The Everton manager prefers discretion on this particular matter, but there is no doubt that the competitive rivalry that existed between the two outstanding midfielders in their playing days will resurface at Villa Park on Saturday. Gerrard and Lampard meet for the first time as managers with both looking for their first points of the new Premier League season. Where it was once Liverpool v Chelsea or contending for a place with England, it is Aston Villa v Everton that now fuels the competition and with added responsibility. But Lampard insists: “The media portrayal was not that accurate, I was never really against him. For a large part of our careers we didn’t see each other much. For England, yeah, then you go back to your clubs and you’re competitive, and there’s just an undercurrent. That was it and we both respected that. As we matured a bit, we got a bit closer, as you do, and then we both worked in the media and spent some time together. We worked together in the final of the World Cup and the Champions League [in 2018] And I was just about to go to Derby and he was getting into it and Rangers, and we talked about it, but not that much. “Every job is different, every job is consuming and so we didn’t dwell on it too much. I spoke to him when I came in here because I wanted to get his opinion on Nathan Patterson [the former Rangers defender]. I respect Stevie’s opinion on what he thinks about football and in general. I wish him the best because I know the demands of the job and I hope he does well there.” Lampard won 106 caps for England, scoring 29 goals, with Gerrard collecting 114 caps and scoring 21 times for his country. Apart from the ongoing taxi debate over who was better, their time on the international stage has been dominated by the question of whether the two could recreate their club form playing together. The Everton manager believes Sven-Goran Eriksson, Steve McClaren and Fabio Capello should have made the question unnecessary by playing a midfield three with Paul Scholes or Michael Carrick in between. Start your evenings with the Guardian’s view of the world of football Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “I always believed that, even when I was playing for England, because especially in tournament football we were more in midfield,” Lampard admits. “You always have to take responsibility for yourself first, so I’m not talking about Stevie, but when you’re outnumbered at the highest level like the World Cup, then it’s difficult to control games. I think that was only part of the puzzle to be fair.” The 44-year-old would measure himself against the performances of Gerrard and other midfielders despite his successes with Chelsea. “It wasn’t just me and Stevie, I was competitive as a player,” he explains. “When other midfielders scored goals, my eyes went up, I was like that. When I was growing up my dad called it professional jealousy. Not bad if sharpened in the right direction. But that’s in your younger years. As you get older you just respect a player of Steven’s level. He was just an incredibly high level player. And we were different. I don’t think there is any point in this discussion [who was better]especially now we have collected them. “I think myself, Steven and Scholesy was the other one. We were all different and I think we can all be very happy with the career we had.” It could have been a different career, certainly for Gerrard and to some extent Lampard, had Jose Mourinho managed to lure the then Liverpool captain to Stamford Bridge in 2005. The two would have played in a midfield three with Claude Makelele as captain. “That would be good, wouldn’t it?” Lampard reflects with a smile. “I think it worked well for me and Stevie in our own way. We ended up being one club people pretty much our career and I think that was the right story. It could have been good in another world.”
