Jamie 'Mr. Liverpool' Carragher

First Name	Jamie
Surname	Carragher
Squad Number	23
Position	Central Defender
Height	1.85m
Weight	83 kg
D.O.B.	28 Jan 1978
Town of Birth	Bootle, Liverpool
Country of Birth	England
Nationality	English
Total Appearances	699
Total Goals	5

One of the two one-club men that Liverpool has and one of the longest serving current players in English Premier League. Jamie Carragher is in short, Mr. Liverpool. The vice-captain at Anfield since 2003, has made almost 700 appearances for Liverpool. One of the Red heroes at Istanbul, without whom, maybe the comeback wouldn't even have had happened.

He began his Liverpool career in 1996 when he turned professional. He had already represented England U-21’s when he was a part of the Liverpool’s first FA Youth Cup team alongside Michael Owen.

His Liverpool debut came on 8^th January 1997, at Middlesbrough, when he was brought in for Rob Jones in the Coca-Cola Cup. He made his 1^st start when Roy Evans picked him for the match against Aston Villa on the 18^th January 1998; remarkably, he marked his 1^st start with a goal.

He is one of those defenders who can play at all positions, be it right-back, centre of defence, left-back or even as a defensive mid-fielder. This versatility helped him in getting his national call-up, when Kevin Keegan selected him against Hungary in April 1999.

Carragher was a part of Gerard Houllier’s treble winning 2001 season, playing almost 58 games, which were mostly at left-back position.

He and his dear friend, Steven Gerrard, were forced out of 2002 FIFA World Cup, but there were more heartbreak to come. A year later, he was forced out of the 2003-04 season, when he was subjected to a challenge from Blackburn’s Lucas Neill, which kept him on the side-lines for most part of 6 months.

Next year, 2005, was a career defining year for Carragher, when the new boss, Rafael Benitez, gave the scouser the much coveted centre-back position permanently.

Not soon later, he was rated as the most under-rated defender in England, mostly due to his heroics in Istanbul, helping Liverpool clinch a 5^th European Title. One of the highlight images of the final against AC Milan was that of Carragher collapsing with a cramp after millions of last-ditch interceptions.

In July 2005, he was given a 4 year extension and his loyalty was rewarded in a month, when he lifted the UEFA Super Cup, in the absence of the club captain Steven Gerrard.

There were more silverware to come when at the end of 2005-06 season, Liverpool found themselves in the final of the FA Cup facing West Ham United at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. This was the scousers 10^th final in as many years.

Even though, he was selected to Sven-Goran Erikkson’s England side for 2006 FIFA World Cup, it ended sadly when he missed penalty against Portugal in Quarter Finals and England were out.

At least he had the consolation of being voted seventh in Liverpoolfc.tv's 100 Players Who Shook The Kop series, beating the likes of Alan Hansen, Phil Thompson and Emlyn Hughes to be the highest placed defender.

In August 2006, Carragher wore the captain's armband in the Community Shield against champions Chelsea, jointly holding the silver dish aloft with injured skipper Gerrard.

In 2007, he retired from International Football due to lack of opportunities.

Concentrating only on club football now, he became only the 12^th player to appear in over 500 matches soon. Carragher walked out to a guard of honour which included boss Benitez when Luton visited Anfield on January 15, 2008. The centre-half was also made captain for the night at the request of Stevie G.

In the same year, he became the 1^st red player to play 100 European matches at San Siro, what better place to achieve a milestone of such importance, when Liverpool dumped the then Serie A leaders Inter Milan out of the Champions League.

The 2008-09 campaign saw Carragher get closer than ever to Premier League glory as Liverpool chased Manchester United until the penultimate weekend - but a title-winners' medal continued to elude a player now in his 30s.

Sadly, the club could not push on the following season, finishing seventh and failing to secure a Champions League place. Eager to cram in as much top-level football as possible, the stalwart accepted Fabio Capello's invitation to temporarily come out of international exile for the 2010 World Cup. Carragher featured twice in South Africa before England's last 16 exit at the hands of arch nemesis Germany.

He would continue to climb Liverpool's appearance table over the following seasons, though for the first time in his senior career he would have to accept his place was not guaranteed in 2011-12 due to the form of Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger.

Indeed, Carragher had to settle for a substitute appearance as Kenny Dalglish oversaw a Carling Cup final win over Cardiff City in 2012.

Off the field, Carragher gives back to the city he loves through the 23 Foundation. Visit www.jamiecarragher.org to find out how you can help disadvantaged children in Merseyside and beyond.

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