Gerrard Awali Tur Perpisahan Dukung Liverpool Hadapi AFC Wimbledon
Gerrard Begins Goodbyes Amid Echoes of 1988
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
London (B2B) - Steven Gerrard akan memulai tur perpisahannya Senin esok ketika Liverpool bertandang ke klub divisi empat AFC Wimbledon dalam babak ketiga Piala FA.
Mengenang final Piala FA 1988 di mana Wimbledon menaklukkan juara Liga Utama Inggris Liverpool 1-0, maka laga sekarang akan menjadi pertandingan menawan bahkan jauh sebelum Gerrard menyatakan bakal meninggalkan Anfield pada akhir musim ini.
Piala FA adalah menjadi salah satu ajang kebesarannya pada 2006 ketika dia menginspirasi kemenangan Liverpool lewat adu penalti melawan West Ham United saat menciptakan dua gol yang salah satunya gol sensasional yang menjadi penyama kedudukan sehingga pertandingan harus diakhiri dengan adu penalti.
Gerrard juga mempersembahkan trofi ini pada 2001 ketika Liverpool bangkit dari ketertinggalan untuk mengalahkan Arsenal 2-1, dan jika menang pada final Mei nanti maka akan menjadi obat untuk anjloknya Liverpool dalam liga musim ini.
Jika masuk final, maka saat itu Gerrard akan genap berusia 35 tahun. Rekannya sesama gelandang Jordan Henderson yakin merebut Piala FA adalah cara sempurna menutup kekaptenan yang inspirasional Gerrard.
"Itu akan indah untuknya, karena dia layak mendapatkan hal seperti itu untuk betapa bagusnya dia selama bertahun-tahun bersama Liverpool," kata Henderson.
Gerrard akan dipasang oleh manajer Brendan Rodgers sebagai pemain cadangan kala bertandang ke stadion Kingsmeadow, Wimbledon, berkapasitas 4.800 orang yang berada di London timut laut itu.
Satu tempat di final Piala Liga sudah di depan mata Liverpool yang dijadwalkan menghadapi Chelsea dalam semifinal dua leg bulan ini, namun Gerrard tentunya tak ingin gagal pada Piala FA, seperti dilansir Yahoo Sports.
London - Steven Gerrard will begin his farewell tour of English football on Monday when Liverpool visit fourth-tier AFC Wimbledon for an FA Cup third-round tie rich in historical significance.
Recalling as it does the 1988 final, when the original Wimbledon stunned league champions Liverpool 1-0, the match was a captivating fixture even before Gerrard's announcement on Friday that he will leave Anfield at the end of the season.
The FA Cup gave Gerrard one of his greatest triumphs when, in 2006, he inspired Liverpool to victory on penalties over West Ham United with a brace that included a sensational 35-yard equaliser in stoppage time.
Gerrard also lifted the trophy in 2001, when Liverpool came from behind to beat Arsenal 2-1, and victory in May's final would go some way towards healing the pain of last season's spectacular collapse in the Premier League title race.
Gerrard will turn 35 on the day of the final and his midfield colleague Jordan Henderson believes lifting the FA Cup would be the perfect way for the club's inspirational captain to sign off.
"That'd be nice for him, because he deserves something like that for how good he's been over so many years for Liverpool," Henderson told the BBC.
"Hopefully we can go on to win the cup. That's the aim, that's what we hope to achieve, and it would be brilliant for us as a team and for him personally to get something in his last year."
Gerrard has been used sparingly by manager Brendan Rodgers over the opening months of the campaign and may start on the bench at Wimbledon's 4,800-capacity Kingsmeadow stadium in southwest London.
A place in the League Cup final is closer for Liverpool, who are scheduled to face Chelsea in a two-legged semi-final later this month, but Gerrard will not want a shock FA Cup exit to tarnish his swansong.
