Gerrard: Carra A Liverpool Legend

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard
has paid a glowing tribute to
Jamie Carragher who has been
handed a testimonial game
against Everton this weekend.
The 32-year-old has made well
over 600 appearances for his
only club since making his Reds
debut almost 14 years ago.
Gerrard is also a one-club man
and has hailed Carragher as one
of Liverpool's all-time greats.
He told the Liverpool Echo: "You
tend to associate players these
days moving around a lot but
Carra is, in many ways, a one-off
and nobody deserves to
celebrate their career more.
"Hopefully he will get a full house
and the game goes smoothly. He
has put so much effort in to his
career, has shown so much
desire and sweated blood for the
club. It's great I'm going to have
chance to celebrate with him.
He's been a big influence on me
ever since I arrived at Melwood
on day one.
"I know I was closer to Murph
(Danny Murphy) at first and he
was always with Michael (Owen)
but, when they left, we started
rooming together and things
went from there. We come from
similar backgrounds, so it was
easy bouncing ideas off each
other and I've got nothing but
the utmost respect for him as a
player and person.
"Every successful team needs a
player like Carra. It doesn't matter
what type of game it is, he leaves
everything out on the pitch. He's
worked so hard for everything
he has achieved. Yes, there have
been times when he's had his
fair share of criticism but we all
go through that.
"What is important is how you
come through it and Carra has
shown consistently in recent
years he has been one of the
best defenders in the world.
"We can all have a laugh from
time to time about how high his
voice goes but he is a brilliant
organiser and leads by example.
He deserves to be called a
Liverpool great."