Jamie Carragher

Jamie Carragher
Personal information
Full name	James Lee Duncan Carragher
Date of birth	28 January 1978 (1978-01-28) (age 31)
Place of birth	Bootle, Merseyside, England
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Playing position	Centre Back, Full Back
Club information
Current club	Liverpool
Number	23
Youth clubs
1994–1996	Liverpool
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1996–	Liverpool	373 (3)
National team2
1996–2000 1998–2006 1999–2007	England U21 England B England	027 (1) 003 (0) 034 (0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:54, 15 November 2008 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 24 March 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

James Lee Duncan "Jamie" Carragher (born 28 January 1978 in Bootle, Merseyside) is a central defender/right-back playing his club football at Liverpool where he is the current vice-captain.

One of the longest-serving players of the club, Carragher has made his 500th appearance for Liverpool on 15 January 2008 in all competitions, in the home FA cup fixture against Luton Town. He was made captain for this match. 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.

Club career

As a youth, Carragher attended the former FA school of excellence in Lilleshall and was a member of Liverpool's FA Youth Cup winning team in 1996 along with his friend Michael Owen. He signed a professional contract in October 1996 and then made his first team debut under Roy Evans' management 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 as a substitute, against West Ham. He then started the next game against Aston Villa and marked the occasion with his first goal (a header in front of the Kop) in a 3-0 win to temporarily take the side to the top of the table, before finishing runner-up to Manchester United. By the 1997–98 season, Carragher was a regular in the first-team squad by the 1998–99 campaign, 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 1999–2000 he played mainly as a right-back, then in 2000–01 he made the left-back position his own. 2001 also saw Carragher gain his first senior trophies: the FA Cup, UEFA Cup, League Cup, Community Shield and European Super Cup.

He hit the headlines in January 2002 during an FA Cup tie against Arsenal, when he threw a coin back into the stands that had been tossed at him. Carragher earned a red card and a disrepute charge from The Football Association. From 2002 till 2004 Carragher was hit by two serious injuries, firstly missing the 2002 FIFA World Cup for an operation on his troublesome knee and later due to a broken leg in the first half of the 2003–04 season after a tackle by Blackburn's Lucas Neill at Ewood Park in the Reds' fifth game of the season. During this period, Carragher's place in the team was also threatened by signings of Steve Finnan and John Arne Riise. However, he succeeded in retaining his place in the team, making 24 appearances in the first half of 2004.

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. Carragher shrugged off the utility tag and established himself as a centre half. Carragher developed a reputation as a strong and positionally astute defender^[2]. His partnership with Hyypia was central in Liverpool's 2004-2005 UEFA Champions League victory. 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. He later went on to captain the team in their 2005 UEFA Super Cup victory over CSKA Moscow.

On 13 May 2006, Carragher played in the FA Cup final against West Ham. It was his tenth final in as many years of club football. He scored an own goal in the 21st minute, but Liverpool went on to win 3–1 on penalties after the match finished 3–3 after extra-time.

On 9 December 2006, 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. The goal was only his fourth in his Liverpool career.

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.^[3] Carragher was voted as Liverpool's Player of the Year for the 2006–07 season by the fans and soon after extended his contract till 2011. That season also saw Carragher's international retirement, with the defender citing frustration with a lack of appearances under Steve McClaren.

The 2007–08 season saw Carragher reach his 500th appearance for Liverpool. He currently stands at number 11 in the all time Liverpool appearances table in all competitions.

International career

In 1996, 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 April 1999 he earned his first cap 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 has played centre-back, right-back, left-back, and in the defensive midfield for England. Despite his many caps and regular squad appearances, he has never held down a consistent place in the starting eleven. Former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson generally used two central defenders from John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Sol Campbell in preference to Carragher, but occasionally used Carragher as right-back as deputy for Gary Neville, as he did during the 2006 World Cup.

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 late in he game, scored with his first attempt but was forced to re-take his penalty by the referee, who had not blown his whistle. Carragher then saw his second effort saved.

On 9 July 2007 it was reported that Carragher was considering quitting the England squad. TalkSport host Adrian Durham accused Carragher of "bottling it." Carragher confirmed on the show that he was indeed thinking about retirement, but he had already had two talks with England head coach Steve McClaren and would leave it until the upcoming match against Germany to decide.^[4]

Carragher did subsequently retire from International football. McClaren attempted to persuade him to return to the International setup on at least one occasion, whilst McClaren's replacement Fabio Capello has reportedly suggested that he would be happy to consider Carragher. Carragher's responses have suggested that he would not respond positively to any offers of a call-up. Carragher was said to have been unhappy at the failure of successive England managers to pick him at centre-back^[5], 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, Carragher 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 received the freedom of his home borough of Sefton for his local charity work and "the exceptional example he sets to the youth of today."^[6]

Carragher also owns a restaurant in Liverpool called "Cafe Sport England Restaurant". It has over 200 plasma TVs on the walls and only two things are shown on all of these TVs at once - football and rugby union.

Controversy

On 28 February 2008, Carragher was arrested and cautioned for assault outside a school near his home in Crosby. Liverpool refused to comment.^[7]

On September 11, 2008, Carragher's biography, Carra, was released, but controversial excerpts were leaked to the press beforehand. In one instance, Carragher claimed that his close friends were looking to assault fellow Premiership player Lucas Neill but that the incident was averted only because Neill was in the company of David Thompson, one of Carragher's former teammates, who Carragher did not want to "become a witness to an assault." Carragher sent a text to Thompson, "telling him Neill should give him a hug of thanks," suggesting had Thompson not been there, Neill would have faced an assault.^[8][9]

Carragher claimed he launched a deliberate hard tackle in a practice session against former Liverpool teammate Rigobert Song because of the latter's perceived mockery of Carragher's defending.^[10] "Song walked on to the training pitch with a smile on his face. He was limping off it with a grimace an hour later. The first chance I got, I did him. Never have I hunted down a 50-50 tackle with greater appetite. 'You're not fucking laughing now, are you, you soft cunt?' I said as he hobbled away."^[9]

Carragher also asserted therein that his brothers have trouble finding employment in the city of Liverpool because of the number of foreign immigrants working in England, prompting claims of xenophobia.^[11][9] He also claimed he took solace from international defeats with England because he was less concerned about results for his national side than for Liverpool.^[12][9]

Statistics

Correct as of 2 September 2008

Honours

Liverpool

• FA Cup: 2000–01, 2005–06
• League Cup: 2000–01, 2002–03
• FA Community Shield: 2001, 2006
• FA Youth Cup: 1995–96
• UEFA Champions League: 2004–05
• UEFA Cup: 2000–01
• UEFA Super Cup: 2001, 2005

Individual

• PFA Team of the Year: 2005–06

References

External links

• Profile at liverpoolfc.tv
• Profile at BBCSport
• FootballDatabase provides Jamie Carragher's profile and stats
• TheFA.com profile
• Jamie Carragher career stats at Soccerbase
• LFChistory.net player profile

Jamie Carragher - Navigation boxes England squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Robinson • 2 Neville • 3 A. Cole • 4 Gerrard • 5 Ferdinand • 6 Terry • 7 Beckham • 8 Lampard • 9 Rooney • 10 Owen • 11 J. Cole • 12 Campbell • 13 James • 14 Bridge • 15 Carragher • 16 Hargreaves • 17 Jenas • 18 Carrick • 19 Lennon • 20 Downing • 21 Crouch • 22 Carson • 23 Walcott • Coach: Eriksson England squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 James • 2 G. Neville • 3 A. Cole • 4 Gerrard • 5 Terry • 6 Campbell • 7 Beckham • 8 Scholes • 9 Rooney • 10 Owen • 11 Lampard • 12 Bridge • 13 Robinson • 14 P. Neville • 15 King • 16 Carragher • 17 Butt • 18 Hargreaves • 19 J. Cole • 20 Dyer • 21 Heskey • 22 Walker • 23 Vassell • Coach: Eriksson