When England’s 30 man preliminary squad for the World Cup was named on Tuesday, the inclusion of Jamie Carragher was hardly surprising. His name had been touted around for at least a week beforehand indicating that he would be a member of the squad. Initially, I was very pleased with his decision to come out of international retirement as his late season form for Liverpool suggested that he could be a tremendous asset to have in South Africa with Rio Ferdinand struggling with injuries and Ledley King still not able to play regularly with his knee problem. Carragher himself has been retired from international football since 2007 after he became fed up with being used as a utility player and playing second fiddle to others in his favoured centre back position. His change of heart for this reason was all the more surprising, but Carra explains:
“The FA got in touch a few weeks ago and asked if I would have a rethink due to injury problems. I said I would make myself available. The World Cup and Champions League are the top levels of football. I’m not getting any younger, we’ve no Champions League football at Liverpool next season and I’m keen to work under Capello.”
There seems to be two motivations at work here, both his desire to play top level football as his career comes to its end, and his desire to play under Fabio Capello. Both reasons certainly derive from his age, at 32 experiences such as the World Cup will become less and less likely, and he believes the loss of Champions League football next season with Liverpool makes him want to grasp every opportunity he gets to play on the big stage. His second reason is definitely more personal: he wants to work under Capello to experience another manager with different techniques and style who has been one of the best coaches in the world over the last two decades. Carra seems to want to learn from the Italian managers techniques, and no doubt he wants to utilise his knowledge with his own career in management in mind, which might be on the horizon in the not too distant future after his retirement.
Age seems to be the critical factor as to why Carragher has decided to make himself available for selection, but it is also the reason why it might not be such a good idea. Paul Scholes, at the age of 35, apparently rejected the opportunity to come out of retirement for this summer’s World Cup because he wanted to extend his club career with Manchester United. Carragher also intimated that this was also one of the reasons for his decision to retire in 2007, so does it have any credence? In my opinion it does for one fundamental reason; the lack of time off Carragher will have between seasons. At 32, the Reds defender’s body will not be as fresh as it once was 10 years ago, and after a gruelling season with Liverpool, he is asking his body to perform for another month and then have only 10 days to recover before he starts pre-season training for the next campaign.
It is a regime which is reserved for the fittest of players and Fernando Torres has shown it can take its toll on even the most young and able bodies. The Spanish striker has not had a rest since the summer of 2007, and it has taken its toll on his body with injury after injury. In Carragher’s case, is it really worth the risk? If he does go, he may be that utility player once again anyway as if Ferdinand is unfit, Ledley King has shown in recent weeks that his knee can hold up and Capello has partnered Matthew Upson with John Terry regularly in the past. He could be playing right back if Glen Johnson is injured. The question remains, is it worth it to be played out of position and then return home for the shortest of rests before another new season?
The consequences for next season are also worrying. Carragher didn’t start last campaign in the best of form, and some had written him off due to the belief he had lost a yard or two of pace. If the same thing happens next season, fitness issues maybe to blame and Liverpool really can’t afford to get off to another poor start next campaign if they want a better year than the one they’ve had previously. His decision may have some unintended costs which may only be seen in the cold light of the day next season.
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It was a downright bad decision the day Carragher decided to become a professional footballer.