Everyone was gathered around the television, marveling at the spectacular scene, but Gerrard sat alone on the periphery.

The previous night, at the final pre-match tactical meeting, head coach Martin O'Neill had announced the starting lineup, and Gerrard, as the team captain, was not among them.

He was shocked, and so were his teammates.

In the previous game, Gerrard had come on as a substitute and showed no physical problems, proving that his body was up to the task.

But O'Neill had still benched him.

In such an important match, being the team captain and unable to start was a heavy blow for Gerrard. Why had he worked so hard to recover? Wasn't it to make it to the final against Manchester United?

This season, they were going to give the league title to vice-captain Carragher as a farewell gift. He himself also desperately wanted the title. That was why he didn't want to miss such a crucial game.

But now, the coach had arranged for him to sit on the bench.

After the tactical meeting, he had wanted to talk to the coach to get a reasonable explanation, but O'Neill had approached him first.

O'Neill told Gerrard everything he was thinking.

Letting Gerrard start on the bench wasn't because he didn't trust Gerrard's fitness, but as a "pretend to be weak to deceive the enemy" tactic.

He wanted to further lull Manchester United into a false sense of security. With Chen Hero in "poor form," and the captain sitting on the bench, Manchester United would likely be even more complacent.

Then, in the second half, when the time was right, Gerrard would be sent onto the field to catch Manchester United off guard and deliver a fatal blow!

That was Martin O'Neill's idea.

The reasoning was logical. Strategically, coming on in the second half would not only ensure sufficient stamina but also be unexpected.

Gerrard accepted the manager's explanation, but one thought lingered in his mind, even now.

It was that, in the team's most crucial moments, he seemed to be gradually losing his importance. The team no longer needed him, but Chen Hero…

Who was it that had always stepped up to save Liverpool from danger, from the brink of disaster?

It was Steven Gerrard.

In Istanbul in 2005, he had scored Liverpool's first goal in that epic comeback, sounding the charge for Liverpool's counterattack.

In the 2006 FA Cup final, with Liverpool trailing West Ham United by two goals, Gerrard again stood up and twice helped the team equalize. Especially when the game entered the 90th minute, and everyone thought West Ham United would lift the FA Cup and go home, Gerrard unleashed an almost forty-meter thunderbolt from outside the box to level the score.

In the end, Liverpool defeated a mentally broken West Ham United in the penalty shootout.

The common thread in these two games was that Liverpool had been behind by two or three goals, then mounted a comeback, dragging the game into extra time and penalty shootouts, where Liverpool's opponents invariably suffered a mental collapse.

Liverpool's spirit had always been a source of pride, and Gerrard was the embodiment of that spirit, rescuing the team from danger time and time again.

But now, the team didn't need him to rescue them anymore. The team had a new savior.

Although Gerrard had long prepared himself for the reality that no matter how great he was, he would eventually grow old. He would go from being an absolute cornerstone to a player who could be rotated, then from a player who could be rotated to a substitute, and finally from a substitute to retirement… If he wasn't willing to accept this arrangement, he would have to choose to retire before becoming a substitute.

As for leaving Liverpool to seek opportunities elsewhere? He hadn't considered that since lifting his fifth Champions League trophy for the team. He would definitely retire at Liverpool.

But as this reality began to unfold before him, Gerrard realized that he wasn't as strong as he thought he was, and he couldn't accept this outcome with equanimity.

He felt lost, and for the first time, he felt that the team no longer needed him, that he had become superfluous…

Having been the core of Liverpool for over a decade, he couldn't accept this reality all of a sudden.

He felt a sense of bitterness in his heart.

But he was the captain. He couldn't go around telling people about it, because that would damage his image in the eyes of his teammates and make him seem weak. If that happened, when the team needed him, his teammates probably wouldn't trust him as much as before.

Also, before such an important game, he couldn't spread such negative emotions, let alone have a big fight with the manager. Internal strife was the most terrible disaster. That was why he had agreed to be a substitute without saying a word after hearing the manager's explanation yesterday.

The team's interests were above personal interests, and the name on the front of the shirt was always more important than the name on the back.

Gerrard was a traditional English player, and he understood this principle very well.

Now, he could only sit alone on the periphery, not letting anyone disturb him.

Just then, someone appeared beside him.

Jamie Carragher plopped down next to him.

"When Hero told me he was going to give me a league title, I thought he was just comforting me, not wanting this old guy to be too sad and to be able to leave more easily. Now it seems I was wrong, he really intends to win a league title." After sitting down, Carragher looked at the teammates watching the TV, Chen Hero standing out among them.

"Hero is capable of it, Jamie." Gerrard saw someone coming and quickly adjusted his mood, putting on a smile. "We knew that from the moment he arrived at Liverpool, didn't we? Otherwise, why would 'King' have done everything to keep him?"

"I really hope he can stay here until he retires… and take over your role." Carragher turned to look at his old partner.

"Isn't he doing that already?" Gerrard retorted, not avoiding Carragher's gaze.

Carragher turned his head back to look at Chen Hero, then sighed. "I'm really getting old. Sometimes you have to admit that your body isn't what it used to be…"

"But you've done a great job this half-season, Jamie. You've exceeded expectations."

"I know my own body, Stephen. Actually, retirement isn't a big deal for me. It just means I won't be playing football anymore, what's the big deal? I'll continue to work at Liverpool, Manager Niang has promised to arrange a position for me in the coaching staff, I plan to start as a youth coach. If you miss me, you can come find me at the youth team, ha!" Carragher said, laughing.

Gerrard didn't laugh with him, and a silence seemed to fall between them.

Carragher spoke again, this time his voice a little lower. "When I decided to retire, it took me less than a half to make the decision, but I struggled a lot in my heart. I kept asking myself, if I don't retire, if I keep going, what contribution can I make to the team next season, the season after that? Most of the time I'll be sitting on the bench, occasionally coming on. I think more of my work might be in the locker room rather than on the pitch. I felt unwilling, I felt like I could still last a few years… but then I figured it out, everyone goes through that stage, there's nothing to be unwilling about. When I first joined the first team, I was just a kid who didn't know anything, and we later took the places of those big guys in the team… like Paul Ince, like Jamie Redknapp. Remember Rush? The season I joined the first team was his last season at Liverpool. Actually, Rush, who had been so invincible for several seasons, hadn't been scoring much, I remember in '92 he only played sixteen league games due to injury, scoring two goals… and in that last season, he played about twenty league games? Scoring only five goals… if I remember correctly. At that time, I thought, such a great player couldn't resist the erosion of time, I think my ending will definitely be worse than his…"

Here, Carragher paused. "But, thanks to Hero and the others, and thank you, Stephen. My last season was so glorious and successful. I'm much luckier than Rush, and you…" He turned to look at Gerrard. "I believe you will be even luckier than me, Stephen."

After saying that, he stopped talking, just turned his head and looked up, his gaze passing through the standing teammates and onto the TV screen.

After a while, he heard Gerrard next to him say, "Thank you, Jamie."

He said, "Hmm."

※※※

When it was time to board the bus, Stephen Gerrard was the first to stand up, clapping his hands to remind his teammates.

"Let's go! Let's go! Guys, what's the point of just watching on TV? Let's go to the stadium!"

Hearing the captain's energetic and fighting voice, everyone turned to look at him.

Martin O'Neill was also attracted by Gerrard's voice. He knew that Gerrard was unhappy after being arranged as a substitute, but for the overall benefit of the team, putting the big picture first, he had endured it. But his mood had remained low.

Now, seeing him like this, there wasn't the slightest trace of low spirits.

O'Neill didn't know what had happened, but he was happy with this outcome.

If Gerrard's emotions were unstable, it would inevitably bring instability to the team as well.

In such a crucial game, not even a trace of instability was allowed, because it was like a faulty time bomb, and no one knew when it would explode.