[lfc-news] Gerrard: UEFA award is a great honour - Official Site

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Official LFC Website, 25 Aug 2005
GERRARD: UEFA AWARD IS A GREAT HONOUR
By Paul Eaton

Steven Gerrard was today celebrating being named Europe's most valuable
player by UEFA following Liverpool's Champions League run last season.

The Liverpool midfielder picked up his award at a gala ceremony in
Monaco this afternoon where the Reds are preparing for tomorrow night's
Super Cup final against CSKA Moscow.

After lifting the award Gerrard was quick to pay tribute to his Anfield
team-mates after their unforgettable European adventure last year.

He told Liverpoolfc.tv: "It's a great honour to receive this award and I
feel really proud.

"I need to thank the club, the coaching staff and my team-mates for
helping me to win this award.

"It was a real team effort last season. This award is for an individual
but you can never win personal honours without your team-mates and
everyone in our squad played their part last season. I'm a team player
and the idea is to be a team and try to win more things together. That's
what we'll be looking to do in the future."

He added: "We'll never forget what we achieved last year and there were
so many highlights along the way. On a personal level lifting the cup
was the biggest but I also enjoyed all the wins we achieved throughout
the competition, especially against Juventus, Chelsea and of course AC
Milan in the final."

Commenting on the draw for this season's Champions League group stages
he said: "I knew we were going to be playing Chelsea. I wasn't surprised
at all. I just had a feeling," said the Liverpool skipper immediately
after the draw.

"The game at Anfield against Chelsea last season was a very special
occasion and I'm sure it will be special again this time. They have a
special manager and I think it will be two very close games."

"I think, when we never got the country protection, there was always the
chance and, when the first couple of teams came out, I knew it was going
to happen.

"I think it goes without saying our fans are very special at Anfield and
I'm sure they will make sure the roof comes off again. I'm sure the
Stamford Bridge game will be similar but they're going to be very tough.

"It would be nice to see all the English teams progress for the country
so we hope we don't cancel each other out and get sucked in, but it's a
very tough draw.

"Everyone's going to be talking about Liverpool and Chelsea but Real
Betis and Anderlecht are two very good teams. Us and Chelsea have got to
be on our toes to qualify.

"It's a very exciting group and there's some amazing games to look
forward to."

Jerzy Dudek, who was also in attendance at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco,
added: "There was a lot of speculation about who we might get and I had
a funny feeling we would be playing Chelsea again. It should be another
special atmosphere at Anfield and we will give it our best."

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