When a diminutive Evertonian from Bootle turned up at Liverpool’s School of Excellence wearing a Graeme Sharp kit back in 1988, few people would have predicted he would one day go on to become a club legend.
But more than three decades later, there can be no refuting Jamie Carragher’s status as a true Liverpool great.
As the ex-Reds defender celebrates his birthday today, the ECHO reflects on the impact the 44-year-old has had both on and off the pitch.
During his time amongst Liverpool’s youth ranks, Carragher was trialled both up front and in midfield before establishing that his skillset could be best implemented in defence.
In his early playing career, the centre-back’s quality and staunch reliability was somewhat overshadowed by the flair of team-mates such as Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen and Steve McManaman.
However, after breaking into the first team in the 1997/98 season, he cemented himself as a mainstay under managers Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez.
In his 17-year playing career, Carragher picked up nine major honours, including three League Cup victories, two FA Cups and, of course, the UEFA Champions League in 2005.
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His last-ditch, goal-saving interceptions in the dying seconds of extra time perfectly epitomised Liverpool’s monumental efforts that night in Istanbul and demonstrated his unwavering instinct to leave everything on the pitch.
Carragher also carved out an admirable international career, earning 38 England caps and representing his country at both the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups.
When the former Liverpool vice-captain hung up his boots in May 2013, he did so as the Reds’ second-longest ever serving player – behind only Ian Callaghan - with 737 appearances under his belt.
Despite being recognised by many as ‘Mr Liverpool’ during his time at Anfield, Carragher’s significance on Merseyside extends far beyond his work on the pitch.
In 2009, the 44-year-old set up the 23 Foundation with the goal of improving the lives of young people across the region through work with charities, sports clubs and community initiatives.
In the 13 years since its conception, the 23 Foundation has supported over 1000 families all around the world, helping to look after children with a range of illnesses and disabilities.
The charity has also provided financial support to local hospitals as well as working alongside food banks to assemble hundreds of food hampers for families in need across the North-West.
Carragher helped launch the Cotton Street homeless shelter back in 2018, as well as teaming up with Kirkby-born artist Steve Randall to raise money for Aintree Hospital’s Walton Centre in 2020.
In February last year, Sefton Council approved plans to enclose a large section of Orrell Mount Park in Litherland, known locally as Silcocks, and convert it into a 3G pitch.
The development will be facilitated by the 23 Foundation, with the space seeking to provide the local community with high quality, well-managed sports facilities.
The venture is an excellent example of Carragher’s enduring connection with his roots.
The former centre back regularly played for Bootle Boys on the same turf, and he told the ECHO that “every penny” generated by the project would go back into helping the community.
The one-club man was celebrated for his work in his hometown with the unveiling of a mural in Bootle’s Marsh Lane last summer.
Graffiti artists MurWalls included a nod to Carragher’s Everton roots in their work, which also features the ex-Liverpool vice-captain holding aloft the Champions League trophy.
The mural is a recognition of Carragher and the 23 Foundation’s work over the last decade, which has helped to raise almost £3 million for causes across Merseyside.
Speaking to the ECHO last summer, the 44-year-old said he was “very proud” to see the work on display in a place that he loves “to bits”.
And its not just locally that the former Liverpool man is being recognised for his work. Carragher has been shortlisted for a 2022 British Diversity Award alongside Manchester United ace Marcus Rashford and Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock.
He is nominated for a Media Champion in the Public Eye Award for helping to launch the Football for Change initiative, which uses funds to distribute grants to organisations helping young people gain education and employment, as well as his work with the Oliver King Foundation.
The latter campaigns to make it mandatory for all schools to have a defibrillator on site after 12-year-old Oliver died from Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS) in 2011.
Oliver’s father and creator of the foundation, Mark King, said that Carragher has been “an incredible champion for the foundation” and his recognition is “thoroughly deserved”.
Whilst the Sky Sports pundit will have to wait until the ceremony in March to find out the results, he will always be viewed as a winner on Merseyside, regardless of the outcome.
Even if, as Steven Gerrard recently declared, he has become "Gary Neville’s new brother"...
