LOS ANGELES—For 17 years, an army of young Liverpool fans would flood the gates of the club’s training complex at Melwood on a daily basis, proudly donning the shirt of Steven Gerrard, straining to catch even the slightest glimpse of their hero.
The weather would be dreary, but the looks on their faces would light up the scene if on those rare occasions their hard work and truancy was rewarded.
On a Friday morning in California, the weather could not be any more different, but the scene? Strangely, it’s very familiar. Red Steven Gerrard shirts emblazoned the paddock as young fans waited for a chance to catch an eyeful of the LA Galaxy’s latest star signing.
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This is not David Beckham in 2007. The hype is not nearly the same, but as the Galaxy PR staff acknowledged, they are just better equipped now, and they generally know what to expect. What neither they nor Gerrard himself expected earlier this week was the 20 or so paparazzi awaiting his exit from a team dinner—that did catch them offside.
Gerrard has been training with the Galaxy for less than a week ahead of his potential Major League Soccer debut on July 17. On Friday, in a low key training session he looked bright, lively and certainly seemed to mesh well with his new teammates.
Gerrard isn’t Beckham, there is still a buzz around the new MLS marketing machine, just ask his new manager Bruce Arena: “It’s likely that he can help us.”
The understated answer included a wry smile from Arena, who is well aware of what he has at his disposal in Gerrard; a dynamic midfielder whose days of surging box-to-box runs through packed midfields may be a thing of the past, but a player who still possesses a world class passing range, elite level compete, and leadership skills that aren’t found in too many professional athletes.
And it is in this area, according to Galaxy striker Robbie Keane, where perhaps his former Liverpool teammate Gerrard will make his biggest impact with his new club, even if he is the new boy on campus.
“He’s settled in very well, the players are responding to him out here already; the way he moves the ball so quickly, they’re learning from him already,” Keane said. “He’s an experienced player, naturally when you go to a new team at first you just feel your way in a little but he’s been a fantastic player for many years.
“Sometimes by leading it doesn’t mean you have to shout at people, and by helping people and taking them to the side and telling them just small little things that Stevie will do anyway because I’ve seen him do it a lot and that’s why he was captain for so long at Liverpool. The players respect him and he’s jumped right in to help them as you’d expect from Stevie.”
Arena agrees that even though the Galaxy are only Gerrard’s second career team, it is irrelevant when it comes to the qualities he possesses and demonstrated as both captain of Liverpool and England.
“He’s a natural leader, he’s finding his feet here but he’s been embraced by his teammates. A player of his quality can do it (lead) right away, we’re in a position where enough players can carry their load, it’s not going to fall on Stevie’s shoulders so that will make the transition easier,” Arena said.
Gerrard had hoped to finish his career at Liverpool, but that was not to be. Instead he has chosen the sun of California to play out the final years of a brilliant career, and I for one suspect once he does bid adieu he will be missed in Los Angeles just as he is already missed in Liverpool.