The club’s current number eight shrugged: “I don’t want to be him. I want to be myself.” But there’s no doubt that Liverpool’s ultimate legend has had an impact on the young Hungarian midfielder.
A quote attributed to Gerrard is indelibly scrawled across Szoboszlai’s forearm. The tattoo reads: “Talent is a blessing from God, but without incredible will and humility, it is worthless.”
Szoboszlai has shown his abundant talent throughout his start to life on Merseyside, which stacks up very favourably with Gerrard’s own early career at his boyhood club. Here’s how the two buccaneering midfielders compare across their first 50 Liverpool games.
Goals
Dominik Szoboszlai has rattled in a few thumping drives for Liverpool / Alessandro Sabattini/GettyImages
The first point of comparison between Szoboszlai and Gerrard is their penchant for a pot shot. Two-thirds of the Hungarian’s efforts are from outside the box, while half of his eight goals have been long-range thumps.
Gerrard would end his playing days with a rich reputation for stunning strikes, but by the same stage of his Liverpool career, the 20-year-old had only scored two senior goals, both of which came from inside the penalty box.
The skinny midfielder opened his account with a slaloming stunner against Sheffield Wednesday in December 1999. Picking the ball off Rigobert Song on the halfway line, Gerrard shimmied away from Emerson Thome before applying the same shuffle of shoulders to leave England‘s star centre-back, Des Walker, stubbing his toe into the turf. Kevin Pressman had no chance of reaching Gerrard’s deft slot into the far corner.
By the end of 1999/00 campaign, Gerrard’s breakthrough season in the first team, he was already being hailed as a future great. His teammate Sami Hyypia was not alone in predicting that the youngster would be the “best player in England some day”.
