PLAYER PROFILE

Jamie Carragher

Position: Defence

Height: 6'0

Weight: 12st 0lbs

Date of Birth: 1978-01-28 Bootle, England

Jamie Carragher

Jamie Carragher has risen through the Anfield ranks to become one of Liverpool's most reliable and consistent performers. Despite previously being used as both a central defender and holding midfielder, he has made the left-back slot his own without being a natural left footer.

The Bootle-born defender was a member of Liverpool's successful FA Youth Cup winning side of 1996 and quickly forced his way into reserve team and first team reckoning, breaking fully into the squad during 1998/99 in a central defensive position. In his younger years he was also skipper of England's Under-21 side and holds the record for the number of appearances at that level. It was during his breakthrough season for the Liverpool senior side that he also made his debut for the senior England team.

In 2001/02, he again performed consistently, but found himself in an unusual position, at the centre of controversy after the combustible FA Cup game against Arsenal. Following a lunge from Dennis Bergkamp, which resulted in a red card for the Dutchman, a coin was thrown at Carragher from the crowd. In the heat of the moment, the defender reacted by throwing the coin back. The referee saw the incident and sent him off.

He was expected to be included in the England squad for the 2002 World Cup but injury kept him out, as he needed an operation on his troublesome knee, which was also expected to keep him out of the first two months of the 2002/03 season.

However, he recovered in time to have an excellent campaign which saw him make Liverpool's right back position his own, and despite Liverpool going through a barren patch midway through the campaign, he remained in fine form.

In summer 2003, the signing of Fulham right-back Steve Finnan gave Carragher some healthy competition in the position he had excelled in. Upon Finnan's arrival, Carragher signalled his intentions for the battle for the right-back slot: "If Steve gets ahead of me in the team then I'll just have to find out where he lives and I'll send the boys round."

However, this battle for the right-back spot never came into fruition. A horrendous tackle by Blackburn's Lucas Neill in the Reds' fifth game of the season at Ewood Park left Carragher out of the game for six months with a broken leg, and sparked a war of words between Houllier and Souness after Neill and his manager failed to apologise for the horror tackle.

But, in the second half of the season, he made a terrific comeback making 24 further appearances. It was no surprise then that he earned a call-up to the England squad for Euro 2004 and almost featured in the opening game against France, although John Terry's vacant position ended up going to Tottenham's Ledley King.

The 2004/05 season saw his ascent continue in what turned out to be his most successful campaign for both club and country. He was a regular fixture in the Liverpool defence, making 56 appearances all in all. His strength and agility at the back proved instrumental in Liverpool's Champions League success.

On the international front, he proved his worth helping England in the early part of their bid to qualify for the World Cup Finals in Germany 2006. He went on to play in four of their games in the tournament itself, though it ended on a low when he missed a crucial penalty in the shoot-out against Portugal.

However, he had previously enjoyed another excellent season at Anfield, where he was fast becoming one of the cornerstones of a successful Liverpool team, picking up an FA Cup winners medal after the win over West Ham in the final.

This success continued in the 2006/07 season as he made over 50 appearances and scored one goal. He once more put in a string of fine displays in 2007/08 and is now among the first names on Rafa Benitez's teamsheet.