Away from the headlines, in true Carra style

In a week when Sir Alex Ferguson, Paul Scholes and David Beckham called time on their careers, it would not be hard to forget a certain Jamie Carragher was also playing his 508th and final match for Liverpool. But then he has never been one to hog the headlines.
One of the last few of a dying breed of defenders who would put their life on the line everytime they were on the pitch, the 35-year-old 'one club man' will lead the Reds out at Anfield against Queens Park Rangers on Sunday and he will be missed.
Carragher will be the first to admit he was never the most skilful, gifted or talented footballer but he made up for it with a level of grit and discipline that will be very hard to replace. But perhaps what will be missed most is his leadership qualities, the same which made then England coach Fabio Capello call him out of retirement to play the 2010 World Cup.
Ferguson and former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez (who shifted him to centre-back from full-back) have already come out this week and spoken of their admiration for his qualities as a player, words that will probably mean much more than the headlines he seldom got.
Carragher admitted regret at not winning the Premier League but his wince inducing, last-ditch tackles while fighting bouts of cramp as Liverpool won the 2004-05 Champions League against Milan in Istanbul after arguably the best European final will be fondly remembered by Liverpool fans for years to come.