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What's sure to be an emotional match against Olympiacos for Steven Gerard is just the herald for yet another achievement yet to come for him: becoming the longest-tenured captain in Liverpool's club history.
Gerrard was first given the armband on October 15, 2003, a European night against Olimpija Ljubljana, a night that saw Liverpool come out at 3-0 victors against the Slovenian side. He was appointed by then-manager Gerard Houllier when the club was floundering a bit, hoping to revitalize the squad in the season that would ultimately end with Houllier resigning from his post.
The era of the man that Gerrard will be taking the title of longest-serving captain from may surprise you. He'll be passing one Alex Raisbeck, who played for Liverpool in the early days of the club's history, from 1898-1909, holding the captaincy for the last ten years of his time on Merseyside. Reading historical accounts of the club from the time makes it sound as though he was a similar player on a whole to our beloved modern skipper: bursting from box to box, active in attack and defense, and full of blood and thunder.
Gerrard took over the captaincy from fellow Kop legend Sami Hyypia, and both were on hand a little over a year later when Gerrard scored THAT goal against Olympiacos.
Thanks to LFCHistory.net for the historical information on Liverpool's captaincy.