There is a compelling case to be made for Zinedine Zidane as the best midfield player in football history. At the height of his abilities, the France and Real Madrid legend was a work of poetry, winning every team trophy available and the prestigious Ballon d’Or in 1998.
The two-footed phenom swept the world of football by storm, and his achievements at the club and international levels are legendary. Every player he has ever faced in the engine room holds him in the highest regard. Because of his position in the beautiful game, his colleagues are always happy to receive comments from him.
That’s precisely what happened in 2009 when Zidane called one of the most gifted players in England ‘the best in the world’. To make matters worse, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, two of the best players in history, were at the height of their abilities at the moment.
The England star, in Zinedine Zidane’s opinion, was superior to Messi and Ronaldo because “players like him are just born with that presence.”
Zidane was referring to Steven Gerrard, a hero for Liverpool. When the Reds defeated Zidane’s former team, Real Madrid, 5-0 on aggregate in the 2009 Champions League, the box-to-box midfielder was outstanding. The Frenchman praised the England international as the world’s best that same year:
“Is he the world’s greatest? He may not attract the interest of Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, but I do believe he could.”
Messi won the 2009 Ballon d’Or, the world’s largest individual honour, after Ronaldo had taken it the year before. Zidane put Gerrard ahead of the two, who had been vying to be regarded as the best players of all time for well over ten years. He added:
“The team as a whole may suffer if you don’t have a guy like Steven Gerrard, who is the engine room.
“Claude Makelele was our most crucial player, in my opinion, when we were winning league crowns and European Cups at Real. Without Claude, neither I nor [Luis] Figo or Raúl could have accomplished what we did, and the same is true for Liverpool and Gerrard.”
“He has great passing ability, can tackle and score goals, but most importantly, he gives the players around him confidence and belief,” Zizou continued, adding to the attributes Gerrard brought to his boyhood club. Players like him are born with that presence; it is not something you can learn.
‘I’ve read that sentence maybe a million times,’ Gerrard said in response to Zidane’s ‘Best in the World’ accolade.
Many years after Zidane’s initial compliment, Gerrard was asked in an interview with Rio Ferdinand if he knew who had said the kind words about him. He answered without hesitation, “Zidane, because I’ve read that quote about a million times. He’s actually done me a nice message in a book that was given to me as a farewell present. He’s on page one and that message is on page one from him.” “I’m very flattered, and I’m very humbled for him to say that.”
Everyone can tell how much the two great midfield players appreciate one another. Had it not been for Gerrard’s extraordinary devotion to Liverpool during his more than 700 appearances in the iconic red shirt, they might have been on the same pitch as Real Madrid players.
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