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15th November 2018
05:43pm GMT

"I knew that I had to start taking more risks", Gerrard explains, an admittance that ending Liverpool's run to the final without the trophy in his hands simply wasn't an option.
From this match, one image sticks out. Not Gerrard lifting the trophy, nor Milan Baros swinging Xabi Alonso to the ground in celebration at the equaliser, but Gerrard running back to the centre circle at 3-1, readjusting his armband, arms swinging like a man possessed. His belief, or more his refusal to quit, was infectious, and there is no better example than Istanbul. This was peak Gerrard, reaching the pinnacle of football, and it was no less than he deserved.
The film replays a key post-match interview. "How can I leave after this?" Gerrard said. It was clear in his mind now: "Chelsea is in your head, but Liverpool is in your heart", as he succinctly explains in an emotional narration of the affair.
But what followed was not a period of success, but more heartache, which encapsulated the 'almost' nature of Gerrard's club career.
Then comes the brief rise and dramatic fall of Hicks and Gillett, a series of injuries and Gerrard himself having to confront the fact that he might be "done", a thought that haunted a player who had one final task on his to-do list: to lift the Premier League.
Pain relief allowed Gerrard to battle through the injuries and bring Liverpool to within inches of finally winning a title, as a new look Liverpool blew teams away with ease throughout the 2013/14 season.
The win over Manchester City, 25 years after the Hillsborough disaster, where Gerrard's cousin, Jon-Paul tragically died, filled Gerrard with such emotion that tears of joy began to flow.
"It just had to come out," he explains.
A shot of 8-year-old Steven, crying in a junior match, beautifully mirrors the scenes at Anfield in April 2014.
"This does not f*cking slip now," he said. But of course, it did.
Gerrard himself admits that he should not have played in that game. He was too stiff, but being the captain that he was, sitting it out simply was not an option.
The tragic cruelty of that moment only adds to the legend of Steven Gerrard, who embodied an era of great, but ultimately barren moments for Liverpool Football Club.
Now, having retired and gone into coaching, Gerrard admits that from the outside in, people might think he is ill-advised to go through the same emotional journey from the touchline, but in his own words: "I don’t feel that my journey is complete."
Make Us Dream is in cinemas now and will be soon be available on Amazon Prime video.Explore more on these topics: