Unite Legend Michael owen has debate over who was the best among Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes rages on to this day but Ballon d’Or winner Michael Owen, who played with all three, believes Gerrard was on a ‘different level’ compared to his international teammates.
“If you watch Scholesy in training, your tongue is hanging out,” he told Jamie Carragher on ‘The Greatest Game’ podcast.
“He can give you the eyes, you can think he’s heading it that way and he’ll almost do a reverse spinner off the other side of his head. He can drop a ball on a sixpence. He is just total and utter genius.
“But there’s that and there’s the actual practicalities of playing on a big pitch where you need size, strength, substance, running ability, all these things. “And if you play one v one, you against you, Stevie against any of the names that you’ve played, I think he would eat them for dinner. “Someone like Scholesy obviously had different attributes. I mean, unbelievable the way he changed his game from being a bombing midfielder scoring to a quarterback. Total genius.
“Frank Lampard, who can question his goalscoring and how he got every ounce out of his ability? “But to me, Stevie’s on a different level than anything I’ve seen or played with and as you’ve said, I’m not blowing smoke up my a***, I’ve played with some great Man United players, Liverpool players, Real Madrid, England. Put it this way.
“If I’m saying tomorrow rewind the clock, you’re going into battle now, you’re playing in the Champions League final, who’s your first pick? I’d have Steven Gerrard as my first pick out of anyone.”
Lampard, Gerrard, all of them are not in their playing days anymore but now they can compete on another level. Gerrard, who is currently managing Rangers in the Scottish Premiership, will be hoping to put an end to Celtic’s dominance on the domestic throne come the end of the season. Meanwhile, a top-four finish in the Premier League will be a massive achievement for Lampard in his first season as a manager at the highest level.