'It was about making the people happy'
Jamie Carragher loved lifting trophies and celebrating Liverpool goals – but seeing the joy those moments brought to the supporters was just as special for the Bootle boy.
In the first part of Liverpoolfc.com's final interview with Carragher, the man who has been the Scouse heartbeat of Liverpool's side for over a decade insisted he set out only to make the Reds' fans proud when he took to the pitch as a player.
And when asked how he would like to be remembered by the supporters after he retired, Carragher's typically-humble response was: "As a decent lad, who had a go and who was there for [the fans].
"Everyone has an opinion on whether you were a good player or a bad player, or whether you played well in a particular game or not. We all see it differently.
"But as long as everyone knew I put a shift in for them and I was there for them, home and away, wherever we were playing, that's important.
"As long as the supporters can say 'he had a go for us', then that's all that matters to me.
"You give your best in every game. You keep fighting for the fans. You go onto the pitch and a lot of the time you think of the supporters.
"A lot of the good times that you have are when you win big games or when you win trophies, but I get as much joy just watching the supporters celebrate.
"You just want to make the fans happy. There's nothing better than seeing them happy.
"I see it when we've had a good win and we take the kids to school and everyone is waving and beeping the horns. And it gives you a great feeling."
For Carragher, it almost goes without saying that the highest point in his career came on May 25, 2005 in Istanbul.
"Shevchenko missed that pen and we all took off from the half-way line," he recalled. "It was the first moment we knew we were European Champions. It just sunk in. We were all sprinting towards Jerzy Dudek.
"The cramp in my legs had gone by then - maybe I was milking it in the game, who knows!? It was such an achievement to win the game."
However, there have been regrets throughout his glittering 16-year career. Missing out on winning the Premier League title is undoubtedly one.
Losing out to AC Milan in the 2007 Champions League final, two years after the triumph of Istanbul, is another.
"The one that disappoints me the most is the defeat in Athens," said Carragher. "To have won two [Champions Leagues] in my career would have been special.
"Every year, someone wins the Champions League, but very few people can say they have won it twice.
"I've never watched that game [against Milan] again, so I don't really know much about what went on in the game, or whether I could have done something different, because it's just too painful to watch again.
"I played the game and that is all I can remember. I doubt I'll ever see it again."
Carragher joined Liverpool at nine years of age. He was handed his debut by Roy Evans in January 1997.
Since then he has lifted the Champions League, two FA Cups, a UEFA Cup and three League Cups.
"I suppose you change as a person," he reflected. "You change in terms of maturity and you grow older, but I don't think I've turned into a flash type of person in anyway.
"I still like people to think I'm the same.
"As a player, you improve with experience. I've always been the same type of player. I'm not the type who gets a bit cocky and tries to do things. I've always played the same."
Part two of our exclusive interview with Jamie Carragher will be available in text form on Liverpoolfc.com on Friday. Alternatively, watch the whole thing on LFC TV at 7pm BST on Thursday. The entire show will also be available on LFC TV Online.
