CARSON, Calif. – Much of the buzz surrounding Sunday's marquee encounter at StubHub Center between the LA Galaxy and New York City FC (3 pm, ESPN) has been about Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard squaring off for the first time in Major League Soccer.
The legendary midfielders are the iconic English players of their generation, with a rivalry dating to last century and an often uneasy partnership with England's national team for nearly as long.
There are other huge names involved in the first meeting between the clubs – Robbie Keane and Giovani Dos Santos for LA, David Villa and Andrea Pirlo for NYCFC – but most of the spice in the buildup concerns the Englishmen.
“I'm sure Frank agrees, it's slightly embarrassing to have all the focus on you when its LA Galaxy v New York,” said Gerrard, the Liverpool FC legend who has been a huge boost to the Galaxy since debuting last month. “It's all about the game and the three points – I'm sure he would agree. But we understand it. We've played together for so many years and we've also been rivals, Liverpool v Chelsea, so we understand that element of it as well.”
Gerrard, 35, and Lampard, 37, faced off 33 times in England, with Lampard – playing first for West Ham United and from 2001 with Chelsea – with a superior 15-11-7 mark. Gerrard spent his entire English career with his hometown club, and they didn't meet last season, when Lampard played for Manchester City.
“It's real,” Gerrard said when asked if the rivalry was personal. “When that whistle goes for 90 minutes, when we're competing against each other, it's war. We fight against each other, we always have, [and] when the whistle blows to finish, there's a mutual respect there, and we've always got on off the pitch, regardless of what other people say.
“If he plays [Sunday] from the beginning, or he comes on [as a substitute], we become enemies, and when the game's over, we become friends again.”
They're both attacking central midfielders, among the best ever to play the game, and debate has existed for years about who is superior. They offer different qualities.
“Frank Lampard is like a No. 10, really,” said Keane, who played nearly 14 years in England and was Gerrard's teammate at Liverpool in 2008. “If you look at the way he kind of played over a period of his career, over the whole of his career, he's always played in three in midfield where he's kind of had that license to go forward and play off the No. 9, if you like.
“Stevie can play in front of the back four, he can play as the No. 10, he can play with two in the middle of the park. In that respect, they're different, but in terms of the two of them scoring goals, they're obviously very, very similar, because the two of them scored a lot of goals in their career.”
Keane said he “definitely wouldn't argue with” the idea that Gerrard and Lampard are the finest English players of their generation.
Lampard scored 259 goals in 884 games over 20 seasons (in all competitions) in England, and tallied 29 goals in 106 international games. Gerrard, a former England captain, netted 186 in 708 games over 17 seasons and scored 21 in 114 appearances for the national team. Both played in the 2006, 2010 and 2014 World Cups.
Gerrard praised Lampard as a “phenomenal goalscorer from midfield.”
“I'm a huge fan of Frank,” he said. “When you play in the same position as the guy, I admire him even more. 'Cause I understand how difficult it is to get goals from midfield. I've got nothing but respect and admiration for him as a player.”
Lampard told BBC Sport that the rivalry with Gerrard was “different now.”
“We had many rivalries over the years with Liverpool and Chelsea, and it was intense,” he said. “It will be no different, the fact we want to win badly. When we step on the pitch, we are both winners, both want to win, and we're both bad losers, so that won't change.”
Gerrard was asked if the rivalry had mellowed with age.
“When we both retire, I'm sure it will mellow,” he said. “It mellows when we're not playing against each other, of course, but we're both winners, we're both professional, and he's coming into town for three points and I want the three points to stay here. So that's where the rivalry begins.”
