Football, Sports, and all that Jazz: When We Dream of a Team of Carraghers

When We Dream of a Team of Carraghers

by vetriciawizach on Sabtu, 14 Juli 2012

Published on my tumblr at September 4th, 2010

We all know he’s not the best defender in the world. He’s hot blooded. He’s not that elegant. He often drove Liverpool’s fans crazy with his long pass, and he never had that lightening pace to begin with. But none of that really matter, really. Because if football pitch was a battlefield then James Lee Duncan Carragher will be the first one I call as my soldier. Heck, if I must take only one person to that imaginary war, bear with me, then 10 out of 10 I would bring Carragher. Not Gerrard, not Torres, not Pepe, but Carragher and Carragher only.

To explained the reason why is to know that Carragher is the kind of person who epitomized the Liverpool way. He works hard, keeps his head down, and get the jobs done. He don’t have those flashy skills that will water-mouth you. But when it comes to 50:50 challenge you rarely see him lose to anybody. For many years he had developed his upper body physique and became very difficult to push of the ball.

And there’s the fact that even-though everybody seems to think that he has a guaranteed place in the first eleven, Carra always has that sense to prove something to everyone. “I’m always there to be shot at. I don’t feel you’ve got to be 100% fit to play. I’ve got to be 100% injured not to play,” was the word Carra used one time at his interview with The Sunday Times.

That kind of attitude was one of the reason why Carra have six hundred and thirty five appearances for Liverpool on his pocket. He wanted to be there, and he wanted it more than anyone. A champions league final in Istanbul is a prove of the magnitude of his mind power. There he was out on his feet and had cramp. There he was making tackle, interception, and throwing his body in the way of shoots. Gerrard was a monster on that day, but the kop faithful knows what an enormous contribution Jamie had given us on that one special night.

But above all of his quality on the field, I love Jamie Carragher for his passion as a Liverpool fan. When he was asked if he thought Steven Gerrard would leave for a more superior club, his reply was “who’s bigger than Liverpool?”. When he failed to convert a penalty on the World Cup quarters, the first thing that crossed his mind was “at least it wasn’t Liverpool” (and he repeated that to himself over and over again). Some might think that’s thought provoking and isn’t something appropriate to be said for a national team player, but that’s Jamie. He doesn’t always say all the right things, but he always that brutal honesty. And as a Liverpool supporter, his honesty about his priority for Liverpool is such a breath of fresh air. Deep down, you just know that when all the chips are down, Jamie Carragher will always be there for us. Even if it means to sink into the depth of relegation, I believe Carra will take a good care of Liverpool.

A one club man. A legend. A liverpudlian. A leader. A fighter. That’s Jamie Carragher in my eyes. Maybe no amount of words could justified the amount of adoration I have for him. And on his blessed testimonial day, the only thing I could say is thank you Carra. For every blood and sweat, for every trophy, for every victory, and for every loss you’ve given for us, we are eternally grateful.