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http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N158411080115-0837.htmWith Jamie Carragher set to make his 500th appearance for Liverpool tonight, we asked those who've played with and managed Bootle's finest to reflect on one of modern football's great careers.
We asked Rafa Benitez whether he'd like a team of Carraghers and quizzed Stevie G on whether Istanbul would have happened without his vice-captain.
Roy Evans and Ian Rush cast their minds back to working alongside Carra in his early days, while Steve Finnan, John Arne Riise and Sami Hyypia lift the lid of what it's been like playing alongside and training with the no-nonsense defender over the last few years.
We discover why Carra sometimes thinks he's Diego Maradona and find out which players are on the end of his Scouse wit at Melwood.
Five hundred games - how big an achievement is that?Gerrard: "It's a magnificent achievement. He's worked so hard from day one to establish himself in the first team and he really deserves to have reached 500. The sacrifices he makes off the pitch and the effort he puts into every game and training session means he deserves all the accolades he gets."
Benitez: "It's difficult to find a player who is so loyal to his home club. I think everybody knows he is one of the best defenders in England now. He has experience, he knows how to defend in every situation and I am really pleased to see Carra playing for us every week. I knew him because we played against him when Valencia met Liverpool, so we knew he was a good player. We had to play really well to beat him. When we arrived here we could see that he had character. He was shouting at his teammates, and for us a centre-back must be a player that can control, can help their teammates. Carra can do these things really well."
When he first broke on to the scene did you ever think he'd reach this milestone?Evans: "With young lads, particularly defenders, you always worry whether they can take it and if they could bounce back from a mistake. But with Jamie you always knew he had the courage to play. He had plenty to say and could look after himself, and knew the game inside out. He doesn't hide and has gone on to lead the team from the back for many years. Don't get me wrong, he wasn't nailed on to make it. He was steady at first and obviously being a Bluenose at the time you wondered how long he would last! But he developed as the years went on and became Mr Reliable.
Riise on Carra "He is very funny, he likes to stitch people up and make jokes with people. I am on the end of it all the time – he's always after me in training. He knows me well and knows I'll get frustrated by it. He loves to shout and scream, especially so the boss hears it. He likes to humiliate you in front of the boss! He's not the most technical guy but tries to do a few tricks in training. He never succeeds. If he does one time he shouts and screams like he's Diego Maradona. But he's funny, he's a great lad."
What's he like to play with?Hyypia: "He's a great defender. He talks a lot and helps you in many situations. One part of his game which has improved a lot in the last two or three years is his going forward with the ball. I have been very pleased to play alongside him at centre-back for these years, and I would like to have seen him get more England appearances. Unfortunately he hasn't had the opportunities, which is surprising because he is our main player.
Riise: "He is the funniest person you can meet, and the nicest, and he is the craziest on the pitch. He is a proper defender: he never takes chances and always kicks the ball away if he needs to. That's what you should do as a defender. As well as this he's strong, quick and can use both feet. He's a leader for us – he's very important for the team."
Rush: "I never played against him, but he would have kicked me I would have thought! What I was good at was closing defenders down but playing against someone like Carra he wouldn't give me the chance to do that. If the ball has got to go into row Z he will do that and that's what defenders are there for. He won't take a chance and that's why I don't think I would have got much change from him if I played against him. I liked defenders who thought they could play and gave you a chance. Carra wouldn't do that."
Has he ever given you earache?Riise: "If you do something wrong, he tells you, but that's just on the pitch. He is the nicest person off it but on the pitch he is very aggressive. You can always hear him talking, but as a defender you need that – you need to keep a line and push up and down. He gives you some, but in a good way, and it's always for the good of you and the team."
Gerrard: "We don't see it as captain and vice-captain. We are two leaders in the dressing room, we help each other and we help other people in the team. It's a massive club and the desire for results is so big that you need each other."
Finnan: "You often get people saying they can hear him from the stands, that's how loud he is. You can hear him from one end of the stadium to the other, but every team needs someone like that."
Rush: "If his team are losing he will have a go at his teammates and that's what he's all about. Jamie just loves playing football and he knows everything about Liverpool Football Club and its history. He can tell me certain games where I scored and I don't even remember it!"
And in training, is he just as intense at Melwood as he is on the pitch?Riise: "He is very funny, he likes to stitch people up and make jokes with people. I am on the end of it all the time – he's always after me in training. He knows me well and knows I'll get frustrated by it. He loves to shout and scream, especially so the boss hears it. He likes to humiliate you in front of the boss! He's not the most technical guy but tries to do a few tricks in training. He never succeeds. If he does one time he shouts and screams like he's Diego Maradona. But he's funny, he's a great lad."
Benitez: "He trains really hard, 100 per cent always, so you can see he is a player that can improve a lot because he is trying to learn in every training session."
What's he like to coach?Rush: "He was a great lad. He's very enthusiastic and he gets the dressing room going. He typifies the Liverpool tradition. He is a winner and is one of them players that will play even if he's 20 per cent fit. A lot of players will only play if they are 99 per cent fit but with Jamie it's a different story. I didn't see a lot of him at Melwood because I was coaching the strikers but Michael Owen always used to tell me about the jokes that were going on and Carra was always involved in them. That's why I think it's great in the dressing room to have someone like him. He used to always take the p**s! He used to always say to the strikers who I was coaching, 'It's about time we had a striking coach, we might get a few goals now.'"
Evans: "He was always the most keen of the lot. He was an Evertonian when he arrived, though he won't like me saying that. But Jamie has always given 100 per cent in every game and training session and his passion now is Liverpool Football Club. I remember one time I bumped into him in the cinema and he asked me if I was behaving myself! I had to give him a dressing down."
Could you find a more model pro?Evans: "Since getting into the first team he's learnt how to behave and conduct himself. He had a few skirmishes early on, he'll admit that himself, but over the years he's been an absolutely fantastic ambassador for this football club. If any young players want to know how to behave on and off the pitch they should look at Jamie.
What's his motivation after all these years?Riise: "He knows in modern football that the competition for places is so hard. Okay, he's playing regularly for us now but he knows things turn around in football. Every game is a final for him. He goes out there and is so passionate about his football and his club. He just wants to win – he's a winning person. Even in training he tackles and shouts and screams like he does in games. That's Carra. We have so much to thank him for."
Gerrard: "He's a winner. He hates getting beaten even in five-a-sides. The biggest compliment I can give him is that he's a winner. If you've got that as a footballer, it helps you to find levels of consistency.
Finnan: "Playing for his local team, every game means a lot to him. That's really important for the squad, to have someone like that. He wants to win. He wants a lot of trophies and it'd be great if he could get the Premier League before the end of his career."
Benitez: "For me it is the mentality. Another thing is the passion. He has passion in every game and in every training session. He is very competitive, he is a winner, so that is the difference for me compared to other players."
Evans on coaching Carra "He was always the most keen of the lot. He was an Evertonian when he arrived, though he won't like me saying that. But Jamie has always given 100 per cent in every game and training session and his passion now is Liverpool Football Club. I remember one time I bumped into him in the cinema and he asked me if I was behaving myself! I had to give him a dressing down."
The fans talk about a team of Carraghers – what would you think about that?Evans: "It would be boring! No, we wouldn't score many goals but I tell you what, if you had a team full of players with Jamie's attitude, it would be absolutely fantastic."
Gerrard: "It would be disappointing if we had a team of Carraghers because there'd be no place for me. But he's someone all young players should look up to because you don't have to worry how he's going to perform in a game. You know."
Benitez: "I think if we had a team of Carras, Pepe Reina would be very happy because he would keep a lot of clean sheets. We would need maybe to bring Torres in up front, but the rest of the team could be Carras and it would be a fantastic team!"
He was one of the key figures in Istanbul. What are your memories of him on that night?Riise: "I remember he got cramp and it was unbelievable because he kept tackling. At first all of us were humiliated, even Carra because he didn't play his best – no one did. But then second half something just turned and he was the best defender in the world. He tackled everybody, headed, blocked and he never goes down. He just wants to play no matter what – even if he broke his leg he'd still want to walk off the pitch. That's him – you get 110 per cent and more."
Benitez: "I remember him on the ground with cramp. He was amazing, everything was amazing that night but the performance of Carra was really good – outstanding. I don't think we would have won the European Cup without him because we had some problems in defence. He was really good. We needed him and, you know, when he is on the pitch, his teammates work a little bit harder. He was a key player for us that night."
Evans: "I don't think we would have won that night without Jamie, and there's a lot of games down the years about which you could say that. It's great to see a defender get credit because it doesn't always happen. Jamie was one of our top men that night."
How much longer do you think he could go on for?Hyypia: "A few years ago he became one of the most important parts of the team, plus he's vice captain – all this and he's not even 30 yet. Five hundred games before you are 30 is a massive achievement, but I don't think it will stop there for Jamie. I think he'll keep going far beyond that, which for him, being from this area, is amazing."
Riise: "He never wants to rest – he wants to play every single game. Five hundred appearances is unbelievable but he's still a main man for many years to come."
Gerrard: "He can go on for a long time. He's a fit lad, he looks after himself and physically he is a power house. Plus he is a good player, so I think he can go on for a long time. I know he certainly wants to."
Benitez: "He has some more years of contract, he is fit and he trains really well, so I think that he can play a lot of games yet. I don't know if he will reach Ian Callaghan's 857 games because that figure is amazing but I think he can play a lot more games for us."
Where does he rank among the defenders you've played alongside?Hyypia: "I would think he is the best defender I've played with."
Riise: "He is up there amongst the world's top three defenders. Top three, definitely. For me, he's the best defender I've played with.
Rush: "He is up there. Hansen and Lawrenson for me would be the best partnership we have had at the back. Carragher has had different partners and he has been the main one and I think that typifies what he's like. He's played alongside Hyypia, who is one of the best players as well. I think Jamie has benefited from playing alongside him and he is his own man now. It's a case of who will play alongside Carragher and not who he plays with."
Evans: "Jamie is a one off. A lot of players try to play like someone else but Carra plays like Carra. He knows what he can and can't do and plays to his strengths. That's why he's a great player. There's only one Jamie Carragher."
Will he go down as one of the club's legends?Gerrard: "Even now, if he never played another game again, he is a legend. He's won the treble, FA Cups and a Champions League. He's sweated blood and guts for this club."
Riise: "I don't think Liverpool would be what it is today without him."
