Can Steven Gerrard win the World Cup for England?
England manager Roy Hodgson and Gerrard's former derby adversary Roy Keane both believe the England captain has the X Factor for Brazil
Who is the one player who can win the World Cup for England? When the question was put to England manager Roy Hodgson at a recent ITV dinner the answer was unambiguous, reveals Adrian Chiles.
“I’ll give you a straight answer to that,” said Hodgson. “Steven Gerrard. Steven Gerrard can win us the World Cup.”
Chiles, ITV’s anchor for the tournament, also had another unexpected disclosure: Roy Keane is a fan of the Liverpool midfielder as well.
“I spoke to Roy Keane, too,” reveals Chiles. “He’s a notoriously harsh judge of players; sparing with his compliments and rarely lavish in his praise.
“But here’s what he had to say: ‘Gerrard has to go down as one of the greatest players to have played for England and in the Premier League. I’d put him on a level with Bryan Robson. I played against him when he first came on the scene and thought, ‘He’s not bad, this kid.’ He’s gone on to be a fantastic player. And it hurts me to say that about a Liverpool player.’”
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