Gerrard is one of the players everyone expects a lot from in England. European champion last year with Liverpool in an unforgettable comeback against Milan, Gerrard is expected to be the one that would give the comeback signal, if needed.

FIFA magazine: Who were your favourite players as a boy?
Steven Gerrard: They were all very creative attack-minded players with an eye for goal. At Liverpool, my favourite players during my boyhood days were John Barnes and Peter Beardsley, who also played for England. They were the main players at Liverpool who both created and scored goals. For England, it was Paul Gascoigne, a fantastic player.

Who or what has been the greatest influence on your career?
My dad because he provided me with all my boots, kit and travel to games before I became a professional and he hardly ever misses a game, home or away. Steve Heighway, the Liverpool Academy director, from the age of eight to 17. He helped me through difficult teenage years with any problems that arose. And there are the three managers I have worked under: Gerard Houllier, who made me captain at Liverpool which was a massive moment in my career; Rafael Benitez, who guided Liverpool to the Champions League title last year; and the England head coach, Sven-Goran Eriksson.

What are your strongest memories of the World Cup?
It has to be Paul Gascoigne when he played for England in the 1990 World Cup. He was the star man. I vividly remember the tears against West Germany in Turin. We managed to get through to the semi-finals and we were very unlucky not to go the whole way. I watched with my mum, dad and brother leaping around when the penalties were on.

As you missed out on the last World Cup finals due to a back injury, does that mean this year’s tournament is even more important to you?
Yes, of course, it is very important to me. Missing out on the 2002 World Cup due to injury was the lowest point of my career. It was a nightmare. So it is a great stage for myself to go there and make up for lost time if you like and enjoy it but hopefully come back with it having been a success. Germany is important to me whether I went to Korea/Japan or not, but I think because of the frustration of missing out on 2002, I’m just looking forward to it that extra bit more and hopefully after it I can come back and say I’ve been successful and, fingers crossed, I might be a World Cup winner come the summer.

What does the FIFA World Cup mean to you?
The World Cup is different. It’s just there on a pedestal on its own. I’ve played in massive games in the Champions League, I’ve played for England in the EUROs but the World Cup only comes around once every four years and it’s a dream to play in one. That will be the perfect stage for me to show people worldwide that I can dominate at this level. I just feel as if I can still offer a bit more at international level and Germany would be the perfect place to prove it.

What are England’s chances of winning the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
We have a very good chance of winning the World Cup if we keep everyone injury-free and perform to the maximum level, although there are six or seven teams who also have that capability, with Brazil favourites in most people’s eyes. The confidence and belief that the Argentina victory (England beat the South Americans 3-2 in November) gave us were massive but we need to take that into the summer and keep progressing all the way from now until the end of the tournament. We are ready for this World Cup. There are a lot of quality players and it could be a lot of players’ last World Cup as well and so it’s important that this group of players delivers in the summer. There is a confidence and belief in the squad that we can deliver. We’ve got enough talent to win it – it’s just about going out there and proving it.

Sven-Goran Eriksson has proved himself a success with clubs and at international level. What qualities do you think he brings to coaching the England team?
Eriksson is a very likeable manager that all the players enjoy playing for. He brings a wealth of experience which I believe we all benefit from and beneath that calm exterior he has a real will to win.

You led Liverpool to glory in last year’s UEFA Champions League. What are the secrets of a successful team?
Work, togetherness and focus and a never-say-die attitude.

What are England’s main strengths and weaknesses?
Our main strength is that we have fantastic team spirit, strong players and overall a really good squad. Our weakness would probably be consistency up to this point, but we aim to put that right in Germany. And hopefully we will have a lot of England fans in the stadiums and they can get behind us and give us that extra lift we may need.

What impact will England strikers Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen have in Germany?
Hopefully they will both have a massive impact. They are our two main goalscorers and can take us all the way. But it doesn’t really matter who scores the goals or who gets the man of the match awards, the important thing is that the team does well.

Your season started last July when Liverpool’s Champions League campaign began and you could end up playing around 60 games before you run out at the FIFA World Cup. Is that a concern?
No, it’s not a worry for me. The only time I worry about tiredness and burn-out is when people ask me about it. I don’t feel tired. I feel really fresh. My body is in good condition. I look after myself away from the game. No matter how many games I play this season, I feel that I will be fresh and ready for the World Cup once it starts.

Do you think generally the players will get enough rest between the end of the season and the start of the FIFA World Cup?
There is a lot of time between the last game of the season and when the World Cup starts and we know that Eriksson and the coaching staff are going to have the right programme for us from the end of the domestic season, with a couple of games before that first game against Paraguay on 10 June. So I think that we are going to be really fresh and will be really desperate to get started. I am sure we will be watching lots of videos of the three teams we will be coming up against in the group stage – Paraguay, Sweden and Trinidad and Tobago – so we are well prepared for the time we come up against them.

In what respect is your game slightly different with England than it is for Liverpool?
At club level I play with either Xabi Alonso or Dietmar Hamann who both naturally play the anchor role which gives me the freedom to bomb on. With England, playing with people like Frank Lampard and David Beckham, I am a little bit more composed and aware of my defensive responsibilities. It doesn’t mean that I’m restricted all the time and can’t get forward though. Frank and David are clever enough that, if they see me go, they’ll naturally just sit in and look after the defensive side of things. I think we’ve got the right gel and mix in there.

Apart from English players, who else do you think could make their name at the FIFA World Cup?
Lionel Messi has impressed me with his performances this season and Kaka was an incredibly tough opponent in last year’s Champions League final.

Would you like to see an England versus Germany final in Berlin?
There is a big rivalry between England and Germany because they are two fantastic footballing countries. Yes, of course, I would love to play in the final of a World Cup against Germany – as long as we won.

Source: WCoffsite