Lucas: I dream of being as good as Steven Gerrard

Dec 4 2007

LUCAS today revealed how much he is loving life at Anfield – and how he dreams of being as good as Steven Gerrard.

The Brazilian playmaker is now featuring regularly in Rafa Benitez’s side and has impressed in Liverpool’s last two Premier League games against Newcastle and Bolton.

And having partnered Gerrard in both those matches, Lucas is in no doubt that his captain is among the best players in the world.

He said: “Stevie and I are different players. I am younger and I am still learning and he is helping me a lot.

“When I play in midfield with him I have to play more of a holding role because he can go forward, create chances and score goals himself.

“Hopefully, when I have played more games and got more confidence I can go forward more myself.

“I am happy to be playing because I can learn from players like Steven.

“It is fantastic to play alongside him because he is one of the best players in the world.

“Hopefully, one day I will be as good as he is but that is a long way away.”

Another team mate who has impressed Lucas since his £6m move from Gremio in the summer is Fernando Torres, and the 20-year-old Brazilian international believes Liverpool’s record signing is on course to become one of the world’s finest forwards.

“Fernando is a fantastic player and he can score a lot of goals,” he said.

“He is a very good striker and hopefully he can be the best striker in the world.”

Liverpool have scored 21 goals in their last five games and Lucas says they are going to have to keep their performance levels high if they are going to mount a meaningful challenge for the Premier League title.

He said: “We are scoring a lot of goals in games at the moment and we have to keep that going.

“It is hard to say why it is happening at this time but the team is playing really well and we are creating plenty of chances.

“In the first half against Fulham we scored two goals and that made it easier, especially when a team is trying to make it difficult for you.

“We have played really well in the last five or six games and the confidence is much better because we are scoring goals and winning but now we have to look forward to the next game.”