The end of an era

We all knew this day was coming. However much we desired to delay the inevitable, the announcement of the impending retirement of Jamie Carragher was bound to come sooner or later. At 35, he has reached the age where professional footballers traditionally hang their boots up and begin a life mainly situated on the golf course or in Sky Sports' studios.

Meanwhile, Kopites' dreams of a Team of Carraghers will be replaced by cherished memories of the man who embodied their unparalleled spirit and fulfilled their dreams in the process. A career littered with match-winning performances and winners' medals. which was, most importantly, dedicated to the humble service of his local club, will not be quickly forgotten at Anfield.

When the 19-year old Jamie Carragher marked his first start for the club with a headed goal during a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa, few could have predicted the impact he would go on to have at the club. Even fewer would have recognised how witnessing a goal from Carragher was such a rare collectors' item!

Despite playing as a striker while in Liverpool's youth teams, Carra lacks goalscoring prowess and also has a penchant to net the occasional own goal. Nonetheless, the amount of goals he has prevented, and thus games he has saved or won, as a result of a last-ditch tackle or vital defensive block is unquantifiable. The amount of players he has immeasurably improved by guiding them with his strong leadership and loud voice is also impossible to calculate.

What can be expressed in numbers, though, is the amount of appearances he has made for the Reds: 723 and counting. Second in the club's all-time appearance list, the colossal Carra has had quite a career, the pinnacle of which was indisputably the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul.

Riddled with cramp and barely able to stand during a gruelling thirty minutes of extra time, Carragher made two crucial clearances to keep hold of the 3-3 draw Liverpool had superbly secured and earn a penalty shoot-out. Ecstatic and elated, Carra, literally running on adrenaline, was the first to sprint to Jerzy Dudek in celebration after the Polish stopper had saved Andriy Shevchenko's spot kick to clinch a historic fifth European Cup for Liverpool.

23 Carra Gold- Carragher savours winning in Istanbul

It was a fitting way to end Rafael Benitez's first season in charge at the club. As the first manager to regularly play him at the heart of the defence, Carragher owes a lot to the Spaniard, who brought to an end the rotating role the number 23 had had under previous boss Gerard Houiller. Although that experience had developed his versatility, Carragher really came of age as a key player in the Reds' starting line-up when he was starting at centre back week in, week out.

In recent times, Carragher has seen his starting role in the side diminished. New manager Brendan Rodgers has clearly, and quite reasonably, decided that Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger are going to be his first choice centre backs for the foreseeable future. Carra's role has been limited to appearing in Cup matches and the occasional League game to give either Skrtel or Agger a rest. 

Consequently, it's unsurprising that he has decided to announce his retirement from the game he loves and the club he has devoted his entire career to. Carragher has always said he wants to play regularly and won't settle for warming the substitutes' bench. This hasn't led him to grumble and express his disapproval, though. Ever the professional, Carra has fully supported Rodgers and concentrated on helping the team in whatever way he can. 

His commitment and patience have been rewarded recently, as he started against both Arsenal and Manchester City, where his experience and defensive nous were vital to securing two well-deserved draws. Although unlikely to be a regular in the starting line-up for the remainder of his last campaign at the club, Carragher will still have a role to play in marshalling the defence when necessary and providing leadership both on and off the pitch.

Moreover, when he has hung up his boots, it seems almost inevitable that Carra will join the club's backroom staff at some point in the not so distant future. 

The end of an era may just prove to be the start of another. 

YNWA