Carra on his most difficult opponents and favourite Liverpool players

By David Maddock in Mirror Football Blog

Published 20:00 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 the Reds' vice captain to find out who his favourite players and most difficult opponents are.

Carra on most his difficult opponents:

Thierry Henry
"Thierry Henry, he was definitely the best. He was just too quick. Oh God, what a player he was. I was so relieved when he went to Barcelona. He used to have everything. You couldn't even kick him, he was big and strong, oh, Jesus, he was a nightmare."

Andy Cole
"I always found Andy Cole hard to play against, when at that time people would probably have said Dwight Yorke was the better player. He was fast, and direct in front of goal, a real handful."

Jesper Gronkjaer
"Sometimes people think the best players are the hardest to play against, but often they're not. People who were not even very good were hard. There was a fella who wasn't even very good at all, Gronkjaer at Chelsea, he was like lightening. He wasn't any good, but he caused me problems, Christ he did."

Carra on his favourite Liverpool players:

John Barnes
"John Barnes stood out. He was probably the best player, technically, that I've ever seen. When I first started training with the first team, he did things that were amazing, some of the best things I've ever seen."

Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman
"The pair of them were a real inspiration for me when I was first emerging, because they were what I wanted to be, they were local lads who were the top men in the team when I get there. They were legends for me for what they did for Liverpool. I looked up to them and wanted to be what they were. From there, I established myself and maybe didn't so much look up to people."

Michael Owen
"He was my mate from the youth team and an incredible talent. We were always close, and I'm really happy he can play in my testimonial. I hope the fact he plays for United doesn't affect the reception, I think he deserves a great one for what he did for Liverpool.

"He was a fantastic player - right up there with the greats for what he did. He left in difficult circumstances but when he went to Manchester United his career was on a bit of a downward spiral, and the chance to go to one of the biggest clubs of the world was difficult to turn down.

"I saw the other day Bobby Charlton played in Tommy Smith's testimonial and he wore a Liverpool kit."

Sami Hyypia
"You look at the likes of Sami, Didi Hamann and Xabi Alonso and they were massive in what they did for Liverpool. Sami was an immense character I learnt a lot from, and he has a record second to none."

Steven Gerrard
"He speaks for himself, I don't even have to say it for him. He's one of the greatest players to have ever represented this club, and it has been an honour to play alongside him."

Top 10 reasons why Carra is a Liverpool legend

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

Carra on management, Liverpool's season and Capello: "He used to make me laugh every day"  

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