Carra: My Autobiography Read online

  Table of Contents

  About the Author

  Title

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Foreword by Kenny Dalglish

  Chapter 1 Marsh Lane

  Chapter 2 Everton

  Chapter 3 A Liver Bird Upon My Chest

  Chapter 4 The Bootroom

  Chapter 5 Houllier

  Chapter 6 The Treble

  Chapter 7 England

  Chapter 8 Rafa

  Chapter 9 Istanbul

  Chapter 10 A Team of Carraghers

  Chapter 11 Spanish Steps

  Chapter 12 The Liverpool Way

  Chapter 13 Walk On

  Career Record

  Jamie Carragher was born on 28 January 1978 and after making his way through Liverpool's youth ranks, winning the FA Youth Cup with the Reds in 1996, made his debut for the first team before his nineteenth birthday. He has now racked up more than 500 appearances for his hometown club, playing in every position across the back line as well as in midfield before becoming the first-choice central defender under Rafa Benitez.

  Carra was part of the Liverpool team that won the treble of the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup in 2001, won another League Cup in 2003 and the FA Cup again in 2006. His greatest success came as a Champions League winner in 2005, when Carra also captained the Reds to European Super Cup success and was named Liverpool's Player of the Year. He won thirty-four caps for England before retiring from international football.

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  CARRA

  MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY

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  CARRA

  MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY

  This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author's and publisher's rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  ISBN 9781407038933

  Version 1.0

  www.randomhouse.co.uk

  TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS

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  A Random House Group Company

  www.rbooks.co.uk

  First published in Great Britain

  in 2008 by Bantam Press

  an imprint of Transworld Publishers

  Copyright © Jamie Carragher 2008

  Jamie Carragher has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book

  is available from the British Library.

  ISBN: 9781407038933

  Version 1.0

  This electronic book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

  All photographs personally provided by Jamie Carragher, with thanks to Liverpool FC, the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo, Trinity Mirror, and the photographers who have followed his life and career over the years. Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to illustrative copyright material. We apologize for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.

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  can be found at: www.randomhouse.co.uk

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  2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1

  To everyone who's helped me on my journey from Marsh Lane to Anfield and the most illustrious stadiums of Europe: my best friend and wife Nicola, my beautiful children James and Mia, my mum and dad for making me the person and player I am, my brothers John and Paul, and everyone in Bootle I consider part of the Team of Carraghers.

  Acknowledgements

  I was determined to ensure when the time came for me to tell my story it reflected how I play: completely honest. That's why I imagined I'd wait until I'd played my last game before putting pen to paper. In normal circumstances it's difficult for players to express how they really feel until they've retired. But as I approached my thirtieth birthday I suppose I hit that age where I had so much to get off my chest I couldn't keep it in any more. My wife, Nicola, thinks I've got grumpy old man syndrome forty years too early, so with so much to be said about my life, career and Liverpool FC there was no way I could have waited another four or five years to do this book. Besides, no one might be so interested after I pack it in!

  As an avid reader of sporting autobiographies, I couldn't wait to get started. On the Liverpool coach heading to an away game, on a flight to Europe or just lounging around a hotel awaiting kick-off, I'm usually hiding behind the latest football book to hit the shelves, so I knew it was only a matter of time before I took the plunge. I've often felt I had more of interest to say than those I was reading about; and in some cases I was so impressed by the story I felt inspired to follow suit.

  I had a fair idea in my mind what makes a good read. Without wishing to sound big-headed at all, I often find myself inundated by interview requests during the course of a season. It made sense for me to present my story and my views in my own way rather than see myself plastered across different newspapers from one week to the next, with little or no control over how I come across. That's why I instructed my agent of the past ten years, Struan Marshall, to accept an offer from the publishers Transworld, and work on Carra began.

  As well as my family and close friends, to whom I've dedicated this book, I'd like to thank Struan, his assistant Kathryn Taylor and Andy Sterling for all their help with this autobiography and throughout my career. Thanks also to the Transworld team, including Giles Elliott and copy-editor Daniel Balado, and finally thanks to writer Chris Bascombe for piecing together my story and putting up with my attention to detail and constant changes. Jamie Carragher, July 2008

  In the summer of 2007, Jamie and I met in the reception of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Hong Kong to begin work on this book.

  Pre-season is a time when the line between optimism and delusion is unavoidably blurred. Liverpool's Far East summer tour was enhancing the same expectations we'd both grown accustomed to across the previous decade – Jamie as a player and me as a Kop season ticket holder and LFC newspaper correspondent. As Jamie handed me his notes, mapping the journey he'd take through his memories, he left suitable gaps for the successes in the months to come.

  A year in the writing, Carra was intended to conclude triumphantly in May 2008 with Liverpool's elusive nineteenth League title or sixth Champions League win. But just ten minutes after our first meeting I conducted my second interview of the day, this time on behalf of my former employers at the Liverpool Echo, and assistant manager Pako Ayesteran succeeded in bursting the bubbles I'd been inflating moments earlier, painting the picture of a football club in turmoil behind the scenes which was still far from ready to capture its 'holy grail'.

  'This club is not ready to win the title,' Ayesteran stated.

  His words were scarily prophetic, but I doubt even he foresaw the extent of the imminent disturbance. Within three months Ayesteran had left Liverpool, Rafa Benitez's position was under threat, and the recent American takeover was creating one dramatic headline after another. As Carra reviewed plans for
the book, there was a growing realization the finale would not be one of triumph but of painful reflection on a traumatic season.

  Jamie always intended this to be far more than a traditional, clichéd footballer's autobiography, and the background against which it has been written underlines why. It's a record of a turbulent yet triumphant time in the club's history, as the modern Liverpool Football Club has fought a continuous battle with the ghosts of its past. The paradox is, while Liverpool has been gripped by uncertainty and instability, Jamie has been a permanent symbol of what it used to be, what through players like him it quite often still is, and what it eternally aspires to be. Without him, Anfield would have been a far grimmer place over the last ten years. It's his efforts as much as any which have ensured regular honours for Liverpool, and safeguarded a place among the European elite.

  Liverpool has been blessed with great servants over the course of its illustrious history, but none has managed to represent the aspirations of the club and its city more than Jamie Carragher. Helping him to tell his story has been my writing equivalent of winning the Champions League, a cup treble and the Premier League, all within the space of twelve months.

  I'd like to thank the Bascombes, the Wooseys, the Connollys and the Boileaus for their constant support; Paul Joyce of the Daily Express, whose assistance and advice was, as always, invaluable; LFC statistician Ged Rea; and Roddy Frame for providing the eternally inspirational soundtrack to all my writing efforts.

  Most of all, I'd like to thank my wife, Paula, for her proofreading expertise, and Jamie for keeping his long-term promise to resist the temptation to allow one of the Sunday supplement crew to muscle in and grab the ghost-writing gig. Chris Bascombe, July 2008

  Foreword by Kenny Dalglish

  I was still Liverpool manager when I first saw Sharpy. That was my nickname for the eleven-year-old Jamie Carragher, who provided an early demonstration of his Scouse cheek by turning up for five-a-sides at Liverpool's School of Excellence wearing the Everton kit of his childhood hero, Graeme Sharp.

  Carra was a striker in those days. I'd head to the Vernon Sangster Leisure Centre, just adjacent to Anfield, and join in the games with my son Paul. I couldn't fail to notice the impressive forward in blue. He made sure I always took my place in the opposing side, so I doubt he ever won a game!

  The fact he brazenly strolled in wearing his Everton strip said a lot about the young Carra's character. He showed no inhibitions, regardless of the surroundings. It's a positive attribute he's taken into his adult career. Whether he was playing a five-a-side aged eleven or excelling in the San Siro or Nou Camp in the Champions League, he's never changed. I love seeing that sense of dedication, professionalism and pride in the people of Liverpool, which is why the city became my adopted home after I moved from Scotland. Nobody epitomizes these qualities more than Carra.

  I'll bet while Carra was scoring goals, picturing himself celebrating in front of the Gladwys Street end, somewhere at Everton's training ground there were young lads in Liverpool kits pretending to be Ian Rush.

  It wasn't just Carra's provocative choice of kit that made him stand out. He was a prolific goalscorer in his age group, and my youth scouts were telling me they had high hopes he'd progress through our ranks. As I've seen his career develop since, winning so many honours at Anfield and breaking modern appearance records, it's given me immense pride to see that the work of people like me and my staff at youth level at the time – Steve Heighway, Hugh McAuley and Frank Skelly – helped such world-class players emerge.

  I always said if you can't find top-class footballers in a city as passionate about the game as Liverpool, you must be doing something wrong, and we didn't do a bad job during my time in the form of Carra, Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler. We recognized the importance of bringing through youngsters who have an affinity with the people they play for. You can get that with those from other areas – I hope I'm proof of that – but it's always extra special for lads on The Kop to see someone they can relate to. If I have any regrets since leaving Liverpool, missing out on the chance to manage Carra, Robbie and Stevie Mac is one of them. Every manager in the world would have loved to have such players in their side.

  It's amazing someone who was such an Evertonian has now come to represent everything positive about Liverpool, but it's a tribute to him he's handled this transition so well on and off the park. Being a local boy and playing for Liverpool or Everton brings its own pressure. In many ways, it's much harder. There are distractions to contend with growing up in full view of the Merseyside public and there's a responsibility not only to represent the people on the pitch, but to conduct yourself in the right way off it. Far more is expected of you, but Carra has coped with it admirably.

  Liverpool has a long list of legendary defenders, but Carra's name will sit comfortably alongside those of Ron Yeats, Tommy Smith, Emlyn Hughes, Phil Thompson, Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson. The difference is, after ten years of distinguished service in so many different positions he's still going strong and has plenty still to achieve in the game. We're not talking about a player in the past tense here, but someone who'll have many more chapters to add to his life in football. He's a credit to himself, his club, his city and his family, whose competitive streak I can absolutely vouch for.

  In fact, all that remains is to urge everyone to remember the following. When you're reading about my amusing brush with Carra's dad during a notorious fixture between Bootle and Crosby Schoolboys, recalled during the course of the book, keep this in mind.

  It was never a penalty.

  1

  Marsh Lane

  I was lying on my bed crying.

  A pair of football boots was scattered across the floor, and I was still in my soaking schoolboy strip, trying to figure out how within thirty minutes I'd gone from avoiding bruises on the pitch, in a game which ought to have underlined my growing potential, to receiving a good hiding from my dad. I'd been handed a lesson in football and in life I'd never forget. At the age of seven, my destiny was being shaped.

  When players talk about defining moments they usually focus on their highlights. I could begin my story writing about European triumphs or FA Cup wins. I could recall my professional debut, or the first time I signed a contract. I could relive a watershed game when I came off the pitch and knew I'd achieve my dreams, or at the very least felt they were within my grasp.

  But a career isn't so simple. Only as you get older can you reassess your experiences. Then you appreciate the impact of events you never recognized as life-changing at the time, but which made you the person you are. When my dad hurled that pair of soaking football boots at me, he probably thought he was merely handing me the punishment I deserved. It was more than that. This was the start of my becoming a footballer.

  The cause of my dad's rage was a shameful performance for Merton Villa, my first team. I was already showing promise, playing in the Under-11s alongside lads three years older, but on this particular afternoon there was a reason I didn't want to play.

  It was raining.

  Actually, it was hail-stoning. I'd never faced torrential conditions before, and couldn't summon the desire, energy or courage to drag my drenched body around a sodden pitch. For the first and only time, I faked injury. As the first challenge came in I hit the turf, rolled around and threw in some tears to seal the deal.

  'They'll have to substitute me,' my cunning seven-year-old brain conspired. 'I can go home, put my feet up and get warm.'

  No substitution was needed. Philly Carragher, my dad, was on the pitch with his own hook before any decision was necessary. He grabbed my shirt, dragged me from the field, pushed me head-first into the car and drove home, leaving me in no doubt about what would follow.

  Once in my bedroom, it hailed football boots. My drowned jersey felt heavier by the second as it absorbed my tears. My dad told me I'd let him down as much as myself. No Carragher was going to be seen as such a coward, especially not in public. I needed to understand
the value of pride, and to learn to deal with tough circumstances. I knew the next time I played, no matter how demanding the situation, I wouldn't hide.

  I hated my dad at that moment, but I've been thanking him for the punishment ever since. Since turning professional, I've played with and against players who've shown the same gutless attitude I did when I was seven. At least my age was an excuse.