The former Reds defender, who made 737 appearances for the club, is the second longest serving player in Liverpool's history and holds the record for the most appearances in European competition with 149. Carragher made his senior debut for the Reds in 1997 in the League Cup after coming through the academy set-up at Anfield, establishing himself as a regular in the first-team set-up from thereon out.
Article continues below
However, the ex-England international reveals there was a stage towards the latter end of his career, where he was embarrassed to be training after games, having falling out of favour under Brendan Rodgers. Carragher revealed he almost retired midway through the season, only for Rodgers to convince him to stay and he'd go on to win back his place in the starting XI.
“The start of every season my target was to play 50 games," Carragher told The Overlap. "So, from 2000 – that decade of ten years – I played over 50 games and nine seasons and the only one season when I didn’t was when I broke my leg. I played every three days, that was my mentality and if I haven’t of done that, in my mid-twenties, 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 and 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 – the worst bit was the day after a game, we might train, like the subs and a few of the kids, and there’s nothing wrong with that because players come down and you’re passing experience, and you’ll see the other lads warming down and stretching.
LFC: Join our WhatsApp community, sign up to a newsletter or listen to our podcasts HERE
"You know what it’s like, a manager and staff are all over the first team players, and rightly so, and you’re just thinking, ‘What am I doing?’
“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. Probably most players at my age finish [their careers] sat in the stands – I was playing every week for Liverpool.
"We had a great team, we finished seventh, but I did well so I didn’t embarrass myself, so people said, ‘Why don’t you carry on?’ I said, ‘This is the best time to go, I’m playing, not embarrassing myself, get out now’.
“When I think of the players that played for Liverpool – much better than me! I’ve come out at Anfield [for my send-off], the two teams are lined up, and then the KOP put my name up and I’m thinking, ‘Wow, last game of football at Anfield’ and then you think of the players Liverpool have had, better than me who have probably left out the back door or transfers have happened and they’re gone, no time to say goodbye. So, it was nice the way I finished.”
0 Comments