Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has said his generation of England players failed to work well together because they were “egotistical losers,” and despite their footballing IQ, ego and rivalries were a big problem in the England camp.
Gerrard and Rio Ferdinand were part of England’s so-called “Golden Generation” during the 2000s. Despite boasting a squad with players like Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, David Beckham and Paul Scholes, England failed to make it past the quarterfinals of a major tournament between 2002 and 2014.
Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Gerrard said: “I think we were all egotistical losers.
“Because I watch the telly now and I see [Jamie] Carragher sitting next to Paul Scholes on this fan debate and they look like they’ve been best mates for 20 years. And I see Carragher’s relationship with Gary Neville and they look like they’ve been mates for 20 years.
“I’m probably more close and friendly with you [Ferdinand] now than I ever was when I played with you for 15 years.
“So why didn’t we connect when we were 20, 21, 22, 23? Was it ego? Was it rivalry?
“I think it was down to the culture within England that we were all never connected. All in our rooms too much. We weren’t friendly or connected. We weren’t a team. We never at any stage became a real good strong team.”
Gerrard also spoke of his belief that he could have played in a midfield alongside Lampard and Scholes. The latter was often deployed on the wings against his will and retired from international duty in 2004.
“If you play in the system that a lot of the coaches played, I think someone had to have the courage to say, well, Steven, it’s not you today, or Frank or Scholesy,” Gerrard said.
“Putting Scholesy on the left and me on the right or me on the left or asking one of us to be just a sitter takes a lot away from any of us. But I think we could have played together. I think we could have tactically been coached over a period of time for it to work because I believe we had the football IQ and intelligence to adapt and make it work together.”
Comparing his side to England’s team today, Gerrard said that Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham are the best midfielders of this generation.
“In the Premier League, I think Declan Rice is a really, really good midfielder,” Garrard said. “I like an awful lot about him. I like the kid, I like his mentality, I like the way he’s gone to the next level at Arsenal. He’s adding different things to his game. I think he’d be a really tough, strong opponent, good challenge.
“Jude Bellingham, if he was in the Premier League, I’d love to go toe-to-toe with him. I really think that would be interesting and good. They’re the two best at the moment, I’d say from an English point of view.”
