Speak to anyone who saw Steven Gerrard in action during his Liverpool academy days and it's clear he was always captaincy material.
The dynamism and personality which made him one of the finest players of his global generation, let alone just for Liverpool and England, was evident right from his schoolboy performances.
Even when he broke into the Liverpool side as an 18-year-old, his maturity and leadership immediately stood out in an admittedly poor side, his first Anfield start in a December 1998 UEFA Cup tie against Celta Vigo seeing him show up his supposed elders and betters as the Reds crashed out of Europe to the Spanish minnows.
Gerrard always seemed destined to wear the Reds armband and he did of course with great distinction, lifting the European Cup in Istanbul in 2005 after an astonishing personal performance which saw him play in the three different positions during the game as well the FA Cup following another masterclass the following year and the League Cup in 2012.
He went on to captain Liverpool more than any other player in the club's history, his total of 472 games as skipper being comfortably more than Ron Yeats with 416 and Emlyn Hughes with 337
And it was 17 years ago this week that he did so for the first time, his succession to the armband giving him and everyone involved with Liverpool a lift just at the time they needed it most.
Gerrard himself has often spoken about what a profoud influence Gerard Houllier had on his career, the French manager giving him his first team debut at 18 in 1998 and helping his game flourish to such an extent he was named PFA Young Player of the Year three years later as helped the Reds to an unprecedented treble of cup triumphs.
But by the autumn of 2003 Houllier's Liverpool reign was beginning to circle the drain and it would prove to be his last season in charge at Anfield.
After steady progress since his arrival in the summer of 1998, the previous season had seen the Reds harbouring genuine title aspirations after a second place finish the previous campaign but having led the table in early November, defeat at Middlesbrough sparked a dreadful run of 11 matches without a win and they would ultimately miss out on Champions League qualification after a final day defeat at Chelsea.
The Londoners - taken over during the summer by Roman Abramovich - won at Anfield on the opening day of 2003/04 and by the time the October international break arrived, the Reds had lost another two Premier League matches to Charlton Athletic and Arsenal and were languishing in eighth.
Houllier decided the time was right to make a change and opted to take the captaincy off Sami Hyypia who had been suffering a sustained lapse in form and hand it to his 23-year-old midfield dynamo.
Gerrard's first official match with the armband was a UEFA Cup first round second leg tie against Olimpija Ljubljana at Anfield and the Huyton-born midfielder later admitted it was one of the most memorable moments of his career.
He said: "I was captain of my school side and I used to go along to Anfield to watch the team.
"I used to watch Barnes with the captain's armband and dream that one day it would be me captaining the team I love.”
Houllier said it was reward for the growing maturity and leadership qualities shown by the Scouse midfielder:"I have thought long and hard about this. This is not something which should be seen as against Sami. He has been a good captain for us.
"I think Stevie has certain leadership qualities which I spotted very early in his career. When he was young, all he needed was time to mature. Now he is 23 and he is ready. There has been a maturing in his game and his personality."
Having drawn the first leg 1-1 in Slovenia, Liverpool got Gerrard's captaincy off to winning start with goals from French youngster Anthony Le Tallec on his full Anfield debut, Emile Heskey and Harry Kewell securing safe passage to the next round.
In truth, it still proved to be a difficult season with Liverpool never threatening to play any part in the title race and only securing Champions League qualification late on after Newcastle blew the lead they had over the Reds for fourth spot.
But after suffering a slump in form the season before, party induced by injuries, Gerrard rose to the challenge of extra responsibility and his tough induction served him well the following campaign when he inspirationally led the Reds all the way to Istanbul and Champions League glory.
