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“Whenever I returned home from disappointing England experiences, one unshakable overriding thought pushed itself to the forefront of my mind, no matter how much the nation mourned. ‘At least it wasn’t Liverpool,’ I’d repeat to myself, over and over.
“I’d never bellow out the anthem before a game. I don’t know what message it’s trying to send out. ‘God Save the Queen’ doesn’t get my blood pumping. We sing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ at Anfield and everyone understands it. It’s a rallying cry for standing by one another through thick and thin, wind and rain.”
When Jamie Carragher announced his retirement, this was the first thing which came to my mind, and even now the thought of him not being there in a Liverpool jersey next season, is extremely saddening.
Jamie Carragher was born in Bootle, Merseyside and grew up to be an Everton supporter (he was even a season ticket holder at Goodison Park). Football was what he always wanted to do, and he was snapped up by Liverpool as a nine-year old inductee into their youth system. Growing up, he won the FA Youth Cup and had a dream first full start for the team. Carragher started his first game for Liverpool at home against Villa, and when Stig Inge Bjornebye whipped in a left-footed cross into a packed penalty area from a corner, a certain Jamie Carragher stepped up and slotted the ball perfectly to the left of the keeper into the net. The crowd erupted, the commentator shouted and young Jamie waved his arms in the air in elation. A childhood dream of scoring in front of the Kop had been realized, and for a nineteen-year old Liverpool fan, it does not get bigger than that (although as it turned out, he scored more own goals than goals for Liverpool!).
Years rolled by, and under manager Gerard Houllier, Jamie Carragher became a regular in the team, being an integral part of the 2001-02 cup treble winning squad. He was often employed as a defensive midfielder by Houllier, and although he did well, it was not a position in which he particularly revelled. In came Rafael Benitez, and immediately realized that his true position was in the heart of defence alongside Sami Hyypia. He was slotted in the middle for the 2004-05 season and the rest is history. Jamie was instrumental in helping Liverpool reach all the way to the finals, putting up strong and composed defensive displays in tough away matches against Chelsea and Juventus.
Istanbul was without a doubt Carra’s greatest moment in a Red shirt, not for the glory, but for the commitment and dedication he showed on the pitch that day. Carragher suffered severe cramps towards the end of the second half, and was seen to be in excruciating pain when he fell down on the pitch, unable to take the pain any more. His body might have given up on him, but his mind had not. This was the biggest stage of them all and Carra was certainly not going to let it go by, so after stretching and moving around a bit, he was back on the field again, determined to thwart Shevchenko and co. in their attempts for another goal.
A few seconds later, he stretched out again despite the searing pain.
“As I did so, it seemed as though the whole world was wincing on my behalf, appreciating the physical torment I was enduring. I hadn’t thought twice about throwing my body in the way, whatever grief it was going to cause me for a few seconds was nothing compared to how I’d have felt had I hesitated and watched him score.
“Courage, character, grit, willpower and raw strength – these are the virtues people have installed into me since I was seven years old. The strikers can have their winning goals, the goalkeepers their career-defining saves. A series of lunging tackles on a Milan strike force will be my fondest personal memories of a life in football.”
The following summer, there was intense media speculation regarding Steven Gerrard’s future, and at one time it seemed he was ready to sign on the dotted line for Chelsea. But late one night, it was another Scouse son who went to Gerrard’s place and convinced him to stay and fight for the people he loved and for the club he cared for. Gerrard signed the next morning and Liverpool’s famous duo continued to give their best for the club, winning a thrilling FA Cup final the next year against West Ham.
Jamie Carragher was never the fastest on the field, nor was he the strongest in the air, but he was a player who wore Liverpool FC on his sleeve each time he pulled on the red shirt. His commitment, focus and preparation for each game was a testament to his responsibility towards the club. He only ever played for Liverpool through his entire career as a footballer because he only ever wanted to play for Liverpool. He was the type of player you wanted in your team for those intense and crunch derby games against Everton or Manchester United, because of the impetus his vocal chanting provided the team. There are lions, there are tigers and then there is a certain Jamie Carragher, someone who embodies everything right about the club, someone who you could always bank on, someone who you will always remember for the loyalty and love for the club.
LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 16: (THE SUN OUT) Jamie Carragher of Liverpool wears a bandage around his head after clashing heads with teammate Martin Skrtel whilst going up for a header during the Barclays Premier league match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at White Hart Lane on August 16, 2009 in London, England.
It’s going to be a very emotional end to this season for us Reds, and deep down, I hope he scores a headed winning goal in front of the Kop in the last league game of the season and then takes his bow after successfully guiding us to the Champions League. Stuff of dreams, you say? Well, ‘We all dream of a team of Carraghers, We all dream of a team of Carraghers!’
Sky Sports reporter Geoff Shreeves interviewed Carragher prior to a Merseyside Derby in 2005. The pair laughed and joked about how once upon a time Carra was a striker who supported Everton and now he was playing centre-back for Liverpool.
Then the conversation shifted its focus to more pressing matters and to whether Jamie would like to spend the rest of his career at Anfield: “Of course I would,” was Carra’s response.
Shreeves: I think, perhaps, there were a few scratching their heads in the media because, as you say you’re 26/27, in the prime of your career and you could possibly go to a bigger club where there’s a chance of winning more medals…
Carragher: Well, who’s bigger than Liverpool?
Shreeves: You don’t think there’s anybody any bigger?
Carragher: What? Bigger? Normally? Or…What?
Shreeves: You could go to a club where there’s likely to be more chance of medals next season?
Carragher: No, nah, I’m not accepting that.
