Former England and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has revealed that ego and club rivalries prevented England’s talented generation from achieving international success during his playing career. Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, the 45-year-old, who earned 114 international caps, discussed how internal divisions among players from different Premier League clubs hindered the national team’s performance.
Gerrard, who led Liverpool to Champions League glory in 2005, was part of England’s “golden generation” that failed to progress beyond quarter-finals in major tournaments despite having exceptional talent from top clubs.
The squad included Manchester United stars Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes, and
Wayne Rooney, alongside Chelsea players Ashley Cole, John Terry, and Frank Lampard, who all achieved success in Premier League and Champions League.
“We were all egotistical losers,” Gerrard said on the podcast, noting the contrast with the current camaraderie between the same players in their punditry careers. “So why didn’t we connect when we were 20, 21, 22, 23? Was it ego? Was it rivalry?”
“It was down to the culture within England. We weren’t friendly or connected. We weren’t a team. We never at any stage became a real good, strong team.”
England continue to seek their first major men’s international trophy since the 1966 World Cup, though they reached the finals of the last two European Championships under Gareth Southgate, who recently stepped down after Euro 2024.
“Gareth Southgate is underrated for how he connected with the England team,” Gerrard said. “Because for me, the talent was there. The players were there. The level of games we were all playing at was there to go and do better than what we did.”
“We had a little bit of bad luck with penalties or whatever. We have to take responsibility, but I’ve got a big frustration when I look back at England that we never did better. I think it’s a combination of different things, but one of the big things for me was we weren’t a team.
We were a group of individuals with talent and it never works like that. “
Thomas Tuchel has taken charge of England’s World Cup campaign next year following Southgate’s departure.
Gerrard’s own managerial career has faced setbacks after unsuccessful spells at Aston Villa and Saudi Arabian club Al Ettifaq. He is now among the favourites to return to Rangers, where he won the Scottish Premiership in 2020/21.
Regarding his managerial future, Gerrard said: “There’s a part of me that still feels that there’s a bit of unfinished business in terms of wanting to go in and face another couple of exciting challenges. But I want a certain type of challenge. If in an ideal world they come available, I’ll jump at them. If they don’t, I won’t go back in. I want to be at a team that’s going to compete to win because I think that suits me better.
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