Gerrard wins high praise from Zenden
Aug 15 2005
By Ian Doyle, Daily Post
BOUDEWIJN ZENDEN led the praise for Steven Gerrard after the Liverpool midfielder's performance at the Riverside on Saturday.
Gerrard could have had a hat-trick after carving out a series of chances in the goalless draw with Middlesbrough.
And Zenden said: "Steven Gerrard is up there with Davids and Seedorf; he is the engine of the team. He gets into positions to score and then he has the attitude to get the rest of us going.
"But we have got a lot of quality players. One day it is one player on another day it is someone else. Steven is one of the main characters. He is certainly one of the best I have played alongside."
Zenden was making his Premiership debut at his former club following his summer free transfer to Liverpool.
And he added: "It has been fantastic but what we are trying to do is to gel it all together.
"Had we been a bit luckier, we would have walked away with three points on Saturday.
"We can have a go at winning the title; I am not going to throw the towel in. The main objective is to make sure we qualify for the Champions League but we cannot say that we are satisfied with fourth."
Zenden was jeered by the majority of home supporters, and he conceded: "You have to be realistic; people forget quickly.
I had two fantastic years here and last year I was the player of the year - as chosen by the fans.
"It is down to Keith Lamb (Boro chief executive) trying to save his own face by blaming everything on me. He is the one that made the decision last year and made it very difficult for me to stay."
Middlesbrough midfielder George Boateng joined in the praise for Gerrard and claimed Liverpool can close the gap on champions Chelsea this seson.
"For me, Gerrard is probably one of the best English players in the country, if not the best," he said..
"The guy is very gifted; he can run, he can shoot, he can run the whole game.
"He has got skill, he has got pace, he is a powerful runner. He is going to be to Liverpool what Paul Scholes was to Manchester United.
"He is a great player and I would love to have him on my team."
Boateng added: "Liverpool have gone to another level after they won the Champions League. It has given them a great confidence boost and now it seems they really believe in themselves and believe they can push on again.
"For me they are going to close the gap on Chelsea maybe by a good 10-12 points. It's not that we played negatively; it is because we were up against a good side."
