Former England captain Steven Gerrard has said that the team's "golden generation" failed to win anything because it lacked team spirit and the players were "selfish losers".
Gerrard played 114 games and scored 21 goals for England between 2000 and 2014, but did not win a single trophy. He belongs to the so-called "golden generation", along with David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Wayne Rooney, Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and others.
Gerrard highlighted the problem of players from clubs joining together in Rio Ferdinand's podcast, which prevented them from being united in the national team.
"We were all egotistical losers. I watch TV and I see Jamie Carragher sitting next to Paul Scholes and they look like they've been best friends for 20 years. And I see Carragher's relationship with Gary Neville and they look like they've been friends for 20 years. I'm probably closer and friendlier with you (Ferdinand) now than I was when we played for 15 years for England," Gerrard said, according to Sky.
"Why didn't we connect when we were 20, 21, 22, 23? Was it because of ego? Was it a rivalry? It was because of the culture in England. We weren't friends, we weren't connected. We weren't a team. We never, in any competition, became a really good, strong team," added the former Liverpool captain.
He pointed out that he didn't like the atmosphere in the national team.
"I hated it. I didn't enjoy it. I hated hotel rooms. There was no social media, we didn't have a DVD player or anything. Channels one to five on the TV, whatever it was. I was depressed. I loved the games. I loved playing for England. I was really proud. I enjoyed training, but it was 90 minutes a day. And then I was alone," he said.
"I didn't feel like I was part of the team. I didn't feel a connection with my England teammates," added Gerrard, who is considered one of the best players in Liverpool's history.
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