29 November 1998 – the 18-year-old Steven Gerrard makes his Liverpool debut as a 90th-minute substitute for Vegard Heggem in a 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers at Anfield

An 18-year-old Steven Gerrard prepares to take a throw-in on his debut against Blackburn Rovers. Photograph: Mike Egerton/EMPICS Sports Photo Agency

Vegard Heggem, former Liverpool defender: Steven went very quickly from training with the first team at Melwood to making his debut. The manager, Gérard Houllier, spotted Steven had huge potential at the academy and thought it would be good for him to get a taste of first-team football. He made a mark for himself straight away at Melwood. It was immediately obvious he had a good understanding of the game, that he was a great passer of the ball and had a powerful shot. I think we probably took more notice of those qualities because he was this young, skinny kid. He was shy, but what stood out for me was his fearlessness. He really got stuck in to everyone in training and he didn’t mind at all if it was one of the established players. Steven just wanted to show how good he was and I don’t think anyone was surprised that he reached the first team level so quickly. It’s a funny one for me when I think back to his debut now. Footballers never enjoy being replaced but to make way for a big local talent like Steven was a pleasure. He has had a fantastic career, he is surely among the club’s greatest players of all time, and to have played and trained alongside him during my time at Liverpool was a privilege.

5 December 1999 – Scores his first goal for Liverpool in a 4-1 league win over Sheffield Wednesday at Anfield

Steven Gerrard scores his first Liverpool goal against Sheffield Wednesday at Anfield. Photograph: Richard Heathcote/Action Images

Kevin Pressman, former Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper: I remember the goal, and not only because my lad had a good laugh showing me a clip of it on YouTube the other day. He collected the ball deep in midfield and went past our centre-halves on the edge of the area, Des Walker and Emerson Thome. I was taught to stay up as long as you can so that the player has to make a decision but he scored with a good, composed finish. I like to think I made him work for the goal, although I had a right go at my defenders afterwards. They should have at least delayed him or pushed him away from goal but he was able to dictate where he wanted to go, went away from the defenders and placed his shot. There was no mention of Gerrard in our pre-match analysis but he left a lasting impression that this must be a decent player. You have to be so consistent to have the career he has had at the top level. He has become the focal point of Liverpool. I grew up associating Steve Heighway and Kenny Dalglish as epitomising what Liverpool is all about and that has been Steven Gerrard for such a long period now. He will be a big loss to the football club. Everyone can see what he does on the pitch but won’t understand just what he has achieved off it, in regards of his stature and reputation as the main figure at the club. The biggest loss to Liverpool will be on non-match days as he knows the club, the supporters and the standards expected of a Liverpool player and will bring that into training every day. It is a shame he’s leaving, potentially he’s still got a lot to offer the team, and he’ll never be replaced.

2001 – Wins his first silverware with Liverpool – a treble of the FA Cup, League Cup and Uefa Cup, scoring in the final against Alaves, plus Champions League qualification

Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Robbie Fowler celebrate winning the Uefa after victory over Alaves. Photograph: Darren Walsh/Action Images

Markus Babbel, former Liverpool defender: You’re lucky if you see, in your life, one or two players who have so much quality at a young age and I was fortunate to play alongside two – Steven Gerrard, who had only just turned 20 when I joined Liverpool, and Philipp Lahm, who I played with at Stuttgart when he came on loan from Bayern Munich. You could probably put Bastian Schweinsteiger in that bracket too but they’re not easy to find. We had a problem against Alaves in the Uefa Cup final and so Gérard Houllier changed the system and asked Steven to move to right back for the end of the game. He just said ‘OK’ and played the role as though he’d always played there. That was the mark of a fantastic player. The funny thing was I could never understand a word he was saying when he spoke to the other scouse lads. One day I was sat next to him in the dressing room while he was talking to Robbie Fowler. Gary McAllister asked me if I knew what they were talking about. When I said no he told me not to worry because he couldn’t understand them either! Steven was quiet in the dressing room, I think he still is. He was not a loud speaker but when he did say something you knew it was important. I always liked players like that, the ones who don’t say much but say what matters. The mentality he brings onto the pitch has been so important for Liverpool and it has earned the respect of other teams towards him. I had my fingers crossed for him last season when he was so close to winning the Premier League, the only trophy he hasn’t won, and what happened was really sad but he is still one of the best players to ever play for Liverpool. It is great to see how normal he is.

October 2003 – replaces Sami Hyypia as the Liverpool captain after the Finn had lifted six trophies in the role

Sami Hyypia, former Liverpool defender: He’s a good captain and I can still remember the day that the captaincy went to Stevie. We were going to training and he wouldn’t look at me. I went to sit next to him and said: ‘Congratulations and, anything you need, I am always there.’ It was a relief for him that I took the decision OK. But I knew that the captaincy was more important to him than for me. He was a Liverpool lad and to be captain of Liverpool was a big thing for him.

8 December 2004 – Scores a superb 86th-minute winner against Olympiakos at Anfield to give Liverpool the third goal required to reach the knockout stage of the Champions League en route to Istanbul

Steven Gerrard scores the all-important third goal against Olympiakos. Photograph: John Sibley/Action Images

Neil Mellor, who scored Liverpool’s second with nine minutes remaining: We went into the game thinking we could turn them over but knowing how important it was not to concede, and then Rivaldo gave Olympiakos the lead with a free-kick. I was on the bench and it was deflating knowing we needed to score three. We were all disappointed at half-time but I remember Steven and Carra instilling belief and confidence in us. Rafa [Benítez] was the manager and giving his instructions but I still remember those two in particular shouting ‘Come on, we can do this’. I went into the dressing room at half-time deflated and came out uplifted, knowing we were attacking the Kop. I kept telling Rafa I was ready to come on but he brought on Florent Sinama Pongolle ahead of me at half-time and I thought the game was petering out to a draw by the time I did get on. For the winning goal I remember the ball coming into me inside the area and seeing Steven and John Arne Riise outside the box. I thought if I could put it into space I’d fancy Steven to hit the target more than John, who was out wide, although I didn’t expect him to score. It was unbelievable what he did and his goal sparked the best atmosphere I experienced as a player. To win so late was a big lift, a turning point in the season, and it gave us huge confidence for the rest of the campaign. When you go into football you want to win medals but you also want memories and that was certainly one.

25 May 2005 – Sparks Liverpool’s recovery from three goals down against Milan in the Champions League final, scoring his team’s first as they draw level before winning on penalties to claim the club’s fifth European Cup

Gerrard (third left) sparks a Liverpool revival by getting a goal back against Milan in Istanbul. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Reuters

Gerrard celebrates Liverpool’s Champions League victory over Milan, dubbed the miracle of Istanbul. Photograph: Dusan Vranic/AP

Rafael Benítez, former Liverpool manager: Steven is a great player and also a great example to his team-mates and Istanbul was proof of that. He is a player who always gives everything he has on the pitch and there were many examples during my time at the club: Istanbul, Olympiakos, Real Madrid at Anfield and many games against Everton or United. It was thanks to him that the other good players, we had, played better. He always pushes his team-mates on and that night in Istanbul they knew he could make the difference. Steven’s goal was the moment that changed the dynamic of that game. Everyone was lifted by his reaction to the goal. He started the feeling that the team could come back to win and I felt the momentum change and the reaction of our fans gave us energy after that. Steven is a very complete player, that’s why he’s been able to play in different positions. Against Milan he started in midfield before we moved him up to play as a second striker. With Luis García and Steven playing with freedom between the lines, Milan didn’t know how to stop them. Then in extra-time after Serginho came on Stevie played almost as a full-back. When I think of Istanbul now I think it will go down as the best Champions League final ever in terms of emotion.

5 and 6 July 2005 – Having been courted by Chelsea the previous summer, Gerrard submits a transfer request six weeks after hoisting the European Cup in Istanbul only to withdraw it 24 hours later

José Mourinho, Chelsea manager: We did everything to try to sign him and it was almost there. I was dreaming of Makélélé, Gerrard and Lampard in midfield. We were playing in a proper triangle without a No10 and playing Maka in front of the defenders. Me, Mr Abramovich and Peter Kenyon at that time, we dreamed of that. His people were open to him joining a top side like Chelsea. But to me personally he never said he would come. Never. He was always a red and I think the decision was right.

13 May 2006 – Scores twice, including a 90th-minute equaliser from 30 yards, to salvage a 3-3 draw against West Ham United in the FA Cup final before Liverpool win on penalties

Gerrard fires home Liverpool’s third goal against West Ham in the 2006 FA Cup final. Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images

Neil Mellor: When Paul Konchesky put West Ham back in front I sat there at the Millennium Stadium thinking: ‘How has he scored that?’ It didn’t look as though there was any way back. And then Steven stunned us all. He had been down with cramp a few times before it got to the 90th minute and yet he was still able to unleash a finish like that. If you’re going to win trophies then you need players with the character to deliver in the big games and Steven stands out as the person who has done it time and time again for Liverpool. He has always been there for Liverpool and, to the other players on the pitch with him, has always been an inspirational figure. As a team-mate you want to replicate the desire and passion that he brings onto the pitch. After the Cup final we all flew back from Cardiff and partied in the Alma de Cuba bar in Liverpool, with the FA Cup in the middle of the dance-floor. It was down to him and I am proud to have played with him.

March 2009 – Scores twice on his 100th European appearance as Liverpool beat Real Madrid 4-0 to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the third season in succession. Ends the campaign as the Football Writers’ Association’s Footballer of the Year

Lucas Leiva, Liverpool midfielder: Stevie has been a big player for us many times and Real Madrid was another game when he showed what he is capable of. He prepares the same way for every single game, whether it is Real Madrid in the Champions League or a less important game. The only time that I felt he changed was before the derby with Everton. That was the one time he and Jamie Carragher would be different before kick-off. To me, that was the only time I felt Stevie was anxious before a game. Madrid was a special night. I remember we were all happy when we drew Madrid because we were in a good moment and there was a lot of confidence in the team. We knew that we would give a hard time to every team that came to Anfield and that is exactly what happened. Stevie was probably at his peak at the time, his partnership with Fernando Torres was amazing and a few days after scoring twice against Real he was amazing again when we beat Manchester United 4-1 at Old Trafford. Zinedine Zidane described Stevie as the best player in the world after the Madrid game and he was definitely up there at the time. To score 20 plus goals a season from midfield as he was doing was an incredible tally. He’s always had the quality to change a game and that’s what makes him the best to play for Liverpool. I don’t think you can replace him. It’s not every day you have a player like him. It would be the same for Barcelona if Lionel Messi left. I am going to miss him in every sense. He has been our captain for many years, he is the symbol of Liverpool, a great guy, a great leader and he can still do things that 90% of players cannot do. I wish him all the best and next year Liverpool will carry on. That’s the way football is. Players come and go but the club and the fans will always be there.

27 April 2014 – With Liverpool closing in on their first championship since 1990, and Gerrard playing a starring role in the unexpected challenge, the captain slips against Chelsea and Demba Ba opens the scoring in a 2-0 defeat that blows the title race wide open

A dejected Steven Gerrard after his slip let in Chelsea’s Demba Ba to score. Photograph: Tom Jenkins

Luis Suárez, former Liverpool striker, in his autobiography Crossing the Line: If I had been in Stevie’s shoes, I don’t know if I would have been able to carry on playing. Emotionally, it must have been very, very hard. In the previous weeks, so much had been said about him, the expectation had built so much, the talk had been about him leading Liverpool, his club, to a first title in over 20 years, on the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, in which his cousin had died, and then that happens. The captain, the former youth-teamer, the one-club man, a Scouser born and bred, and he was the unlucky one to make a crucial mistake. He still hadn’t won the league title. Stevie had started to believe, we all had. And now it had been virtually taken away from him and like that, with him slipping against Chelsea. I’m convinced that if Chelsea had not scored like that, they would not have scored at all. And once you are a goal down against them, it’s virtually impossible.

2 January 2015 – Gerrard confirms he will leave Liverpool when his contract expires at the end of the season

Jordan Henderson, Liverpool midfielder: It was a shock to hear that Stevie was going to be leaving at the end of the season. No one had a clue. We’d seen what had been written in the papers about when he was going to renew his contract and everyone thought it would get done eventually but obviously they came to an agreement and Stevie decided it was time for something different. I’m not sure we will get used to him going because he is such a leader of the group and a figurehead, and has been for many years. It was a shock to everyone but especially the players.