Dalglish: How I'll remember Steven
Kenny Dalglish has paid a glowing tribute to Steven Gerrard, insisting Liverpool supporters are blessed to have watched him in a red shirt for 17 years.
The Scot is arguably the only man whose contributions to the club's history rival that of the skipper, and the pair's names feature prominently in heated debates over who is the greatest Reds player of all time.
Dalglish had the opportunity to see his competitor for that title up close during his second stint as manager, in which Gerrard captained the club to an eighth League Cup victory.
And, in an exclusive interview taken from the new documentary 'Gerrard: My Liverpool', which aired for the first time on LFCTV on Saturday night, and is now available to watch online on LFCTV GO, Dalglish spoke of his admiration for the player and the man himself.
"Everyone will have iconic moments for Steven," he said.
"The contribution he has made to this football club has been unbelievable and beyond the call of duty many times.
"You've got the West Ham FA Cup final in 2006, Istanbul when he led totally and utterly from the front. He played three or four different positions that night.
"He's rescued positions that seemed lost many times for this football club. How he's done it I don't know, but I know why he's done it. He loves the football club, he's a local boy that wanted to be successful and he's been fantastically successful for this football club."
As Gerrard prepares for his final curtain call against Stoke on Sunday, many a supporter has attempted to identify his greatest performance for the club - with the 2005 Champions League final and 2006 FA Cup final high on the list.
But Dalglish says there are too many highlights to single out just one display.
He added: "I don't think it's important to have a league table of greatest performances. I think it's important you've got great memories.
"Steven's performance in Istanbul was beyond what you expect from anybody but Carra [Jamie Carragher] didn't do too badly either. They all did fantastically well.
"I think the most important thing is the people who have seen him play have been very privileged to have watched him.
"If people have a league table about Steven's performances, or the Champions League and cup finals in their mind then that's fine.
"I'm not that intelligent that I can remember them all but I certainly know Steven's performances were unbelievable.
"We were absolutely blessed to watch somebody who has lived for the football club, has saved the football club on many an occasion with his performances on the pitch, and someone who did it humbly and did it fantastically well."
The legendary former No.7 also spoke of the very first time he heard of an aspiring footballer by the name of Gerrard from his son, Paul.
He continued: "The first time I became aware of Steven was through my son Paul who was training with the kids and he told me there was a young boy who was a bit special.
"I think he would only have been around 12 to 14 years of age then, but I never thought Paul was a good judge but it proved to be true!"
Stevie was awarded the club captaincy just five years on from his first-team debut by then-boss Gerard Houllier.
Dalglish believes the brave move to take the armband from the experienced Sami Hyypia and hand it to a 23-year-old proved to be a masterstroke.
He said: "I think the captaincy of Liverpool is a tremendous accolade for yourself to be awarded it.
"You can't be captain because of your birthplace, you've got to get it because you earn it.
"Making him captain was a fantastic decision and I think it's been reflected in his career since then, how he's blossomed, how he's carried it off and the way he's conducted himself on and off the pitch, the way he's been a fantastic ambassador for Liverpool while he's been playing."
Dalglish also explained just how influential Gerrard was on and off the pitch during his second spell as Anfield boss.
He said: "He was a tremendous help to me in and around the dressing room when I was manager. He was the ideal captain.
"I knew what this football club stood for him and knew what it meant for him to be successful.
"Everybody can see what he does on the pitch but for me it was the maturity he did off the pitch, how he conducted himself and how he was excellent in the dressing room and managing the players.
"For me that was fantastically important because I'd only just come in and I needed as much help as I could possibly get.
"You need people in the dressing room who are strong. Stevie was fantastically strong, Carra was brilliant. You need a strong dressing room and he was certainly the one people looked up to and was the leader in the dressing room, and rightly so. Even when he wasn't playing he still had a huge influence.
"There's nobody who could have done any more for this football club than Steven.
"A lot of what this football club stands for is what Steven stands for. The humility and the fact he can appreciate what other people are and who they are and how much you want to help them.
"Liverpool is a fantastic family and I think Steven has got the family ethos as well in his life so it was a marriage blessed in heaven."