Steven Gerrard has named Wayne Rooney as the greatest player of England's Golden Generation, describing him as having "everything" and being a "monster of a footballer."
The Three Lions, who host Czech Republic at Wembley on Tuesday, boasted an exceptional array of talent in the 2000s, including Gerrard, Rooney, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes, Ashley Cole, John Terry and Rio Ferdinand. Despite their star power, the squad underperformed at major tournaments, failing to reach the semi-finals under Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.
Gerrard's Verdict on Rooney
Speaking on the Open Goal podcast, the TNT Sports pundit answered when asked who England's best player was: "Rooney. Rooney is the best player I played with for England. He [had] everything, [a] monster of a footballer."
Gerrard, who represented his country from 2000 to 2014, was a key player during that era, and his praise for Rooney comes amid ongoing debate about England's lack of honours during that period.
Midfield Conundrum
The former Liverpool midfielder also discussed the long-debated suitability of playing Gerrard, Scholes and Lampard together in midfield. He explained: "Well, we're all similar. Scholes is fantastic at controlling a game and tempo, knowing when to quicken it up and knowing when to switch the play and [he's] a phenomenal natural footballer."
"Frank's a runner into the box, [who] can get a lot of goals. I was probably a little bit of an all-rounder type midfielder, but we're all different. We all had different attributes, but I don't think [those] three can play together. I wouldn't pick [those] three in a three-man midfield."
Preferred Partnership
Gerrard suggested that two of the three would need the right player behind them to succeed. He said: "No, I think that two out of us three need the right person behind us, I would say, to go and do it. I think if any, it [will] probably be Scholes. He could do it in a Pirlo style or a Steven Davis type in a technical way."
"But, in terms of like a specialist number six for how I like to play, I'd probably prefer a different type of midfielder in there, like a Carrick or a Hargreaves, who are nearly natural at doing that."
England's current squad has reached two European Championship finals and two World Cup semi-finals, all ending in defeat. The Nations League clash against the Czech Republic follows a 7-0 victory over Croatia in their last match.
