Stevie G calls England’s golden generation ‘losers’ in a candid interview with former team-mate Rio Ferdinand.
England’s golden generation were egotistical losers, says Stevie G.
According to Steven Gerrard, he and the other members of England’s alleged golden generation were “egotistical losers” who failed to reach their full potential due to an unwelcoming environment and were unable to see beyond club-level rivalries.
Speaking as a guest on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, the former captain of Liverpool also acknowledged how much he detested travelling with the England team. Gerrard participated in six major tournaments and earned 114 caps, the first of which came in 2000. However, a number of factors, including the cliques from Chelsea, Manchester United, and Liverpool, prevented him from succeeding.
While Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Gary Neville, and Ferdinand were on the United set, Gerrard was accompanied by Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen from Liverpool. Frank Lampard, John Terry, and Ashley Cole were all from Chelsea.
Both Scholes and Gerrard found it difficult to blend in midfield with Lampard. Gerrard stated that a central midfield two was not functioning, indicating an issue with the system. However, the issues went beyond that.
“I think we were all egotistical losers,” Gerrard said. “Because I watch the telly now and I see Carragher sitting next to Scholes on this fan debate and they look like they’ve been best mates for 20 years. And I see Carragher’s relationship with Neville and they look like they’ve been mates for 20 years.
“I’m probably more close and friendly with you [Ferdinand] now than I ever was when I played with you for 15 years. So why didn’t we connect when we were 20, 21, 22, 23? Was it ego? Was it rivalry?
“Why are we all mature enough now and at stages in our life where we’re closer and more connected? Why couldn’t we connect as England teammates back then? I think it was down to the culture within England that we were all never connected. All in our rooms too much. We weren’t friendly or connected. We weren’t a team. We never at any stage became a real good strong team.”
Gerrard was asked by Ferdinand whether he enjoyed being in the England squad. “I hated it,” he said. “I hated the rooms. In my early days, I’d have days where I was down, like low down. ‘I’m in this room for seven hours, what am I going to do?’ I used to love the games. I used to love playing for England. Really proud. I used to enjoy the training sessions but it was 90 minutes a day. And then I was just on my own in London or Romania or wherever.
“It was like I didn’t feel part of a team. I didn’t feel connected with my teammates with England. I just wanted the games and the training sessions and then to be away.”