10 reasons why we love Carra

From his debut against Middlesbrough in January 1997 to his recent superb performances against the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City, the Bootle Boy has been Liverpool's beating Scouse heart for over 16 years.

Watching a game at Anfield, at away grounds around England and Europe will never be quite the same again without Carra's high-pitched screams, ordering his teammates about from first minute to last.

But we'll always be able to reflect with pride on the remarkable career of a true Reds legend, who was simply Liverpool through and through.

Here are some of his very best bits...

10. Scoring on his Anfield debut (18.01.1997)

Liverpool lined up a corner out on the left hand side in front of the Kop. Stig Inge Bjornebye stood poised over the ball.

"Collymore at the near-edge of the six-yard area, Wright for the diagonal run," whispered Barry Davis as he looked on from the Anfield gantry, weighing up how Liverpool intended to break the deadlock against Brian Little's Aston Villa.

Bjornebye whipped in a left-footed cross into a packed penalty area.

"And Carragher!" came the call from the commentator, as from out of nowhere, home debutant Jamie Carragher stormed into Villa's box and battered the ball past Mark Bosnich with a perfectly-timed header.

"Of all the preparations I'd considered, celebrating a goal was not one of them," reflected Carra.

"You spend years dreaming of such a moment, visualising how it will play out and how it will feel. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience you can never explain or understand. Suffice to say, having 40,000 supporters cheering you is spine-tingling."

9. Phoning Adrian Durham on Talksport

"So move on to your next point because that was wrong," barked a familiar Scouse voice.

Adrian Durham was as stunned as the thousands of listeners who had turned on their radios to hear his show on Talksport on July 9, 2007.

The presenter had been rather uncomplimentary about Bootle's finest, describing him as 'a bottler' for contemplating international retirement, and Carra had heard it all on his car radio.

The startled listeners and Durham soon realised Carra is not a man to be unjustly criticising.

Carra later wrote in his autobiography: "I have no issue with anyone claiming King or Woodgate are better centre halves, I just didn't agree with it."

Nor, it seemed, did AC Milan ace and footballing legend Cafu who, on the day of Liverpool's Champions League final clash with Milan in 2005, said: "He is the heart of their team, even more so than Steven Gerrard. Carragher is world class. England must have some pretty good centre-backs if he is not an automatic choice."

8. The Carragher family

"No matter what peak I've enjoyed on the pitch, Philly Carragher has ensured himself a comical supporting role off it," said Carragher.

In 2006, The Independent agreed: "When it comes to partying for England, no one can touch the Liverpudlian Carragher clan. There are about 20 of them in Germany, with a strike force led by Jamie's dad Philly - or 'Carra' as his own entourage affectionately knows him."

Jamie continued: "His influence on my career is there for everyone to see. He brought me up to be a winner and he's been alongside me every step on the path to success as a footballer. I've been taught family and friends are the most important things in your life."

7. Liverpool over England

"The Liver Bird mauled the three lions in the fight for my loyalties," said Carra.

It's a sentiment Jamie has never shied away from stressing throughout his footballing career and it's one that has ruffled more than a few feathers with opposition fans around the country.

People the length of England have struggled to comprehend just how a player can put his club before the national side but for most Liverpool supporters, it really is a no-brainer.

The fact that Carragher has been brave enough to emphasise this on so many occasions is surely one of the key reasons why Reds fans have felt they can relate to their No.23.

"There's no such conception of 'only England' to most footballers, including many of my best friends. Representing your country is the ultimate honour, especially in the World Cup. Not for me," said Carra.

"Whenever I returned home from disappointing England experiences one unshakable overriding thought pushed itself to the forefront of my mind, no matter how much the nation mourned. 'At least it wasn't Liverpool,' I'd repeat to myself, over and over.

"I'd never bellow out the anthem before a game. I don't know what message it's trying to send out. 'God Save the Queen' doesn't get my blood pumping. We sing 'You'll Never Walk Alone' at Anfield and everyone understands it. It's a rallying cry for standing by one another through thick and thin, wind and rain."

6. Charity work and '23 Foundation'

In 2009 Jamie decided to donate all the proceeds of his testimonial year to charity.

However, Carragher, along with his wife Nicola, felt that this was 'not enough' and chose to set up 'something that would last a lifetime'.

Jamie Carragher's 23 Foundation aims to 'help as many children as possible to have a better life.'

It looks to give local kids in Merseyside a chance to achieve their dreams through local charities, clubs and community initiatives by providing the means to make a difference. That is whether it be helping local kids recover from illness or helping to provide a framework for achieving their goals.

Carragher said: "The 23 Foundation promotes the idea of 'we' and 'us' because together as a community, we can accomplish anything."

5. His transition from utility player to centre-half

With the appointment of Rafa Benitez in 2004, there was fresh optimism at Anfield and more importantly for Carragher, a fresh outlook.

Whereas previous manager Gerard Houllier had refused to be swayed into fielding Carra at centre-back (even despite protests from assistant manager Phil Thompson), the incoming Rafa instantly acknowledged Carra's ability to excel in his favoured role.

The Spaniard slotted Jamie back into the middle alongside Sami Hyypiä for the start of the 2004-2005 campaign and the rest is history.

"I was revelling in my position at centre-half, performing at the same levels of consistency I always felt I enjoyed, but in a role more suited to my natural strengths," said Carra.

"Benitez's defensive wisdom impressed me the most. It was a step up from what I'd enjoyed before. Benitez has been the greatest overall influence on Jamie Carragher the defender.

"He's brought the best out of me and transformed me into a defender of European pedigree. I played the finest football of my career under Rafa."

4. Telling Dudek to 'do a Grobbelaar'

It was one of the lasting memories of a night which conjured so many in Istanbul. Carra waving his arms at Jerzy Dudek like a man possessed, prodding and pushing the keeper while barking instructions into his ear.

It might not have looked like the ideal way for the Polish stopper to prepare for his part in one of the most important penalty shoot-outs in Liverpool's history but it might just have been the best.

"Dudek is one of football's nice guys," said Carragher.

"That's fine when you want to go for a pint, but when you're looking for that extra edge which is the difference between winning the European Cup and going home devastated, it's time to offer some guidance on the finer arts of craftiness.

"Prior to the shoot-out I headed straight for Jerzy and told him to do everything possible to unsettle the Milan penalty takers. Put them off, distract them, mess with their heads. I didn't care what Jerzy did, I just wanted him to make it even more difficult to score.

"Remember Bruce Grobbelaar in the Rome shoot-out in 1984, I was saying to my keeper."

3. Bootle Boy Born and Bred

Born James Lee Duncan Carragher on January 28, 1978, Jamie spent much of his younger days on the touchline at Sunday league games watching his dad Philly impersonate top-class football managers with his team Merton Villa.

Jamie has never forgotten his working class roots and Bootle upbringing.

He said: "I feel blessed to have been born there. I'm proud of my city and even prouder of the district where I still belong.

"Wearing my Liverpool shirt gives me a responsibility not only never to let myself down, but to make my family, friends, city and district proud of me. Without this outlook I would never have become a successful footballer. My heart and soul were born and bred in Bootle.

"Football has never been a way of escaping my working class background, but a means of celebrating it. These fine people still remember the young lad who stood on the touchline with his dad every Sunday.

"I'd never turn my back on those who made me who I am."

2. 'Who's bigger than Liverpool?'

Sky Sports reporter Geoff Shreeves interviewed Carragher prior to a Merseyside Derby in 2005. The pair laughed and joked about how once upon a time Carra was a striker who supported Everton and now he was playing centre-back for Liverpool.

Then the conversation shifted its focus to more pressing matters and to whether Jamie would like to spend the rest of his career at Anfield: "Of course I would," was Carra's response.

Shreeves: I think, perhaps, there were a few scratching their heads in the media because, as you say you're 26/27, in the prime of your career and you could possibly go to a bigger club where there's a chance of winning more medals...

Carragher: Well, who's bigger than Liverpool?

Shreeves: You don't think there's anybody any bigger?

Carragher: What? Bigger? Normally? Or...What?

Shreeves: You could go to a club where there's likely to be more chance of medals next season?

Carragher:  No, nah, I'm not accepting that.

1. In Istanbul...

Carragher will be best remembered for his colossal defensive performances on so many famous European nights for Liverpool.

In Turin, Milan and Barcelona as well as on countless exhilarating evenings at Anfield he has kept out Drogba, foiled the likes of Nedved and subdued footballing greats such as Raul, Del Piero and Ronaldinho.

But one certain duel, on one particular night will live longer than any other in the memories of adoring Carra fans. His performance in Istanbul in May 2005 and his efforts to thwart European Player of the Year Andriy Shevchenko, cemented his status as an Anfield legend.

On 81 minutes he launched himself into a brilliant sliding tackle on Kaka, who was poised to convert a cross from Crespo, before diving in the way of Shevchenko on 86 minutes as the Ukrainian shaped to fire in the match-winner.

"Those additional 30 minutes were the most tense, strenuous and, ultimately, rewarding I've ever spent on a football pitch," said our No.23.

"At the end of my career, if there's one period of play I believe I'll be remembered for, it was this. During the second period of extra time I stretched to intercept a cross and my leg cramped. Even breaking my leg didn't hurt as much. It was brief and it was instantly treatable, but I knew my body was weakening."

A few second later, he stretched out again despite the searing pain.

"As I did so, it seemed as though the whole world was wincing on my behalf, appreciating the physical torment I was enduring. I hadn't thought twice about throwing my body in the way, whatever grief it was going to cause me for a few seconds was nothing compared to how I'd have felt had I hesitated and watched him score.

"Courage, character, grit, willpower and raw strength - these are the virtues people have installed into me since I was seven years old. The strikers can have their winning goals, the goalkeepers their career-defining saves. A series of lunging tackles on a Milan strike force will be my fondest personal memories of a life in football."