For the Anfield faithful, Jamie Carragher represents everything that is great about Liverpool Football Club, prompting the Kop to sing 'we all dream of a team of Carraghers'. The club's vice captain, longest-serving player and one of a select band of players to have made more than 500 appearances for the Reds, Carra never gives less than 100 per cent for the cause. Never was this more true than in Liverpool's stunning Champions League triumph in Istanbul in 2005. He is the embodiment of old-fashioned football values a rarity in the modern game honest and uncompromising. In Carra: My Autobiography, the Liverpool defender takes us deep into the heart of Anfield, into the club's past glories and its uncertain future. In his typically down-to-earth style, Carra reveals what made him discard his blue Evertonian roots to become a fully fledged Red, how he mended his wild ways to become a true professional and a multiple trophy-winner, and the truth about a succession of managers Evans, Houllier, Benitez in the hottest seat in football. A scouser through and through, Carra also has some forthright views on the England team, and tells why he rejected calls from both Steve McClaren and Fabio Capello to return to the international fold. Full of sensational stories and controversial opinions, of glory and heartbreak on and off the pitch, Carra: My Autobiography is a football book unlike any other. The authentic voice of Anfield, Carra is one of the Bootroom Boys in true Liverpool tradition, and is as committed on the page as in every game he has ever played.
About the Author
Now vice-captain and Liverpool's longest serving player - one of a select band of players to have made more than 500 appearances for the club - Jamie Carragher signed professional terms with the Reds aged 18 in October 1996. His first team debut came at Middlesbrough on 8 January 1997 as a substitute and he made his first start against Aston Villa ten days later. Carra's passion, enthusiasm and incredible versatility soon ensured regular starts from then on, whether at right-back, left-back, centre-half or in defensive midfield. Carra was part of Gerard Houllier's Treble-winning side of 2001, playing most of the season at left-back. His solid displays earned him a full England debut against Holland in August 2001. Sadly, like teammate Steven Gerrard, injury ruled him out of the 2002 World Cup, and there was more heartbreak a year later when a broken leg forced him to miss six months of the 2003-04 campaign. While Carra had always been a first-team regular at Anfield, he'd somehow struggled to get the recognition he deserved. Each new signing was seen as a threat to his place. The arrival of new boss Rafa Benitez changed all this, with Mr Versatile getting the permanent centre-back slot he'd always craved. The Bootle boy was soon being labelled the most underrated defender in the country, not least for his heroics in the unforgettable Champions League final in 2005, and was voted Liverpoolfc.tv's Player of the Year. In July 2005, the defender signed a new four-year deal at Anfield. His loyalty was rewarded a month later when, in the absence of the injured Steven Gerrard, Carra lifted the European Super Cup. There was more silverware at the end of the season despite an own goal in the FA Cup final against West Ham. It was the defender's 10th final in as many years - and what better way to prepare for the World Cup, even though it was to end in crushing disappointment. In August 2006 Carra captained the club in the Community Shield against champions Chelsea, jointly holding the silver dish aloft with injured skipper Gerrard.
