Jamie Carragher's status among Liverpool fans stands on par with the club's greatest-ever players thanks to his 17 years of service to the club. A true one-club man, Carragher racked up over 700 appearances for the club after rising through the academy ranks, lifting the Champions League as part of his 11 major honours. However, despite his iconic status at arguably the country's biggest club, Carragher frequently struggled to tie down a place in the national team set-up, often finding himself watching the likes of Sol Campbell, John Terry and Rio Ferdinand from the sidelines. 38 international caps is undoubtedly nothing to frown at, although a player of Carragher's ability and status could understandably feel unlucky to not push the century mark like his Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard. The defender missed the 2002 World Cup due to injury, although returned for both Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup in Germany before suffering a three-year absence from the squad. With Liverpool firmly on the decline as a club in 2010, slumping to seventh in the Premier League, Carragher earned himself a surprise recall to the national team for the 2010 World Cup under new manager Fabio Capello.
Carragher has shared how he was close to hanging up his boots midway through his final Liverpool season, before manager Brendan Rodgers provided him with a storybook ending. The Liverpool legend and current pundit played an impressive tally of nearly 750 matches for the club, placing him just behind top appearance-maker Steven Gerrard. Carragher, who joined the Anfield ranks at just nine years of age, decided the 2012/13 season at 35 would be his swansong. As his tenure with the Reds drew to an end, Carragher admitted feeling a tinge of embarrassment at not being a regular starter and even contemplated an earlier retirement than planned. However, Rodgers, now leading Celtic, granted Carragher the ultimate finale by ensuring he returned to Liverpool's starting eleven. His final appearance came in March 2013 against QPR at Anfield, where he was celebrated with a rapturous standing ovation when subbed off in the 87th minute.
Speaking on SkyBet's Stick to Football podcast, Carragher divulged, "The start of every season, my target was to play 50 games," highlighting his remarkable run over 10 years, where he consistently hit above 50 appearances per season except for the time sidelined by a leg break. He explained his drive, stating, "I played every three days, that was my mentality and if I haven't of done that, in my mid-20s, I would have left. There was no way I could have accepted being sub, or building up to a game and you're not involved."
"It got to a stage at the end where I thought I'm not going to leave Liverpool at the age of 34, I want to be a one-club man, I'll put up with this for 18 months. But, I was embarrassed."
He admitted he was close to walking away midway through the 2012/13 season, but Rodgers intervened and offered him a chance to end his career on a high. "I nearly finished halfway through a season with Brendan Rodgers, and he said, 'no, just stick with it' and he ended up putting me back in the team. I played the last 10 or 12 games of the season it was a brilliant way to finish."
Carragher has been a regular on Sky Sports since retiring and has become one of the most respected pundits in the game. He is known for his insightful and often controversial opinions. His stint at Liverpool, which spanned nearly two decades, solidified his position as one of the best players of his generation. He is an example of dedication to a club and the unwavering passion for the sport that sets him apart from many.
Carragher's Return to the England Squad in 2010
Speaking on SkyBet's speaking on Stick to Football, Carragher explained the circumstances surrounding his return to the England squad in 2010. ["When [Fabio] Capello first came in, he was always constantly on to Stevie [Gerrard] because the number of centre-backs wasn’t sorted. Stevie was always raving about him. Some of the players just thought, “What the f*** is he doing here?”
“Ledley King was in the tournament and someone else was injured on the last game of the weekend, so they asked me, but Liverpool hadn’t qualified for the Champions League. I just thought, ‘My age, would we get into the Champions League? F*** it, I’ll go play in the World Cup’. I did play a couple of games in the World Cup. For me, it wasn’t to go back and play for England. It was to go and play for Capello and the whole Milan thing.
"Capello for me was like a God. But I was disappointed because I was used to Rafa [Benitez’s] structure. He was the [Jose] Mourinho before Mourinho, wasn’t he? Everywhere he went he won and got the job done.”](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/liverpool-legend-jamie-carragher-lifts-lid-on-2010-england-return-under-fabio-capello)
