Perennially in John Terry’s shadow, Liverpool center back Jaime Carragher at this point has turned so many imperious performances that it’s time the assumed the mantle as England’s leading defender, says the Guardian’s Rob Smyth. Carragher’s resoluteness this season was punctuated by his performances against Manchester United and Barcelona Tuesday night in the Champions League.
Ironically, both games were 1-0 losses, though Liverpool was tremendously unlucky not to win both of them. Even so, last night’s loss to Barcelona was enough to see the Reds through to the quarterfinals. Despite scoring with 15 minutes to go, Barcelona never looked like adding another one, as Liverpool’s collective team defending was absolutely brilliant. Carragher, of course was the marshal, limiting Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho to one good chance the whole game.
As Smyth says, it was another performance in which Carragher’s influence seems to be regarded in a supporting role context, when in fact it was he who took the lead: “No matter how many times Carragher defies the world’s greatest attackers, the praise he receives remains resolutely patronizing and faint.”