NewsJamie Carragher reveals his Liverpool's Greatest top 10
Launched last month, the vote will include picks from fans, ex-players, journalists and a club panel to rank the Reds’ 100 best men’s players in history – to be revealed during the summer.
Former vice-captain Carragher, who has the second-most appearances for LFC with 737, is one of the contenders, having won nine major trophies across 16 years in the side.
He recently sat down with Liverpoolfc.com to share his own top 10 and, in fascinating detail, the reasons why. Read or watch below…
10. Ian Callaghan
I am going to start with Mr. Liverpool, and that is Ian Callaghan. He always has to be in any top 10, for me. Obviously I didn’t see him play too much, I’ve seen lots of video footage of him. But the appearances he’s got, I think 857, will never, ever be beaten. A local lad and a player that, what really sort of fascinates me and I think is absolutely amazing, is this was a man who was part of getting Liverpool out of the Second Division. Obviously Bill Shankly does that as the manager, he’s part of that team. And the fact he’s a young kid, gets Liverpool up to the First Division, wins so much, so many trophies you can’t name them all, but he finishes at Liverpool around ’77 and ’78 with winning the European Cup. So, he goes from the Second Division as a young kid and gets Liverpool to the European Cup final, winning it in ’77 and ’78. And that journey for me is absolutely fantastic. His longevity. And also, he is the nicest man in the world.
9. Kevin Keegan
Another player I didn’t see too much of, but I’m going to go for Kevin Keegan. He’s a player that probably isn’t remembered as much as he should be, I think, for what he did for Liverpool, because Kenny [Dalglish] comes later and probably takes it on to another level. But when you think of what he did, again under Bill Shankly, and where these players took the football club, without these players Liverpool aren’t what they are today. And he was a genuine superstar, one of the best players in European football. And he was the superstar of that team that won the league title in 1977 and also the European Cup. The European Cup final is his last game, famously man-marked by Berti Vogts and he runs him ragged in Liverpool winning their first European Cup. He was the superstar of one of those early great Liverpool teams.
8. Virgil van Dijk
He has been one of the players who has completely transformed Liverpool’s fortunes over the last 10 years, winning league titles, getting to Champions League finals, winning the European Cup, and at times playing at that level has almost looked easy for him. For me, he’s the best centre-back I’ve seen in the Premier League era, no doubt one of the greatest centre-backs I’ve ever seen play the game.
So far above other players he plays against, even some of the top strikers I see him against, it just feels at times easy for him. His passing range, his pace, ability on the ball – there’s no real weakness with Virgil van Dijk. And in that Jürgen Klopp team, it was a great team but it wasn’t until he came to the club that it felt like it moved on to another level. 75 million quid, absolute steal.
7. Alan Hansen
I’m going to go for another centre-back. So, Virgil van Dijk isn’t the greatest centre-back to play for Liverpool, in my eyes, he’s just a very close second. That is Alan Hansen. What I love about Alan Hansen, he’s almost played in every great Liverpool team. The only thing he’s really missed out on probably is coming 12 months earlier and being part of the ’77 team. Obviously the team changes slightly in ’78 where it becomes a bit more sort of Alan Hansen, [Graeme] Souness and Kenny at the top end of the pitch. But he’s part of the late ’70s, then that sort of early-to-mid-’80s team that wins three league titles, a couple of European Cups, lots of Milk Cups. But on the back of that, he’s also part of that great late-’80s team of [John] Barnes, [Peter] Beardsley and John Aldridge as well.
So, he spans a lot of great teams. And when you think of Liverpool going a long time without winning a league title, I think a lot of that stops when Alan Hansen stops playing. And it doesn’t start again until maybe Virgil van Dijk comes. God knows what those centre-backs in the middle were doing for Liverpool! I think he was ahead of his time, the way he played the game. Watching clips and videos of him, I caught the end of his time as a player, and he was different to every other centre-back in the First Division at that time. It was about heading it and kicking it and kicking players. That wasn’t Alan Hansen at all. As I said, the greatest centre-back to ever play for Liverpool Football Club.
6. Mohamed Salah
The Egyptian King, Mo Salah. He’s always going to be in the top 10, anyone’s top 10, it’s just where he comes on that list. And for me, the thing I love about Mo Salah is the consistency, the longevity as well as the goals and the ability. When I think of this great Liverpool team that he’s been part of for nearly 10 years now, I think of Alisson [Becker], I think of Van Dijk and I think of Salah. Probably the same way I think of the ’80s teams when I think of Hansen, Souness and Dalglish. I think of that spine and those three players are what really put Liverpool where they are today.
The thing I love about Salah as well is, I don’t think he’s ever really had a bad season. Even some great players at times, they’re not at the same level and they come back the year after. Mo Salah gets 30 goals every season for Liverpool. He’s never injured. I love that fact about players, I love players who are on that teamsheet week after week, and that’s exactly what Mo Salah is. His record in the biggest games, especially against Manchester United as well, he’s got some iconic moments. And for me, one of the greatest players and greatest goalscorers we’ve ever seen at Liverpool Football Club.
5. Ian Rush
The greatest goalscorer to ever play for Liverpool Football Club, and probably ever will. There’s a figure that will never be beaten, which is 346 goals for the club. A huge part of that ’80s team, won everything, was a thorn in my childhood at times, goals he scored against Everton! I think he’s got the record in Merseyside derbies and those goals as well that he got in those cup finals in ’86 and ’89, that’s when we’re talking about Everton and Liverpool being the two best teams probably in the country at that time. The FA Cup final was absolutely huge, on a completely different level to where that cup is today, and they are iconic moments in Liverpool’s history, for different reasons. Winning the Double for the first time in 1986. In 1989, on the back of what had happened at Hillsborough in the semi-final. So many goals, so many memories and winning trophies for Liverpool. He was pretty unstoppable in front of goal. And as I said, a figure that I don’t think will ever be beaten is 346 goals for Liverpool Football Club.
4. John Barnes
A player I played with once in the first team, when I made my second appearance – me and him played central midfield for a half against West Ham. A player I marveled at as a kid. He was the best player in the country for four seasons, probably the best player in Britain, probably in the five or six best players in world football, I would say, from 1987 to 1991. Left wing, centre-forward. I played with him, as I said, and trained with him for 12 months. He was still technically the best player at the club when he was at the end of his time. I would say still technically the best player I’ve ever played alongside or trained with, no matter who I’ve played with and you can imagine some of the great players I’ve played with. No-one could match John Barnes.
Even though Liverpool have had so many great teams before John Barnes came, in the ’60s, the ’70s, the early ’80s, I still feel like John Barnes was different to what Liverpool had had before. Liverpool had had great wingers – Steve Heighway being one, Peter Thompson’s one, I’ve mentioned Ian Callaghan [who] was more of a wide midfield player. But John Barnes was different when he came. He almost brought something special, almost like a different brand of football and skill and an ability to Liverpool and maybe something that they hadn’t seen before. For me, one of the greatest players to ever play for the club and, as I said, one of the best players I ever played with. That’s why he goes in at number four.
3. Graeme Souness
The player that my dad still says to this day is the greatest player he ever saw play for Liverpool. I don’t think this country, Great Britain – and there’s been some great midfield players – have ever had an out-and-out centre-midfield player as good as Graeme Souness, when I think of what he’s achieved. We all know the names that we say, especially in the Premier League era, but very rarely do you see a midfield player with that steel but also with that style. His steel alone would have been enough to make him one of the top midfield players of his generation. His passing ability alone would have made him one of the best midfield players of his generation. But when you put the two of them together, I think you have the best central midfield player this country’s ever seen. I do believe that.
He’s won three European Cups. He was only at Liverpool six years. And he only doesn’t win the league once, in 1981, and he wins the European Cup that year. So, he does pretty well at Liverpool! Ends up being the captain as well. I actually think people don’t talk about Graeme Souness enough outside of Liverpool Football Club, about how good he was. I think for a time he would have been the best central midfield player in Europe and world football.
2. Kenny Dalglish
So, this is the big one. You know who’s left. Who am I going to go for? At number two, I am going to go for the greatest figure in the history of Liverpool Football Club, and that is Kenny Dalglish. He’s the greatest figure because of what he did as a player, what he did as a manager, what he is as a figure of the club now, what he did for the club around Hillsborough when he was the manager. For me, when I think of Liverpool I think of Kenny Dalglish. But this, unfortunately it’s just about the playing career, for Kenny not getting the No.1 spot and I know a lot of people have put him at No.1, and rightly so.
What a player, what a brain. When I think of Kenny Dalglish I think of the football brain. He was tough, he’d hold the ball up, he would fight, he’d score goals. But the thing that stood out, I think, is when you see some of his goals, they’re not just goals, they’re cheeky, they are chips. The back-heel when he puts Phil Neal in, in a European game. Backing into people in the box, scoring goals there. And when I think of Liverpool players – and we’ve spoken about some of the flair players, and that’s what Kenny was – we don’t just have flair players at this club who are just sort of footballers, they are fighters as well, they’re men. And that’s the way I describe Kenny Dalglish. A little bit like Graeme, it’s steel with ability. They couldn’t be bullied.
And again, the reason I go back to these players and these teams, there’s no other club in this country who’ve had an era of dominating Europe. That’s what these players did, they dominated European football. We’ve seen it from an Ajax team in the past, with [Johan] Cruyff, we’ve seen it for [Franz] Beckenbauer’s Bayern Munich, we’ve seen it with Real Madrid teams, with [Alfredo] Di Stefano, maybe [Cristiano] Ronaldo years later. But in terms of English football, nobody else has dominated European football for a spell. And that’s what these Liverpool players did. So, I’ve just mentioned Graeme Souness being the best in his position in the world for a time. That’s exactly what Kenny Dalglish was. He was the best centre-forward in the world in the early ’80s. Remarkable footballer, remarkable man, remarkable football brain and that’s why he comes second for me.
1. Steven Gerrard
We all know who it is, my big mate, Steven Gerrard. Why have I chosen him over Kenny Dalglish? Because I’m sure that is the big decision that everyone involved in this will have. Maybe I’ve sided with Stevie because I played with him. I know him more, I can remember more moments, because, as I said, I played with him every day and every game. I’d also say that he probably didn’t play with the calibre of player that Kenny, Graeme or John Barnes played with as well and probably helped those teams win more trophies, or certainly league titles. But the reason I’ve just edged for Stevie for the top of this list is two reasons. It’s the European Cup final in 2005 and the FA Cup final in 2006. Those moments, for me, he dragged the team and the club over the line. Whereas other great players have done that in the past but have probably had a little bit more help from their teammates.
And when I judge Stevie against other players, other players of his generation, the one thing I always go back to is, not could Stevie have done what they did in their team; if I put them in this Liverpool team, could they do what Stevie Gerrard did? And could we have achieved what we did as a team? Without Stevie Gerrard and we put this player in our team? I just go back to that European Cup final in 2005. I go back to the FA Cup final in 2006. And they are performances for the ages, those performances will be getting talked about in 40, 50 years’ time. And the fact that I think most people would agree that Istanbul, I would say, is probably the most iconic moment or probably the No.1 game in the club’s history, means the effect Stevie had on that game, I’m going to go for Steven Gerrard as my greatest ever Liverpool player.