Stephen “Steve” Charles McManaman is one of the most successful English footballers of the turn of the nineties and two thousandths, playing for the clubs Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester City. According to the official website of the English Football Premier League, he is still the only English player to win the UEFA Champions League twice, representing a foreign club.
Carier start
Steve was born on February 11, 1972 in Liverpool. At an early age, he studied at Everton Football School and was his biggest fan. But when the boy was 14 years old, he was spotted by the Liverpool scouts and lured into his youth system. After going through the entire youth soccer system at Liverpool, he was spotted by Kenny Dalglish, the team’s head coach at the time. He appreciated the promising player and his efforts, calling in the first team. In the 90s of the last century, Steve McManaman was one of the most promising English football players, who also included the notorious Paul Ince, Robbie Fowler, Jamie Redknapp, Stan Collimore and David James.
"Liverpool"
According to experts, at Anfield, Steve had no equal both among rivals and among partners. Already in 1992, under the leadership of Graham Sunness, Steve McManaman won the FA Cup, and in 1995 already under the leadership of Roy Evans - the English League Cup. Already in his first professional season in 1991-1992 he managed to create an effective midfield line with Dean Saunders and Ian Rush, with whom he became one of the main creators of the Liverpool victory in the FA Cup in 1992. In the 1995 English League Cup final game, he scored two goals and became the hero of the match. McManaman was considered, along with Ryan Giggs, one of the best young flanking players in English football of the 90s.
In all competitions, Steve McManaman (photo of the last English match for the club can be seen above) played 274 official matches and scored 46 goals for Liverpool, becoming the favorite of Anfield and one of the most popular players of his time.
"Real Madrid"
In 1999, Steve moved to Real Madrid. McManaman was just the second English player after Laurie Cunningham, who played in the 80s, who defended the creamy colors of the “royal” club. At the time of the transition, he was the most famous Englishman in the Spanish Example along with Gary Lineker, who played for the Catalan Barcelona. Steve quickly found his game at Real Madrid, and at the Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid club fans gave the player the nickname El Macca. McManaman played in the 2002 Champions League final under the leadership of Vicente del Bosque. In this match at the Stade de France, Steve McManaman, whose biography does not remember such significant matches, was able to impress everyone with exceptional performance, among other things, scoring a goal with a beautiful direct shot. In this final, Steve was recognized as the best player of the match. After that, McManaman claimed a place at the base of the “creamy” and won with them La Liga in the 2000-2001 season.
Nevertheless, McManaman’s time in Real Madrid did not last long. World-class stars such as Luis Figo in 2000, Zinedine Zidane in 2001 and Ronaldo in 2002 came to the club. At that time, Florentino Perez, president of the “royal” club, decided to gather absolutely all the best players in the team, for which his team was nicknamed “galacticos”, which did not prevent Steve from winning the fight for a place in the squad. But after winning the 2002 Champions League, McManaman began to be chased by injuries. Steve always showed perseverance and perseverance, for which he received the support and recognition of the public. The club management, including Florentino Perez, noted that Steve McManaman is a football player who always has a place in the team. However, after a long recovery from a series of protracted injuries, the Englishman left the location of Real Madrid.
The midfielder for all the time in the composition of Madrid had 94 matches, scoring 8 goals. English experts still call him the best Englishman who played for a foreign team.
"Manchester city"
The transition of David Beckham to Real Madrid finally put an end to Steve's career in this team. In 2003, he, like his partners in the Makelele club, Hierro, and later Morientes, moved to the English Premier League, where McManaman joined Manchester City, who was playing at that time under the leadership of Kevin Keegan, who, as he claimed himself, was a fan of Steve. In Manchester, he again met numerous former teammates, such as Robbie Fowler, Nicolas Anelka, David Seaman, and later David James. However, the time spent in Manchester City was a big disappointment for the midfielder. He barely played two seasons, after which, due to constant injuries, he completed his professional career as a football player.
Over the past two years, in professional football, McManaman has been a member of the “townspeople” in 38 matches without scoring a single goal. On May 20, 2005, he ended his playing career.
England team
Having played two years for the England national team in an age category not older than 21 years old, McManaman was called up in 1994 to the main team. During the game at Euro 1996, held in England, he held a very good tournament, but his team could not be won. He was even named Pele the best player in the championship. Together with David Seaman and Alan Shearer, Steve McManaman was included in the symbolic team of the tournament and won the prize of the best player of the tournament.
Under the guidance of trainer Glenn Hoddle, he played at the 1998 World Cup in France, as well as Euro 2000 in the Netherlands and Belgium, when Kevin Keegan used it only once. Steve played his last international match in 2001 under the leadership of Sven-Goran Ericsson, who did not end up taking him to the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.
TV expert
Steve McManaman, whose personal life immediately went uphill after completing his career, did not lose time in a professional way, and began to work as a commentator and expert in various English media. For the British ITV channel, he analyzed the 2005 Champions League final. Currently, Steve McManaman works in the British and American divisions of ESPN channels as a commentator and specialist in the English Premier League, FA Cup and American League.