Steven Gerrard looking for ‘spirit of Istanbul’ in vital qualifier

Oct 17 2007 by Simon Stone, Liverpool Daily Post

STEVEN GERRARD wants England to capture the spirit of Istanbul when they face Russia in tonight’s Euro 2008 qualifier in Moscow.

The Liverpool captain admits "there are parallels" with the Euro 2004 qualifier away to Turkey four years ago when England got the draw they needed in a hostile atmosphere to reach the finals in Portugal.

A win on the plastic pitch at the Luzhniki Stadium today would seal qualification for Euro 2008 while a draw would also keep England in a strong position going into their final match of the qualifying campaign against Croatia next month, and Gerrard is targeting a big performance.

He said: "I don’t know if you can say this is the type of game that can define your career, but it is certainly one of those games that if we get the result that we want we can look back on in years to come with a bit of pride.

"I look back on the (5-1) win over Germany (in 2001), the draw in Turkey, games like that and they are big nights, for big players and leaders to step forward and that is what we are going to need again.

"There are parallels with this game and Istanbul. We gave everything we had and came through that night and the feeling now is similar."

Meanwhile former Chelsea and Everton winger Pat Nevin has backed midfielder Frank Lampard to beat the England boo-boys in the same way David Beckham did.

Nevin said: "It may well be that some of that reaction was aimed at the manager for taking off Michael Owen, but even so it is rather galling that a player who endlessly turns up for his country when fit is so ill-thought of by some.

"It may be that it is partly down to the antipathy some fans have towards Chelsea and not just Frank, but isn’t it a sad British trait that success regularly engenders this type of jealous reaction?

"Having never had to put up with that sort of abuse from the stands I am not sure how I would have reacted, but I would hope that I would have reacted with the same professionalism and dignity as Frank has.If fans are still so negative about Chelsea players when they play for the English national side they had better be careful, with almost half the team plying their trade at the Bridge."