Gerrard glad to have 'Carra' back
Chris Hatherall
Monday, 24 May, 2010
Midfielder delighted with team-mate's return and partnership with Rooney.
Steven Gerrard hopes his blossoming partnership with Wayne Rooney can prove to be a key factor in England’s World Cup campaign.
The pair been working on their link-up play during training sessions in Austria over the last week and the Liverpool man believes it is going well ahead of Monday's big game against Mexico at Wembley.
Gerrard has been given licence to get forward from the left in recent international games and has also been identified as a potential deep-lying partner for Manchester United star Rooney if England ever tweak their formation.
Gerrard said: “Wayne and I are good friends off the pitch. Before games we are always talking about where to go and where we want each other. There is a good understanding.
“That's because Wayne's a fantastic player, he's got good movement, I know where he's going and we keep working on that relationship and trying to improve it with each game. Hopefully it will be a key factor in the World Cup.
“I think football is about relationships on the pitch, different areas of the field, and because Fabio has given me more of a licence to get forward from the left and go inside, he wants me to link with Wayne.
“It's easy to link with top players and I think the form he is in at the moment, everyone in the country is hoping he can move it on into the World Cup. If he does, I'm confident we can do well.”
Gerrard is also delighted to be renewing his partnership with Liverpool team-mate Jamie Carragher after the defender agreed to come out of international retirement to join Fabio Capello’s squad.
“I’m pleased for him that he’s here and I'm pleased for myself as well after all the work I've put in!
“I spoke to him all the time, right from the time he took the decision to step down from the squad. I told him to take his time, and then take more time. I wanted Carra here when he made the decision because he's a top player. I play with him every day in training and in games and he keeps Liverpool together. “
Gerrard says he never gave up hope that Carragher would return to the fold, although he admits it was disappointing to see his friend out of the picture.
He added: "As a player you can always respect when another professional decides to do step down - people have different thoughts and different feelings. At the time Jamie thought the best thing for himself was to step out of the squad and not be available anymore.
“That was disappointing for me personally because he's a good friend and also because he's a good player. Thankfully now he's changed his mind and as a player looking forward to the World Cup and the squad being named, you want the best players available.”
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