Steven Gerrard has branded his former England team-mates as ‘egotistical losers’ who hated each other, as the Liverpool legend identified why the Three Lions failed to deliver success during his international career.
Gerrard, now 45, earned 114 England caps between 2000 and 2014 with the midfielder playing under Sven-Goran Eriksson, Steve McLaren, Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson.
The midfielder had been part of the fabled ‘Golden Generation’, but England failed to advance beyond the quarter-finals at the World Cup and European Championships during his international career.
Gerrard, speaking as a guest on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, blamed the culture within the Three Lions set-up at the time as being a key reason for their failures.
He agreed with Ferdinand’s assessment that rivalries between Man United, Liverpool and Chelsea had contributed at the time, who failed to connect as a result.
Gerrard branded the squad as ‘egotistical losers’ for failing to look beyond their rivalries at the time, something he admits has been more frustrating with the likes of Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville working to closely together now on Sky Sports.
‘There was a bigger problem in England, in my opinion. I think we were all egotistical losers,’ Gerrard said.
‘Because I watch the telly now and I see Carragher sitting next to Paul Scholes on this fan debate and they look like they’ve been best mates for 20 years.
‘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 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? Why are we all mature enough now and at stages in our life where we’re closer and more connected now? Why couldn’t we connect as England teammates back then?
‘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 admitted his experience with England was vastly different to being part of the Liverpool team, where he felt ‘special’ and ‘part of a team’.
By contrast, Gerrard said while he ‘loved’ playing matches for England and representing his country, he ‘hated’ being part of the environment around the squad.
‘It was like I didn’t feel part of a team, I didn’t feel connected with my teammates with England,’ Gerrard said.
‘I didn’t feel that with Liverpool, they were the best days of my life. When I used to go abroad to Liverpool or I used to go to an away game with Liverpool, I felt part of a team.
‘I felt like the staff looked over me, like I felt special. I felt like I couldn’t wait to get there. With England, I just wanted the games and the training sessions and then to be away.
‘I felt like the last one or two days of the 10 days, you could feel a connection coming, but then the games would be done. The games would be done.
‘There was a little bit more of a connection during the tournament because you’d be living together a little bit more.’
Gerrard agreed with Ferdinand’s assessment there had been an ‘underlying bitterness’ between players as they went from competing for trophies with their clubs to joining up with the national team.
He retired from international football after England crashed out of the group stage at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, with his 114 caps currently the fourth highest total for the men’s national team.
Gerrard credited Gareth Southgate for his work to build an improved culture and team environment within the England set-up.
Southgate took charge in 2016 and went on lead England to the World Cup semi-finals two years later, the Three Lions best performance since 1990.
He went on to guide the national team to back-to-back European Championship finals in 2021 and 2024, as well as a narrow 1-0 loss to France in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals.
‘I think Gareth Southgate is underrated for how he connected with the England team.
‘Because for me, the talent was there, the players were there. The level of games we were all playing at was there to go and do better than what we did.
‘I think we had a little bit of bad luck with the penalties or whatever. We have to take responsibility, but I’ve got a big frustration when I look back at England that we never did better.
‘I think it’s a combination of different things, but one of the big things for me was we weren’t a team. We were a group of individuals with talent and it never works like that.’
Listen to the full Rio Meets Steven Gerrard interview on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
