Carra: A True Scouse Legend

Although they may have not
known it at the time, the 40,489
supporters inside Anfield when
Liverpool recorded a routine
3-0 win over Aston Villa on 18
January 1997 were witnessing
history in the making.
The date may not be as
memorable as those of the
club's most famous triumphs
but when referee Roger Dilkes
blew his final whistle at 4.50pm
on that murky Saturday
afternoon, the name of a future
legend was on every Kopites'
lips.
Jamie Carragher, a versatile
defender hand-picked from
Liverpool's centre of excellence,
announced his arrival on the
senior stage with a gutsy
performance that would
become a familiar sight both
home and away for the next 13
years.
Not even Roy Evans, who
drafted Carragher into midfield
due to illness to Patrik Berger,
could have envisaged the
impact his fellow Bootleite
would go onto make following
his first start in the famous red
shirt.
Nodding home a Stig Bjornebye
corner into the Kop net was
merely the icing on the cake for
the youngster, just 10 days
before his 19th birthday.
The shirt number with which
Robbie Fowler first wrote his
name into Anfield history is
now as synonymous with
Carragher as it was with his
fellow academy graduate, as is
his unwavering commitment to
the cause.
Carragher is a rare breed both
at Anfield and in modern
football as he is one of the few
players who is not only 100%
committed to the club but also
to the people who pay his
wages week in, week out.
A lot of players tend to forget
their roots the second they hit
the big time but the veteran
defender definitely has not,
devoting time and money to the
local community through the 23
Foundation whilst also
remaining a familiar face in and
around his native Sefton.
Comparisons with Anfield
legends of yesteryear such as
Gerry Byrne and Tommy Smith
are fully justified as Carragher
continues to epitomise what
remains of the 'Liverpool way'.
His loyalty and bravery at all
times as witnessed in Istanbul
five years ago spoke volumes of
his character as he soldiered on
through extra time before
giving Jerzy Dudek a brief
history lesson as he prepared to
face AC Milan in the resulting
penalty shoot out.
Dudek's heroics may have made
all the headlines on that balmy
night by the River Bosphorus
but history may have been far
different Carragher not
instructed the Pole to take a leaf
out of Bruce Grobbelaar's book,
circa 1984.
Whilst Rafael Benitez and Steven
Gerrard led the celebrations on
the pitch in the Ataturk Stadium,
Carragher joined fans off it -
capping off a season that had
seen him hailed by critics as one
of the best defenders on the
continent.
Even though some of those
critics wrote him off last season
following a disastrous start, he
returned with a vengeance to
not only make them eat their
words but also earn a call-up to
the England squad, three years
after he quit international
football, for this summer's
World Cup.
As he prepares to take on an
Everton XI in his testimonial this
afternoon, there can be no
doubt that Carragher has truly
earned his place amongst the
all-time greats at Anfield.