Sometimes going forward entails a trip backwards. It is the seemingly contradictory theory designed to extend Steven Gerrard’s career.
As Liverpool, who in the past four-and-a-half years have gone backwards more times than they care to remember, hope to make the giant leap forward into the Uefa Champions League, Gerrard has never been deeper.
The seventh-highest scorer in their history now is found in their own penalty box more often than he ventures into the opponents’. Steven Gerrard, anchorman: it is an intriguing reinvention.
It is an experiment that, in its brief period, has succeeded spectacularly and failed dreadfully.
In a chastening first 45 minutes against Aston Villa, he was hassled and harried by the younger, sharper Andreas Weimann – “They swamped me,” Gerrard conceded – and grateful for the half-time introduction of Lucas Leiva to relieve him of some defensive duties. In the 4-0 defeat of Everton, he was a commanding presence, orchestrating Liverpool’s counter-attacks with authoritative excellence.
Yet Saturday brings the stiffest test of the remodelled Gerrard: can he stifle Mesut Ozil?
If it bodes well that manager Brendan Rodgers’s plan worked perfectly against Everton who, with their passing ethos, may present the Premier League’s closest comparison to Arsenal, Gerrard’s job is far harder.
His immediate Everton opponent was a semi-fit Ross Barkley. Now it is Ozil, Arsenal’s elusive orchestrator in chief. Barkley, with his power, is a budding Gerrard, a forceful Scouser who can play off the striker. Ozil is a pure passer, a seemingly frail figure.
This is a clash of opposites. It is the technical against the physical, the man who instinctively keeps the ball against the gambler who surrenders possession in his bid to fashion a goal.
Ozil a short passer, Gerrard likes raking long balls. It is a reason why his pass completion rate as a holding midfielder, around 76 per cent, is low: whereas most of his counterparts focus on ball retention, he tries to split defences.
He is the quarterback, looking to supply the final ball from deep.
“He gives us great variety in his passing,” said Rodgers. It is a passing range that has led the Liverpool manager to compare Gerrard to Andrea Pirlo, a constructive player in a position where others tend to be destructive.
“He has got the personality to play in that controlling role,” Rodgers said. “You need to have charisma and leadership qualities to play in there.” In that respect, Gerrard is less like the languid Pirlo than David Luiz, a colossal presence with a magnetic attraction to the ball.
Yet, in a job with multiple assignments, it pays to resemble Claude Makelele, to have a sixth sense and be able to snuff out danger before it has arisen.
Saturday’s match may prove if Gerrard has that instinct. Rodgers said his switch entailed “reprogramming”, deploying a mechanical word to describe a natural footballer.
Arsenal are particularly adept at using space around the edge of the penalty area to supply the final pass. This is where Ozil is at his best, where Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere can converge.
Subduing the Arsenal inventors requires a shield in defensive midfield. Yet with Lucas injured, Jordan Henderson deployed a little further forward and seemingly suffering from a season of non-stop football and with Philippe Coutinho offering negligible assistance when Liverpool lose the ball, Rodgers’s recalibrated 4-1-4-1 means one man may stand alone: Gerrard.
He has a sense of responsibility which explains why, last week at West Bromwich, he retreated into defence to help a fallible back four. He played almost like a third centre-back.
Now Liverpool’s need is for a high-class holding midfielder, with an uncanny ability to read the game, to track Ozil and halt Arsenal.
sports@thenational.ae
Company%20Profile
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LA LIGA FIXTURES
Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)
Valencia v Atletico Madrid (midnight)
Mallorca v Alaves (4pm)
Barcelona v Getafe (7pm)
Villarreal v Levante (9.30pm)
Sunday
Granada v Real Volladolid (midnight)
Sevilla v Espanyol (3pm)
Leganes v Real Betis (5pm)
Eibar v Real Sociedad (7pm)
Athletic Bilbao v Osasuna (9.30pm)
Monday
Real Madrid v Celta Vigo (midnight)
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
THE SPECS
Aston Martin Rapide AMR
Engine: 6.0-litre V12
Transmission: Touchtronic III eight-speed automatic
Power: 595bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh999,563
Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
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The Saga Continues
Wu-Tang Clan
(36 Chambers / Entertainment One)
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
What it means to be a conservationist
Who is Enric Sala?
Enric Sala is an expert on marine conservation and is currently the National Geographic Society's Explorer-in-Residence. His love of the sea started with his childhood in Spain, inspired by the example of the legendary diver Jacques Cousteau. He has been a university professor of Oceanography in the US, as well as working at the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Biodiversity and the Bio-Economy. He has dedicated his life to protecting life in the oceans. Enric describes himself as a flexitarian who only eats meat occasionally.
What is biodiversity?
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, all life on earth – including in its forests and oceans – forms a “rich tapestry of interconnecting and interdependent forces”. Biodiversity on earth today is the product of four billion years of evolution and consists of many millions of distinct biological species. The term ‘biodiversity’ is relatively new, popularised since the 1980s and coinciding with an understanding of the growing threats to the natural world including habitat loss, pollution and climate change. The loss of biodiversity itself is dangerous because it contributes to clean, consistent water flows, food security, protection from floods and storms and a stable climate. The natural world can be an ally in combating global climate change but to do so it must be protected. Nations are working to achieve this, including setting targets to be reached by 2020 for the protection of the natural state of 17 per cent of the land and 10 per cent of the oceans. However, these are well short of what is needed, according to experts, with half the land needed to be in a natural state to help avert disaster.
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
3rd ODI, January 14
4th ODI, January 16
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
