Jamie Carragher

James Lee Duncan Carragher (born 28 January 1978) is an English football pundit and former player who played as a defender for Premier League club Liverpool during a career which spanned 17 years.

Although a childhood Everton supporter, he joined Merseyside rivals Liverpool in 1988, and regularly turned up at Liverpool's School of Excellence wearing a Graeme Sharp Everton kit.

Carragher's father was also an Everton supporter, and his two middle names (Lee Duncan) are a tribute to Gordon Lee and Duncan McKenzie – manager Lee dropped McKenzie on the day of Carragher's birth.

He spent a year at the Everton School of Excellence at the age of 11, but returned to Liverpool due to the club's superior coaching set-up under Steve Heighway.

He failed to impress in his first appearances to the Liverpool A and B teams due to his then-small stature, but after being moved from up front to a midfield role he was able to establish himself in the reserve team.

He played his first game for the reserves in the 1994–95 season, and was named man of the match against Blackburn Rovers at Haig Avenue.

Carragher started his career at the Liverpool Academy, making his professional debut in the 1996–97 season, and becoming a first team regular the following season.

He helped Liverpool to win the 1996 FA Youth Cup with a 4–1 aggregate victory over a West Ham United side that included Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard.

Carragher was tried out in defence for the first time during the tournament, and later admitted that Liverpool were not the most technically gifted side in the competition, but instead relied on team spirit and the outstanding talents of Michael Owen.

Despite this auspicious start, it proved to be his last contribution to the 1996–97 campaign.

He made his first team debut for the "Reds" under Roy Evans in a League Cup quarter-final against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on 8 January 1997, coming on as a substitute for Rob Jones 75 minutes into a 2–1 defeat.

Three days later he made his Premier League debut as a substitute at Anfield, playing the entire second half of a 0–0 draw with West Ham United.

On 18 January, he was scheduled to play as a centre-half against Aston Villa, only to be replaced in the starting line-up by Bjørn Tore Kvarme; however Patrik Berger was taken ill and Carragher was his last minute replacement in central midfield.

He played well alongside Jamie Redknapp and scored his first goal with a header in front of the Kop in a 3–0 win.

Carragher broke into the first team in the 1997–98 season as the team struggled to keep pace with Arsenal and Manchester United despite having talented players such as Owen, Redknapp, Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and Paul Ince.

Throughout his early playing career, he was essentially used as a utility player that spent time as a centre-half, full-back and defensive midfielder in a squad that was often negatively labelled the "Spice Boys".

Carragher learned to shun the spotlight and focus on football instead as new manager Gérard Houllier used him consistently in a new continental side focused on discipline.

In his autobiography, Carragher admitted that "I always felt close to Gérard", and was full of praise for the French manager during the early part of his reign.

He went on to make 44 appearances in the 1998–99 season, and was named as the club's Player of the Year.

Internationally, Carragher held the national record for most caps at under-21 level and earned his senior debut in 1999.

Carragher was restricted to the right-back position after scoring two own goals in a 3–2 home defeat to Manchester United early in the 1999–2000 season.

Houllier never again played him at centre-back, as Sami Hyypiä and Stéphane Henchoz formed solid partnership.

The 2000–01 season saw Carragher switch to the left-back position and win his first senior honours, as Liverpool went on to win the FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup, Community Shield and Super Cup in the space of just a few months.

During a January 2002 FA Cup tie against Arsenal, he threw a coin back into the stands that had been tossed at him and received a red card.

He escaped an FA misconduct charge after publicly apologising, but he did receive a formal police warning about the incident.

From 2002 to 2004, Carragher was hit by two serious injuries, missing the 2002 FIFA World Cup for an operation on his knee, and later receiving a broken leg after a tackle by Blackburn Rovers' Lucas Neill at Ewood Park in September 2003.

During this period, his place in the team was also threatened by signings of Steve Finnan and John Arne Riise.

Despite this, he was able to win a second League Cup in 2003 with Liverpool, and shortly afterwards was named the club's vice-captain.

Having initially played as a full-back, the arrival of manager Rafael Benítez in 2004 saw Carragher move to become a centre-back, where he found his best form.

His honours with Liverpool total two FA Cups, three League Cups, two Community Shields, one Champions League, one UEFA Cup, and two Super Cups.

He represented England at UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, before announcing his retirement from international football in 2007.

The 2004–05 season proved to be a career-defining one for Carragher.

New manager Rafael Benítez moved him to centre-half, where he would manage 56 appearances all season alongside Sami Hyypiä.

Carragher developed a reputation as a strong and positionally astute defender and would remain in the centre-half position for the rest of his career.

He did, however, temporarily come out of retirement in order to represent England at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, before retiring again with 38 senior England caps.

A one-club man, he was Liverpool's vice-captain for 10 years, and is the club's second-longest ever serving player, making his 737th appearance for Liverpool in all competitions on 19 May 2013.

Carragher also holds the record for the most appearances in European competition for Liverpool with 149.

Following his retirement in 2013 Carragher joined Sky Sports, where he appears as a commentator and pundit.

In July 2020, CBS Sports announced Carragher would join their Champions League studio broadcast team.

Born in Bootle, Merseyside, Carragher attended the FA's school of excellence in Lilleshall in his youth.