A tribute to Jamie Carragher and his 700 appearances

“Heroes are remembered but legends never die.” – Babe Ruth

At Liverpool, players touch the sign that reads, “This is Anfield” just before they enter the pitch through the tunnel. Not many players do this. Neither do they kiss the Liverpool badge before the game. One person, however, does both: the man whose name on the back of his shirt spells Carragher.

After Liverpool’s historic victory at Istanbul in the 2005 Champions League final, reporters asked if Carragher’s ambitions belonged to Liverpool and not to a bigger, more achieving club. His answer was simple yet immensely hearty – “Who is bigger than Liverpool?” How modest of this legend.

A player that epitomizes the dying breed – those who stick to their club throughout their career - Carra has been a fan favorite since his debut in 1996. A sweetheart amongst Liverpool fans, Carra was voted as the highest placed defender amongst Liverpoolfc.tv’s 100 Players Who Shook the Kop, beating fabled names like Phil Thompson, Alan Hughes and Emlyn Hughes.

Ironically, this Liverpudlian grew up supporting the wrong side of Merseyside. Having been an Everton fan like Michael Owen, Carragher was reluctant on joining the academy. His mates in training would ask him everyday – “Who do you support now?” and his reply would always be, “Everton, forever.” Today, not many would question where his loyalty lies. After all, he is Liverpool’s number 23, Jamie Carragher.

The team back then was struggling to produce elite centre-backs with many being injury ridden, and Liverpool desperately needed a revelation. Roy Evans, who was Liverpool’s manager at that time, saw a glitter of hope through Carra and immediately promoted him to the first-team. And then began the journey of one of Liverpool’s greatest players. Following the team’s Youth Cup victory in 1996, Liverpool officially signed Jamie Carragher to a professional contract. Carra was a robust tackler and stark man-marker who excelled in first team practices. Strikers found it so difficult to play against the youngster in training, that they would often complain to the coach asking them to remove this “annoying young little prick.”

In his first start, Carragher scored one of his rare goals for the Liverbird in front of the Kop. The 3-0 victory over Aston Villa signaled many good opportunities to come his way as Kevin Keegan offered the centre-back an international cap. Rarely being deployed in his centre-back position and thanks to his versatile nature, Carra was used as a utility player on either flanks or in defensive midfield to shut out swift wingers. Another feature of Carragher was his ability to lunge in with both his feet and head into tackles, something managers describe as “putting your soul to grave”. Being used as a utility player also took its toll on Carra’s body. He was hit by one injury after another on his knee which led to his forced absence from the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Fortunately, things changed. During the last days of Gerard Houllier’s reign as Liverpool’s manager, the Frenchman began to offer Carragher more opportunities in his preferred centre-back position. Astute and dexterous as always, Carragher accustomed back to the position with ease. Since then, for nearly a decade, Jamie Carragher has been a perennial figure in the defense, and in time, was promoted to the vice-captain role. With Carragher now being a stalwart among the back four, Liverpool became not only Premier League favorites but Champions League contenders.

The night at Istanbul, often laurelled as one of the greatest European games, saw Liverpool make the headlines after triggering an unexpected comeback. Newspapers flogged on how Rafael Benitez motivated the boys through a pep talk and how Gerrard, being monumental as always, inspired the comeback through his 60^th minute header. Xabi Alonso was praised for his composure to slot home Liverpool’s third goal while Jerzy Dudek reached the status of demigod amongst Liverpool fans for his acrobatic penalty saves. There was another unsung hero though – a player who should have been credited as much for the win like Steven Gerrard and Rafael Benitez. Carragher played for over 40 minutes with an injured leg and cramps where on numerous occasions, he had to throw himself to stop the likes of Kaka, Crespo and Shevchenko.

Against Olympiakos, people more often than not remark Gerrard’s strike in the closing minutes of the game which secured qualification into the next round. But not many remember how Carragher contained the opposition singlehandedly in the back for most part of the second half with the entire team up front, trying to score. In 2007-2008, the season Liverpool finished second to United in the league, Carragher played an instrumental role in the leading the Reds without the likes of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres – two players plagued by seasonal injuries.

Since Carra’s debut for Liverpool, seven managers have taken in-charge, more than ten centre backs have been paired, three owners have changed management and notably, 11 trophies have been won. Yet, there is no stopping Jamie Carragher. Irrespective of how much ever his legs ask him to quit, the man wouldn’t. Throw anything at him and he’ll still stay strong. That is why he is Liverpool’s “man of steel”.

A leader whose words never go unheard, a player whose aura is omnipresent, a defender who attackers fear and a man whose heart bleeds for one team, Jamie Carragher certainly will be enshrined in Liverpool’s folklore. They say that the name on the front matters more than the name on the back. We now know who certainly embodies that. Here is to the man who just earned his 700^th appearance and still stands strong – James Lee Duncan Carragher.