After an injury-strewn 2011 in which he did not play any international football, Steven Gerrard won his 90th cap for England in the February 2012 friendly against the Netherlands. The Liverpool FC legend may have passed his peak, but he has scored at each of his last three major tournaments and, if fit, has the class to deliver again at UEFA EURO 2012.

• Gerrard joined Liverpool's youth academy at the age of nine and eventually signed professional forms in November 1997; he made his senior debut a year later and by the 2000/01 season had become the team's key midfielder, making 50 appearances and helping them win the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup treble.

• Made his international debut the day after his 20th birthday – in a friendly against Ukraine – and went to UEFA EURO 2000 with England the following month.

• Missed the 2002 FIFA World Cup through injury, however, having scored his first England goal in the memorable 5-1 qualifying win against Germany in Munich.

• Appointed Liverpool captain in October 2003 and led the Reds to UEFA Champions League glory against AC Milan in Istanbul in 2005, triggering a comeback from 3-0 down with a brilliant header and winning the man of the match award plus third place in that year's Ballon d'Or.

• Was more influential 12 months later in the FA Cup final, scoring twice as Liverpool defeated West Ham United FC – also on penalties after a 3-3 draw.

• A major figure for England throughout the decade, he appeared at UEFA EURO 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where he scored twice but missed a penalty in the quarter-final shoot-out defeat by Portugal; captained his country at the 2010 World Cup and scored early in the opener against the United States.

• Won England's Footballer of the Year prize for the first time in 2009 at the end of a season in which he scored a personal-best tally of 24 goals, including 16 in the Premier League, in which Liverpool finished runners-up.

• Captained the Reds to League Cup glory in 2012 – Liverpool's first silverware in six years – a few weeks before he scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 Premier League victory against local rivals Everton FC.

UEFA honours
UEFA Champions League: winner 2005, runner-up 2007
UEFA Cup: winner 2001
UEFA Super Cup: winner 2001
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2005
UEFA.com users' Team of the Year: 2005, 2006, 2007