Jamie Carragher shows off a ruthless streak here, but Liverpool fans will undoubtedly back his decision.
The Sky Sports pundit, along with Jamie Redknapp, was tasked with picking a Liverpool dream XI from the Premier League era. The pair have over 1,000 games between them for Liverpool, with Carragher appearing 737 times for the Merseyside team, and have played alongside some brilliant players.
From Ian Rush and Ronnie Whelan, Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman, Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez, it was not an easy job by any means.
They were particularly spoiled for choice for the two forward positions in the team, and Carragher showed no signs of sentimentality with his selection, leaving out his best friend Michael Owen.
Owen told Simon Hughes for the book Ring of Fire, about Liverpool players in the 21st century, that he and the central defender were very close during their time together at the club, before he left for Real Madrid in 2004.
“Carra and I roomed together for donkey’s years. We were best mates. We’d talk about problems; injuries; playing through the pain barrier; the fear of getting dropped; him being moved around by (Gerard) Houllier; the pain of us being caught having a drink. We shared absolutely everything: about women, about money, about football – everything.”
Yet, Carragher speaks like a true Liverpool fan when he gives his reasons for omitting Owen, who went on to play for Manchester United, and Torres, who joined Chelsea for £50m in January 2011, from the XI in favour of Luis Suarez and Robbie Fowler
“One went to Man United and one went to Chelsea, so f**k them,” Carragher says.
Carragher is included in the team, but Redknapp misses out.
Here’s the team in full:
Pepe Reina, John Arne Riise, Sami Hyypia, Jamie Carragher, Rob Jones; John Barnes, Xabi Alonso, Steven Gerrard, Steve McManaman; Luis Suarez, Robbie Fowler.
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