Steven Gerrard: My Story

I remember once upon a time, in Year 9, having to write a piece for English Language, on who my role model is; why I look up to them, why I appreciate their values, what I take away from their life. Having just read Steven Gerrard: My Autobiography at the time, my chosen person was a no-brainer. And now, having read the last page of Steven Gerrard: My Story, I understand why, so many years ago, he struck me as a role model. Almost a decade later, I stand by it. His story is incredibly moving, his philosophy so inspiring, and fresh off the back of his shock departure from Liverpool, his career legendary - to the point of heart-breaking.

Refreshingly honest, Gerrard takes us on his seventeen-year journey at his boyhood club; the defining highs and lows of his career, the triumphs and heartbreaks, and his emotional goodbye to Liverpool Football Club. The prologue broke my heart. It truly did. He writes about the moments immediately after the Chelsea game in which he slipped - in which we lost the title-that-should-have-been-ours - and it is so raw with emotion that it hurts to read.

And then he takes us back in time, through that glorious 2013-2014 season where Liverpool looked invincible, and in-between, we get snippets of Gerrard's past, flashbacks to pivotal moments in his career and life as he relives his own memories in present day. It's wonderfully done; as a Liverpool fan, we reminisce some of the legendary football nights as told by Gerrard, and we feel his pain as we get so close to glory, only to lose it in a fraction of a second.

For me, as a Liverpool fan, it was so much fun to read about matches that are engraved in memory, from his point of view from the pitch. One of my personal favourites was his charity/testimonial game that he brings to life on paper - and in doing so, brings to life one of my favourite memories of Anfield. But beyond the games and career highlights, we also get an insight into Steven Gerrard the person. He reveals his much more human side, both on and off the pitch, and it puts him in a different light. He's flawed, he's made mistakes and his emotions have sometimes gotten the better of him - and it's almost reassuring to know that he's just as human as the rest of us. To have him reveal the anguish over losing players like Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez, and the rage that spurs him on in Merseyside derbies and United rivalries, and his gaping sense of loss after our title race ended, ultimately shows that he is a Liverpool fan more than anything else. With every page in his book, he echoes the sentiments of every Liverpool fan - because he is one of us.

And then the ending. That ending. How is it, that you can know how a story ends, yet a stupid, naive part of you wishes for a different outcome altogether. How can you know how a story ends, and still have it sucker-punch you like there's no tomorrow. Losing our Number 8 wasn't something any Liverpool fan was prepared for. I vividly remember his last game at Anfield. It is embedded, clear as day, in my memory. I remember it being a beautifully sunny afternoon and I was in the lounge with my mum, surrounded by my revision notes that I had abandoned for the day because Steven Gerrard was about to play his last home game for Liverpool FC and the whole football world would be watching, and my laptop was propped up on the sofa with the stream loaded in crystal clear quality, and we lost to Crystal Palace, but Anfield was deafening with Gerrard's song, and after the final whistle blew, he walked out on to the pitch with his teammates all wearing Gerrard on their backs and the fans sang and sang and sang, and he gave his emotional speech that choked up every Liverpool fan watching, before walking towards the KOP that was mosaic-d in his memory, and he had his three little girls by his side and ohmygod I was trying so hard not to cry but holy hell I was failing I was failing so damn hard. And I read the last chapter of his autobiography and I re-visited that day through Gerrard's eyes and bloody hell I was in TEARS. He broke the heart of every Liverpool fan that day, and he'll break it again when they read about how he broke his own heart alongside theirs on that fateful day in May 2015.

Read it. Read it because there is so much to take away from Gerrard's story. He is so authentic and humbling in the way he talks, and his loyalty, integrity, and respect for some of the greatest names in football, is unbelievably admirable. It's no secret why he's a Liverpool legend. He embodies their spirit, and he has given their fans some beautiful memories that will live on long after he does. And so if you were to ask me today who my role model is - my answer would be what it was nine years ago, when I was a thirteen year old girl obsessed with her favourite footballer of her beloved football club.