at the title, and to Dubai with the players after the extended retirement celebrations, and the calamity at Stoke. For me, the slip and the flight to Monaco only served to make a hero more human. I don’t blame Gerrard one iota for taking his family to Los Angeles to have a break from all the attention and pressure he has to put up with on Merseyside, as well as the abuse from rival fans.League titles are won by teams, not individuals. The United boys didn't outscore Gerrard on medals 50-0 because they were better players. It was because there were six of them and only one of him. 'Anxiety has been Gerrard's constant companion' Ayahnya tidak semerta-merta menolak, ia membiarkan Stevie berpikir dulu, dan tentu saja, hatinya tertambat pada klub dengan lambang Liverbird itu. 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. Steven Gerrard is a modern football legend. He enjoyed a coveted career spanning over a decade for the English national team and Liverpool Football Club. Upon reading this autobiography I was interested in gaining an insight into the life of an international icon.