'If Steven Gerrard is the heart of Liverpool, then Carra is the soul' - Liverpool legends pay tribute to Jamie Carragher

By David Maddock in Mirror Football Blog

Published 17:15 03/09/10

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Ahead of Jamie Carragher's testimonial this Saturday, the Daily Mirror's Liverpool correspondent David Maddock has spoken to a host of famous Anfield names past and present, to pay tribute to the career of Reds' vice captain, along with some of the club's biggest supporters.

Steven Gerrard
“He is a Liverpool great and he deserves to be recognised as that. In many ways, Carra is a one-off and nobody deserves to celebrate their career more.

“He has put so much effort in to his career, has shown so much desire and sweated blood for the club. He has worked so hard for everything he has achieved.

“He’s had criticism, but 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.

“I truly hope he gets a full house at his testimonial. 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.

“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.”

Robbie Fowler
“I would do anything to be there for Jamie’s testimonial, even though I’m playing in Australia at the moment, because he deserves it as one of the most important players in Liverpool’s history.

“I remember watching him play for the youth team when they won the cup final in 1996, and this is his 15th season since then in the first team, which is a remarkable achievement in this day and age. It is almost unique.

“I was playing in the game when he made his debut, and he scored to make a massive impression – and he has done that ever since with every game he’s ever played for the club.

“The best thing I can say about him, is that every single player who was at the club when I was there respected him immensely, and every one thought he was a Liverpool legend, and that tells you a lot about his character and his ability.

“It’s funny, because people single out his performance in Istanbul, but that was Jamie giving it 100 per cent – which he has done in every game he’s ever played in, so in a way, it’s unfair to pick out that one game as the highlight of his career.”

John Barnes
“I was Liverpool captain when he first came onto the fringes of the first team, and he always looked up to me, always showed great respect to the senior players, which showed his attitude and desire to develop.

“He has emerged as one of the most important players in Liverpool’s history, and that says it all. A local lad who epitomises everything that Liverpool stands for.”

Didi Hamann
“I know he's made more Liverpool appearances than most players now. I don't know whether he can catch Ian Callaghan, but he could have three to five years left in him, so let's see what happens.

“I'm lucky enough to have played with a lot of good footballers but you always knew what you would get with Carra, and for me he’s the best, which is an incredible accolade when you look at some of the players Liverpool have had.

“He is always the first name on your team sheet. He'll defend that Liverpool goal with his life and that's what you need. You want teammates who will do anything for the cause.

“The fans often sing about a 'team of Carraghers' and I think everyone associated with the club knows how lucky they are to have had Jamie in their ranks. Hopefully that will be the case for many years to come too.”

Roy Hodgson
“Jamie Carragher will be at Liverpool a long time after I have left this club, because he is one of those players who are important for the club’s history.

“He is a tremendous servant and a fantastic player, and he is the sort of player that clubs like Liverpool need, and the sort of player who should be kept around for as long as possible. The highest tribute I can pay is that he is a true professional in every sense of the word.”

Roy Evans
“Jamie came to the club as a kid when I was manager, and he was a fantastic talent from the first minute. His enthusiasm, his willingness to learn, he appetite for game all singled him out.

“His character has taken him a long way, but don’t get carried away with the idea that is what made him. He is a fantastically talented footballer who has played in just about every position for Liverpool, which shows his natural ability. He was a striker at first and a brilliant midfielder, and as a defender he became world class.

“I am really proud of what he has achieved at Liverpool, for me, he stands up with some of the greatest players we have ever had at Liverpool.

“In his early days he wasn't the perfect player and the perfect professional but he has moulded himself into that through hard work. He has learned by his mistakes and that is a great lesson to any player coming through."

Gerard Houllier
“There aren’t many footballers like Carra – he is a top class player, but most importantly, he is a very good man.

“He is a man who possesses what the French call a joie de vivre and appreciates where he is. Some people say they love football but I don’t think many people love football quite as much as Carra. Of all the players I’ve managed, he is probably the most fanatical about the game.

“The most important aspect of his character, though, is that he’s a very loyal person. I could always rely on him in football and away from football.

“He only thinks about the team and his team-mates, never himself. He is prepared to make decisions and sacrifices for his side.

“If one moment can sum up Carra’s attitude towards football and life, it was in Istanbul when he was clearly very tired and suffering with cramp, but he still managed to throw himself into tackles to save the team.”

Rafa Benitez
“Carra is the kind of player that all the managers would want in their own team. All the supporters are really happy to see him, especially because he always gives 100 per cent.

"Sometimes when you look at players, they have a lot of quality but sometimes they don't play very well. But in the case of Carra, he always plays at a very good level.”

Alan Hansen
"Carra is 10 times a better defender than I ever was. He is a completely different player. He is a great defender whereas I was not. My strengths were on the ball, positional sense and recovery pace.

“I think if we look at Liverpool greats over the years – and there have been a lot of them – Carragher is up there with the best of them."  

Tommy Smith
“It’s a wonderful gesture that he is giving away all the proceeds from his testimonial game to charity, and I believe it will be a day when every fan will want to say ‘I was there’.

“If ever there was a player totally in tune with the fans, their hopes, their fears and their dreams, then it is Jamie.

“For thirteen years he has pulled on that red shirt and been prepared to sweat blood for it every time. He may have started as a Blue – but he’s now Liverpool through and through.”

Phil Thompson
“The biggest compliment I can pay Carra is that he could span every generation going back to Bill Shankly’s side of the Sixties. He could have played in the great Liverpool teams of the ’60s, ’70s or ’80s.

“Carra has been a magnificent servant for the club and he will go down as a true legend in the game. He’s one of our own.

“His drive and focus is remarkable but he can play too. He’s a great defender who reads the game so well.”

Ron Yeats
"This lad has amazed me I must admit. I've known him since he was at the Academy. When he came into the reserve team, I didn't think he would be strong enough but he has developed into such a special player.

“He is one of the best players ever seen here. His biggest quality is he reads the game well and he is never beaten. He has got a bit of pace and uses the ball quite well and as a centre back those are the qualities you need."

Alan Kayll (Liverpool Supporters’ Club)
“I can speak for just about every single Liverpool fan when I say that ‘legend’ is the best word to describe Jamie Carragher.

“Everything that is great about Liverpool Football Club is there for everyone of us to see when in every game he has ever played – honesty, commitment, passion.

“He is an absolute credit not just to LFC, but to the city of Liverpool as well. He gives to the city with his 23 Foundation, and he gives with his time. He has never let anyone down, and does so much work that goes unheralded.

“As a player he is immense. People have said he’s not the quickest, but he’s always made up for that by reading the game so well, and that will keep him going for a few years yet.

“First and foremost he is a defender, and if you want to choose the greatest defender the club has ever had, then his name would be first on the sheet. Jamie Carragher, an absolute credit to his club, his family and his city.”

Chris Bascombe (journalist and Carra’s biographer)
“If Steven Gerrard is the heart of Liverpool, then Carra is the soul. His honesty shines through in his book, and that’s because it is the essence of his character.

“No other player so clearly represents the personality of Liverpool as Jamie Carragher does. Nobody symbolises what the club stands for better than he does, with his courage, his honesty and his ability. For that, he must be regarded as one of the greatest players the club has ever had.”

Dave Usher (Editor, The Liverpool Way)
"As a supporter, the ideal player is someone with immense talent and personality who believes in your club as much as you do. Carra is that ideal.

“He is always recognised in every list of the greatest Liverpool players of all time, and that is a tribute to everything he has given to the club. These days, players tend to take far more than they give…but he is the exception to that.”

Top 10 reasons why Carra is a Liverpool legend  

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