IT appeared to be a harmless prank at the time.
But a five-year-old playing a trick on Steven Gerrard lived long in the memory of the former Liverpool legend.
The incident saw a blue-haired Chelsea-mad Jake Nickless offer to shake Gerrard’s hand before withdrawing it and leaving Gerrard hanging.
The clip was immortalised by Sky Sports and became one of the earliest viral YouTube football clips – going on to be watched by millions.
And Gerrard would go on to write about the incident three years later in his 2009 autobiography “My Captains Book”.
The midfielder wrote: “If it was an adult I would have wanted to wring their neck!”
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Instead, the former Liverpool captain was all smiles at the time, and would even go on to ruffle the cheeky youngster’s blue hair.
Gerrard went on to say in his autobiography that it is the only time he remembers chuckling to himself in a pre-match tunnel, as he preferred approaching games with a stoic steely-faced determination.
Whether the prank played any part in Chelsea going on to win the game 2-0 that day thanks to goals from William Gallas and Hernan Crespo remains unclear.
But what many don’t know is that Nickless would go on to have a football career of his own one day.
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Nickless would sign for National League South team Billericay Town in 2020, playing under none other than former Spurs and Hull midfielder Jamie O’Hara.
When O’Hara signed the then 20-year-old prankster he said: “He’s a good little player. He’s decent, left footed and can score a goal.”
He also made it clear that he was aware of his prankster history, saying: “It’s mad to think he was so small, it feels like yesterday. I remember laughing myself at it.
“I put it on our group chat and said boys get on this! That lad on trial with us, that’s him. They were having a giggle about it.”
“They all remember it as an iconic moment in the Premier League but I don’t think Gerrard will be coming down to watch us that’s for sure!”
Speaking about the prank to SportBible after signing for Bilericay, Nickless said: “I remember my dad putting me up to it.
“I kept saying I wasn’t going to do it and I think he eventually believed it, so he stopped.
“But in the moment I was just excited and thought why not. I knew the game was also on TV and loads of people were watching, so I just provided a bit of entertainment.”
Jake said while Gerrard didn’t appreciate it, the Chelsea players did.
“Me and Gerrard actually didn’t speak at all, All I said was “Gerrard!” to get his attention.
“I remember Claude Makelele and Michael Essien laughing as it happened, and John Terry gave me a pat on the head afterwards, when I walked back to hold his hand.
“I think everyone found it funny…apart from Stevie G.”
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Nickless would go on to make two appearances for Billericay.
He also had non-league spells with Harlow Town and Tillbury FC but it is unclear as to whether he is still playing football now.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
