IRELAND ENQUIRED ABOUT snapping up Kop legend Jamie Carragher before he made his England debut.
The former Liverpool defender believes that he was eligible to declare for the Boys in Green — and says manager Mick McCarthy was keeping tabs on him.
Carragher broke into the Reds’ first team in 1997 and went on to play more than 700 games for the Anfield club.
Advertisement
McCarthy watched one of his early games and made very tentative enquiries about his ‘granny rule’ status.
By that stage Carragher had already represented England at underage level and was happy to commit to his home country.
“I was approached, yeah,” he revealed during a visit to Dublin this week.
“The day I made I made my full debut for Liverpool, who would have been manager then? 1997? Mick McCarthy?
“I think he might have been at the game and he just asked one of the Liverpool coaching staff but I’d already played for England through the ages.
“I think they were just checking to be honest, but that was about it.”
Carragher admitted that he’s still unsure if he was actually eligible to represent Ireland.
“I think I was, yeah. I wasn’t going to do it so I never had to look into that much … me and Richard Dunne at the back!”
Carlsberg have officially launched their 2015 #JOINTHEGREATS campaign, giving 20 Irish football fans a once in a lifetime opportunity to play on Liverpool FC’s hallowed Anfield turf with their mate. Enter via Carlsberg Football’s Facebook page
Did Mick McCarthy want Jamie Carragher to declare for Ireland?
IRELAND ENQUIRED ABOUT snapping up Kop legend Jamie Carragher before he made his England debut.
The former Liverpool defender believes that he was eligible to declare for the Boys in Green — and says manager Mick McCarthy was keeping tabs on him.
Carragher broke into the Reds’ first team in 1997 and went on to play more than 700 games for the Anfield club.
McCarthy watched one of his early games and made very tentative enquiries about his ‘granny rule’ status.
By that stage Carragher had already represented England at underage level and was happy to commit to his home country.
“I was approached, yeah,” he revealed during a visit to Dublin this week.
“The day I made I made my full debut for Liverpool, who would have been manager then? 1997? Mick McCarthy?
“I think he might have been at the game and he just asked one of the Liverpool coaching staff but I’d already played for England through the ages.
“I think they were just checking to be honest, but that was about it.”
Carragher admitted that he’s still unsure if he was actually eligible to represent Ireland.
“I think I was, yeah. I wasn’t going to do it so I never had to look into that much … me and Richard Dunne at the back!”
Carlsberg have officially launched their 2015 #JOINTHEGREATS campaign, giving 20 Irish football fans a once in a lifetime opportunity to play on Liverpool FC’s hallowed Anfield turf with their mate. Enter via Carlsberg Football’s Facebook page
5 talking points ahead of this weekend’s Premier League action
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Boy in Green Jamie Carragher Mick McCarthy Ireland Republic Liverpool