James "Jamie" Carragher (born 28 January 1978 in Bootle, Merseyside) is English footballer playing his club football at Liverpool where he is at present vice-captain, behind teammate and fellow Liverpudlian Steven Gerrard. He is considered by many, including famous Franco Baresi, to be the best defender in Europe but is probably the most underrated player at his position [citation needed].
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Lee Duncan Carragher | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 76 kg | ||
| Position(s) | Centre Back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Liverpool | ||
| Number | 23 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 March 2007 | |||
Although he grew up as a fan of Liverpool's local rivals Everton, his determination and attitude on the pitch, his humble nature off it and his professionalism has forever endeared him to the Liverpool faithful. This was demonstrated when he was voted seventh in Liverpoolfc.tv's "100 Players Who Shook The Kop"[1], the highest placed defender on the list. Liverpool fans also regularly sing "We All Dream Of A Team Of Carraghers" to the tune of The Beatles' Yellow Submarine at home and away matches. Carragher, in return, quipped that such a team would not score many goals. Liverpool fans also have a banner saying "CARRAGHER: probably the best Scouser in the world", a parody of Liverpool's long time sponsor Carlsberg's slogan. He is considered as well to be the toughest and the most responsible defender in the world by Milika Lekovic and Nikola Mitrovic (of Bojovice).
One of the longest-serving players of the club, Carragher has made over 400 first team appearances for Liverpool, more than any other player in the current Liverpool squad and only the 24th Liverpool player in the club's history to do so. He is now settled in the heart of the defence under Rafael Benitez though previous manager Gérard Houllier preferred to use him as a full-back.
On Saturday 20 January2007, Jamie Carragher played in his 450th game for Liverpool (in all competitions) and was offered a testimonial by the club to commemorate 10 years of service. During this match, Jamie won man of the match and kept the defensive backline watertight against the defending champions Chelsea.
Carragher's versatility, although one of his undoubted strengths, could be argued to have been to the detriment of his international career. He retired from international football at the age of 29 with 34 caps, despite not having started an England international at centre-back.
Club career
As a talented youngster Carragher attended the former FA school of excellence in Lilleshall and was a member of Liverpool's FA Youth Cup winning team in 1996 — a side that also contained his good friend Michael Owen.
He signed a professional contract in October 1996 and then made his first team début three months later in the second leg of the Coca Cola Cup semi-final against Middlesbrough, coming on as a substitute for Rob Jones. Next came his Premiership debut, again coming on a substitute, against West Ham. He then started the next game against Aston Villa and marked the occasion with his first goal, scored in front of the Kop.
By the following season Carragher was a regular in the first team squad and by the 1998–99 campaign was considered a player of real promise - which led to his first full international cap towards the end of the season.
Throughout his early years he was essentially used as a utility player, spending time as a centre-half, right and left full-back and defensive midfield. Because of this he would be deployed to fill in wherever there was a hole, ultimately harming his ability to hold down a first team position of his own. In 1999–00 he played mainly as a right-back, then in 2000–2001 he made the left-back position his own. By this time Carragher had become a firm fans' favourite for his determination, and "no-nonsense" style of defending.
He hit the headlines in January 2002 during an FA Cup tie against Arsenal. A coin was thrown from the crowd, and Carragher inexplicably threw it back into the fans. He earned a red card and a disrepute charge from The Football Association. Carragher then missed out on the 2002 FIFA World Cup as he needed an operation on his troublesome knee, which was also expected to keep him out of the first two months of the 2002–03 season.
By this time Carragher was back playing on the right following the signing of John Arne Riise. In summer 2003 it seemed that he might struggle to hold down a first team place, as the more attacking Steve Finnan was signed from Fulham to give the team a better balance. However, this battle for the right-back spot never came into fruition. A tackle by Blackburn's Lucas Neill (now at West Ham) at Ewood Park in the Reds' fifth game of the season left Carragher out of the game for six months with a broken leg, and sparked a war of words between Gérard Houllier and Blackburn manager Graeme Souness after Neill and his manager failed to apologise for the tackle. In the second half of the season, he made a terrific comeback making 24 further appearances.
The 2004–05 season was a career defining one for Carragher. New manager Rafael Benítez moved him to centre-half where he managed 56 appearances alongside Sami Hyypiä, forming what became one of the best central defensive partnerships in Europe. Carragher finally shrugged off the utility tag and established himself as a centre half of true international quality. Carragher's strength, positioning and never-say-die attitude proved instrumental in Liverpool winning the 2005 UEFA Champions League. One of the most memorable moments of the match was when Carragher made two vital last ditch intercept into extra time whilst suffering from cramp. Carragher was voted as Liverpool's player of the year at the end of the campaign.
On 8 July2005, he signed a new four year contract with Liverpool FC alongside his friend and teammate, Steven Gerrard. On 26 July 2005 during the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round first leg, he scored his first goal in six years, and his third ever, in the 3–1 victory against Lithuanian champions FBK Kaunas. On August 262005, he lifted the UEFA Super Cup when Liverpool won against CSKA Moscow in Monte Carlo as captain instead of the injured Steven Gerrard.
On 13 May2006, Carragher played in the FA Cup final against West Ham. It was his tenth final in ten years of club football. In the 21st minute, Carragher rolled the ball into his own net after a strong cross from the Irons' full-back Lionel Scaloni got caught under his own feet. Despite this Liverpool went on to win 3–1 on penalties after the match finished 3–3 after extra-time.
On 9 December2006, Carragher scored his first league goal since January 1999, in a match against Fulham at Anfield. His central defence partner Agger flicked the ball on from a corner, and Carragher slid the ball under Fulham keeper Jan Lastuvka at the far post, sparking wild scenes of celebration that displayed the Kop's admiration for the player.
In Liverpool's Champions League semi-final second leg against Chelsea on 1 May 2007, Carragher set a record for the most appearances in European competition for the club. His 90th European match took him past Ian Callaghan's 89 matches between 1964 and 1978[2]. After this match he was also named Man of the Match for his outstanding display despite suffering with cramp. Carragher was voted as Liverpool's Player of the Year for the 2006-07 season by the fans.
On 4 June2007, it was announced that Carragher along with team mate Steven Gerrard had agreed deals with Liverpool that would tie them to the club until 2011.
On August 26-07 Liverpool confirmed Jamie Carragher sustained a broken rib during Saturday's 2-0 victory over Sunderland and it is unclear how long Carra will be out. The club's official website said: "Jamie underwent a series of investigations on Sunday morning which confirmed he has a broken rib and has also developed a pneumothorax. He will continue to be monitored on Sunday but at this stage no further treatment will be required."
Carragher is a well known defender around Europe and is regarded as one of the top defenders in the world, he's highly thought of in the footballing world John Terry said he was 'the best defender in Europe' on soccer AM.
Jamie is 16th on the list of all time appearances for the club.
International career
In 1996, before signing a professional contract or making his league début, Carragher had his first appearance for the England under-21 team. Playing as a defensive midfielder, he became a regular for the team, and eventually captain. In 2000, when he became ineligible for the team, he held the national record for most caps at this level, with 27. The record was eclipsed in 2007 by Scott Carson.
On 28 April1999 he made his début for the senior England team, as a substitute against Hungary. He made his full international début against Holland at White Hart Lane in 2001. Carragher missed the 2002 World Cup through injury, but travelled with England to Euro 2004. He eventually ended up with no playing time, losing out to Ledley King when a vacancy opened up. He was selected for the England squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and was not in the original starting eleven, but came into the team after Gary Neville suffered an injury.
Carragher's versatility has seen him occupy centre-back, right-back, left-back and defensive midfield positions for England. Former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson generally used two from John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Sol Campbell in preference to Carragher as centre-back, but has occasionally used Carragher as right-back as deputy for Gary Neville, as he did during the 2006 World Cup. Eriksson rarely uses a defensive midfielder, but is seen to prefer Owen Hargreaves to Carragher in the midfield. Jamie featured in three games in the 2006 World Cup, he started the match against Sweden, as a replacement for the injured Gary Neville at right-back, and appeared as a substitute in the matches against Ecuador and Portugal.
On 1 July 2006 Carragher was one of three players to have a penalty saved by Ricardo Pereira, as England yet again succumbed on penalties to exit the 2006 World Cup in the quarter finals against Portugal. Carragher, who had been brought on as a substitute for Aaron Lennon in the dying moments of the game, presumably with the "shoot-out" in mind, was the most unfortunate of the three players who missed, as he scored with his first attempt but was forced to re-take the kick by the referee, who had not blown his whistle. Carragher then saw his second effort saved.
On July 9, 2007 it was reported that Carragher was thinking of retiring from the England set-up. TalkSport Radio Presenter Adrian Durham accused Carragher of "bottling it" and was asked by one caller if he would say that to Carragher's face. Durham said that he would but was surprised when Carragher actually did phone in. He then confirmed that he was thinking about leaving the national set-up but he had already had two talks with the England head coach Steve McClaren and would leave it until the upcoming match against Germany to decide.[3]
Carragher did subsequently retire from International football. England former head coach Steve McClaren attempted to persuade him to return to the International setup on at least one occasion, but Carragher declined. Carragher was said to have been unhappy at the failure of successive England managers to pick him at centre-back[4], preferring to use him as cover along the back four and even as a holding midfielder.
Private life
Carragher grew up on Knowsley Road in Bootle and lived with his mother Paula, father Phil and brothers Paul & John and attended St James RC school. He currently lives in Blundellsands, which is situated approximately five miles north of Bootle.
In 2005, Jamie starred in an anti-bullying music video for Liverpool band Just 3, entitled Stand Tall. The video was directed by Samantha Janus, and was heavily backed by Childline ambassador Esther Rantzen.
In July 2005, he married his childhood sweetheart, Nicola Hart, with whom he has two children, James and Mia.
Carragher has been awarded the freedom of his home borough of Sefton for his local charity work and "the exceptional example he sets to the youth of today."[5]
Statistics
| Club | Season | Premiership | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Others | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | ||
| Liverpool FC | 2006-07 | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 1 |
| 2005-06 | 36 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 57 | 1 | |
| 2004-05 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 0 | |
| 2003-04 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | |
| 2002-03 | 35 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 0 | |
| 2001-02 | 33 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 53 | 0 | |
| 2000-01 | 34 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 0 | |
| 1999-00 | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| 1998-99 | 34 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 1 | |
| 1997-98 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
| 1996-97 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| Total | 325 | 3 | 25 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 91 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 473 | 4 | |
Career honours
- Liverpool
- Winner
- FA Youth Cup: 1995–96
- FA Cup: 2000–01, 2005–06
- League Cup: 2000–01, 2002–03
- UEFA Champions League: 2004–05
- UEFA Cup: 2000–01
- Community Shield: 2001, 2006
- European Super Cup: 2001, 2005
- Runner Up
- FA Premier League: 2001–02
- Community Shield: 2002
- League Cup: 2004–05
- FIFA Club World Championship: 2005
- UEFA Champions League: 2006–07
References
- ^ "100 PWSTK - NO.7: JAMIE CARRAGHER". Retrieved 6 October.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Carragher the UEFA king at Anfield". Retrieved 3 May.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "JC goes ga-ga over radio slur". SkySports. 2007-07-10. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6947786.stm
- ^ "Carra granted the freedom of Sefton". Retrieved 1 June.
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