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"Liverpool manager believes his captain's international curtain-calling is excellent news for the club.  &amp;nbsp; #494727815 / gettyimages.com  Influential Liverpool midfielder and leader Steven Gerrard, 34, sought the counsel of manager Brendan Rodgers over his decision to leave the England set-up on a permanent basis, calling an end to an international career that spanned 14 years and 114 appearances, in order to best preserve himself for club-level competition. \"I'd spent a lot of time talking to Steven on it, because I know how much it means to him to captain his country,\" said Rodgers at Fenway Park yesterday, Tuesday, as quoted by the club's official website. Gerrard represented his nation at three World Cup tournaments, scored in the highlight-reel 5-1 drubbing of Germany in the Olympiastadion in 2001 and captained his country 38 times. SEE ALSO: Ex England boss hints Gerrard is on decline and rebuild around Rooney\"He has been a wonderful captain,\" noted Rodgers. \"But Liverpool is everything to him and there's certainly no doubt that by missing out on international football, it will make him fresher,\" the Northern Irishman added as the Anfield club gear toward a campaign that will see them campaign on four fronts. \"He'll be ready to be at his optimum level as often as he possibly can. For us at Liverpool, it's great. It brings an end to what has been a great career for England.\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2014/07/23/brendan-rodgers-reacts-to-steven-gerrards-retirement-from-englan/>