Steven Gerrard is looking forward to a World Cup
where he finally feels respected as England captain by Roy Hodgson, after
feeling like Fabio Capello's third choice in 2010.
Gerrard will move ahead of Alan
Shearer and John Terry to become the fifth longest-serving
England skipper - in terms of matches - when he leads the Three Lions out
against Honduras on Saturday at Sun Life stadium.
And there will be no-one prouder
than Gerrard when he takes to the field as captain in Brazil.
This is not the first time Gerrard
has worn the armband in a World Cup. He did so in South Africa four years ago, but he was skipper
by default, taking the captaincy because Rio Ferdinand injured his knee during England's
first training session in Rustenburg.
"This is the second time I've
been captain at a World Cup, but this time it's for real," he said.
Other than the four England matches
in South Africa, Gerrard only captained his national side on another four
occasions under Capello despite being regarded as one of the best leaders in
the Premier League with Liverpool.
When John Terry was stripped of the
captaincy for the first time in 2010 due to allegations about his private life,
Capello turned to Rio Ferdinand instead.
"Capello didn't believe in me
as his number one captain," the midfielder said bluntly.
"He did believe in me as a
player, he rated me as a player, and our relationship was fine.
"But at the time we picked the
captain, he had Rio Ferdinand and John Terry and he thought they offered something
different. I was third choice up to him."
Everything you need to know about England
Here's the lowdown on Roy Hodgson's
England team at Brazil 2014.
There is a much stronger belief in
Gerrard's leadership skills from the current England coach.
Roy Hodgson installed Gerrard as his
skipper from day one and that has left the 33-year-old full of belief in his
own abilities ahead of Brazil.
"Roy has the confidence in me
to be the captain this time," said Gerrard, who was also Liverpool captain
under Hodgson.
"I'll enjoy it more as captain
rather than vice-captain this time round, of course."
England enjoyed a near faultless
qualifying record ahead of the 2010 World Cup under Capello, but they came home
from South Africa following a second-round defeat at the hands of Germany.
Ashley Cole and Terry were still in
their 20s and Gerrard only hit 30 on the eve of the tournament.
Wayne Rooney had also just had an excellent season
with Manchester United.
But despite a lack of experience,
Gerrard believes the squad for this summer's tournament is far stronger.
He has seen at close quarters how
good Raheem Sterling, Daniel Sturridge and Jordan Henderson have been at club level this
year.
And the Liverpool captain has been
enthused by the development of other newcomers like Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw and Ross Barkley.
"The standard in the squad (is
better)," he said.
"There are two players pushing
in every position to get into the 11, and there's not much between them in
every position.
"The manager could pick five
teams for the Italy game and you wouldn't see a big difference
in the standard. That's what gives me hope."
This time last year Lallana, Shaw
and Barkley were nowhere near the England squad.
Sterling only had one cap to his
name and Henderson had endured a torrid season with Liverpool.
Gerrard has been taken aback by how
the inexperienced players have taken to international football.
"They've brought their form
from their clubs into the England set-up," the 34-year-old said.
"That's what I've noticed.
Hopefully they can continue that into the tournament. They're ready to play.
That's the biggest compliment I can give them. And that's because of what I've
seen in training."
Gerrard thinks the build-up to
Brazil could hardly have gone better.
"I think preparations have gone
very well," Gerrard said after an hour-long session under the baking hot
sun of Miami.
"The heat out here has been
perfect for us getting conditioned. But it is going to be different - I don't
think there's anything like Manaus.
"We understand that and we've still got a
week to go, but we're exactly where we want to be at this moment."
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