Even though Carragher is 33 years old this year and has never had a belly button since childhood, his ability is quite strong.
Carragher has been a student at Liverpool's Kirkby Youth Training Camp since he was 9 years old. He has been with Liverpool throughout his professional career and is an absolute loyal soul of Liverpool - although his favorite team since he was a child is Everton, and although he also has a nickname called "Dean of the Oolong Academy".
- Carragher played 727 times for Liverpool and scored 12 goals, 5 of which were scored normally and the other 7 were own goals. Carragher is also the third player in the history of the Premier League who has scored the most goals for Liverpool, second only to Andy Cole and Henry.
——Liverpool also has a "Vice President of the Oolong Court", that is the Prison Break guy Skrtel who has been substituted.
——To see if it’s really bitter, look at the Red Army Liverpool.
But then again, even if Carragher's defensive ability cannot be considered the strongest in the Premier League, it can definitely be ranked among the top 20 in the Premier League.
Carragher is the kind of player who is not very talented but is extremely hardworking and has great mental strength.
In the 2005 Istanbul Champions League final, Carragher played the best performance of his career in the second half and overtime, a performance that he could brag about for the rest of his life.
Carragher perfectly demonstrated what a strong defender is on the field - he fought until he had cramps, and he fought off Kaka, Gattuso, Seedorf, and Shevchenko, blocking Milan's numerous deadly attacks.
After the two sides tied 3:3, in the 110th minute of the second half of extra time, Milan's Serginho made a low pass from the left, Carragher struggled to clear the ball out of the baseline, and fell to the ground in pain due to cramps.
——It’s not that Carragher’s physical fitness is too poor, but the two sides in the Champions League final fought too hard. To be conservative, the intensity of the 15-minute game in the Champions League final is stronger than that of a whole game played by the Chinese national team.
At this time, Liverpool had no room for substitutions, and all the Reds fans were nervous.
In the 113th minute, Carragher, relying on his strong mental willpower and dragging his injured leg, made another flying tackle in front of the goal to block another deadly attack from Milan.
It was thanks to Carragher's desperate efforts that Liverpool was able to go from trailing by 3 goals in the first half to equalizing in the second half in the Champions League final in Istanbul, and then block the opponent's fierce attack in overtime and achieve a miraculous reversal through a penalty shootout!
——This is the most classic battle in the Champions League final and also the famous Istanbul Miracle.
Carragher was one of the important creators of the Istanbul miracle in 2005.
Objectively speaking, he is indeed not the best defender. He is far worse than Maldini, Fernandez and others. He is even worse than Gary Neville and the iron-blooded Terry who slept with Bridge's girlfriend.
However, Carragher can definitely be described as a loyal, experienced and hard-working defender.
It is absolutely unwise to try to confront Carragher with your body.
Carragher's body is not as strong as Glen Johnson's, but once Carragher gets close to him, he basically has no chance to kick.
But if he fails to get past Carragher, Gu Ran's quick counterattack will be delayed.
The other Liverpool players were also very fast in outflanking, and if Gu Ran hesitated or showed any fear for the moment, he would be in a desperate situation.
Facing the experienced Carragher, Gu Ran remained very calm.
Just when he was about to rush to Carragher's face, Gu Ran suddenly slowed down and performed a Matthews shoulder drop in front of Carragher.
All the KOPs couldn't help but exclaimed.
A rookie in English Football League One actually dares to show off his skills in front of Manchester United’s loyal star Carragher!
Let's not talk about whether he can get past Carragher, just the courage of a newborn calf who is not afraid of a tiger is already admirable! Carragher was also stunned for a moment, but he immediately saw through Gu Ran's fake move! Carragher's tightly pursed lips curled slightly, and his body did not move with Gu Ran's shoulder, but took the opportunity to kick decisively and shovel the ball under Gu Ran's feet!
This kick was fast and accurate, and at the same time full of arrogance! Generally speaking, defenders would not kick easily, and Carragher dared to do so, simply because he felt that he had completely seen through this Chinese boy!
At the moment when Carragher stretched out his foot, Gu Ran suddenly passed the ball to his left foot! Carragher was shocked and quickly retracted his foot!
If Gu Ran is tripped in the penalty area, that would mean a penalty kick!
While Carragher was busy retracting his foot, Gu Ran pulled the ball with his left foot, followed by a gorgeous Marseille turn, passing Carragher! "Wow!" Liverpool fans all exclaimed in disbelief!
Combo???
Carragher himself was shocked!
Carragher thought that Gu Ran's Matthews' shoulder drop was over after he saw through it, but he never expected that Gu Ran's Matthews' shoulder drop was just the beginning of a combo! Gu Ran's real intention was to slow down when Matthews dropped his shoulder, leaving space for Marseille to turn around! Falk...
This kid... is full of brains!
Carragher didn't have time to think, he immediately turned around and squeezed Gu Ran's body, and forced his foot to block, preventing Gu Ran from shooting!
Although he himself did not believe that a novice left-back would dare to shoot directly on his face, his experience told him that Gu Ran would definitely dare to shoot! Carragher's legs were stretched to the extreme like a split! But he was still half a beat late! After a Marseille turn, Gu Ran avoided Carragher's leg range and kicked a heavy cannon directly towards Liverpool's goal!
In such a short time, it is difficult for the heavy artillery to fully exert its power, but combined with the elevation angle of the cloud-piercing arrow, it is completely sufficient! This shot was very sudden!
It was very much like Alan Shearer's style! Liverpool goalkeeper Reina thought Carragher had already defended Gu Ran, but the ball came at him like a cannonball! In a hurry, Reina made a misjudgment! Reina thought it was a low ball, and then fell to the ground to save it!
The football was like an assassin's sharp blade, shaving off Reina's head in an instant and going straight into the top of the goal net.
Reina turned his head back in despair! The football shot into the goal, and the top of the net shook! The ball went in!!! So clean! So neat! So domineering! So unstoppable! At this moment, the entire Anfield stadium was shocked! The fans in the KOP stands all opened their eyes wide, their mouths opened wide, and their faces were full of disbelief!
Less than 2 minutes after being substituted on, Gu Ran scored a goal from the wing!
The referee blew the whistle and pointed to the center circle, indicating that the goal was valid! The score on the big screen at Anfield was immediately changed to Liverpool 3:1 Southampton!
68th minute of the second half!
Southampton scored a goal! This was Southampton's first goal of the game! Although it was only the first, and although they were still two goals behind, the shock of this goal was unparalleled!!! More than 40,000 Liverpool fans fell into silence.
After a brief breath, more than 5,000 Southampton fans fell into a complete carnival!
This goal was amazing and a textbook defensive counterattack!
Gu Ran used his speed and strength to eat up Liverpool's talented player N'Golo, and used his high football IQ to play tricks on Glenn twice. Finally, he showed off his Marseille turn and piercing arrow heavy artillery in front of the loyal soul Carragher! Gu Ran alone penetrated Liverpool's entire right defense line in 20 seconds!
In Gu Ran’s debut, he scored a goal with his first touch of the ball!
Liverpool has so many Premier League stars, but they were completely defeated by a League One rookie!
The sky above Anfield was filled with crazy shouts of "Ahhh", "Chinese Daddy", "My Male God"! Southampton fans finally felt proud!
All the suppressed emotions were swept away!
Southampton fans hugged each other and jumped up and down in excitement in the north Anfield Road stands! "Sing! Liverpool! Why don't you sing?"
"Hahaha! You must be confused!"
"Gu Ran! Gu Ran! Gu Ran!"
"There is a handsome young Chinese man named Gu Ran! He easily knocked over the tall N'Gego! He made fun of the strong Glenn! Even Carragher, who has no belly button, couldn't stop him!"
"Even Carragher with no belly button can't stop him! Can't stop him!"
Southampton fans sang the Southampton High School song in unison over and over again.
The extremely sarcastic lyrics echoed throughout Anfield!
Liverpool fans were all gnashing with hatred.
With the score of 3:1, Liverpool is still leading by two goals, so Liverpool fans shouldn't be angry.
However, Gu Ran's goal was too shocking for them! Almost all Liverpool fans looked down on the English League One rookie Gu Ran before the game, and even mocked him for daring to wear the No. 8 jersey.
However, as soon as Gu Ran came on the court, he slapped them in the face with a series of extremely exciting performances!
This kid... even passed Ngogo, Glenn and Carragher!
Single-handedly, he defeated Liverpool...
Is he really a new player in the English League One? Where did Southampton find such a rare star? Why is such a star not from Liverpool? Why!!! The KOP fans all looked confused.
On the home team bench, Liverpool head coach Hodgson was still sitting in his seat with a frown on his face:
...What’s going on?
Two minutes ago, we were attacking from a set piece, but how come in the blink of an eye, our right side was destroyed by that new player No. 8?
That guy is the Gu Ran mentioned in the pre-match press conference...
That boy has something!
But he shouldn't be so evil!
It must be that after we had a 3-goal advantage, the players on the field relaxed.
Well, it must be.
N'Gogo's kick was too loose, Glenn underestimated the opponent, Carragher was also careless, and Reina had just come on and was not ready yet.
It’s not a big problem. We still have two goals difference now, and the main offensive players such as Kuyt and Lampard have not yet played.
Now, the players on the field should also know this kid's abilities and will definitely step up their defense against him.
This situation will definitely not happen again.
Well, it's a friendly match, letting the other team score a goal is considered to be giving them some face.
Moreover, before the start of the new season, it would be a good idea to let the players on the field suffer some small setbacks to make them tense up.
Don’t panic!
A 3:1 ending would be acceptable.
Hodgson relaxed his frown and smiled slightly.
"Yes! Yes! Yes--" In the technical area of the visiting team on the other side, head coach Adkins excitedly waved his fist and hugged the equally excited assistant coach Andy.
The two coaches were like children, so excited that they were about to cry!
Although this was just a friendly match, being able to score a goal against Liverpool in the powerful Anfield Stadium means that even if we lose the game, it would be a great honor!
Moreover, Gu Ran's goal was beyond everyone's expectations! Coach Adkins originally expected that Gu Ran could only defend N'Gego and prevent him from getting the ball on the sideline and reorganizing the attack!
All he wanted was "1", but Gu Ran did "10"! Too perfect! More perfect than perfect! It was simply that Perfection's mother opened the door for Perfection, perfect to the extreme! For Coach Adkins, the most exciting part of the whole breakthrough shot was not Gu Ran's use of speed and body to fight against N'Golo, nor was it Gu Ran's clever fake pass with Chamberlain to get rid of the strong god Glen, nor was it Gu Ran's gorgeous dribbling move in the penalty area to shake off Carragher, nor was it Gu Ran's seizing the opportunity to shoot a heavy artillery through the clouds...
The most exciting part was that Gu Ran fully interpreted his defensive counterattack strategy! This also indirectly proved that his tactical strategy was absolutely correct! Having a player who could accurately execute the head coach's tactical strategy was what made Coach Adkins most excited!
As a head coach, Adkins can make players successful, but this time, it was Gu Ran who made him successful! Coach Adkins wanted to rush onto the field right now, hug Gu Ran and give him a good kiss! After seeing this goal, the substitutes on the visiting team's bench also jumped up excitedly, rushed to the sidelines and cheered Gu Ran's name! Although they had a grudge against Gu Ran before, it was all... misunderstandings! That 's right! It was all a misunderstanding! Gu Ran's goal made the entire Southampton team proud! Even Harding's younger brother Tafazoli excitedly cheered!
Haldin's face was filled with astonishment.
Liverpool, what are you doing?
Can't you defend a League One rookie? Are you so eager to defend me?
It's fine that you couldn't defend him, but you let him score with his first touch! What the hell...
Trash! Liverpool, you are a bunch of trash! Harding was about to go crazy, but he didn't dare to show it. He could only smile and applaud with everyone.
At the moment when Gu Ran scored, in the main stand, the boss lady Linda jumped up excitedly and cheered loudly! The other Liverpool executives all had black lines on their faces: Our boss lady is a fan of the opposing player...
If we don't recruit Gu Ran, people will definitely laugh at us Liverpool, right? Fortunately, there is no media broadcast of this pre-season friendly match today...
Edwards quickly reminded in a low voice: "Ms. Linda, Ms. Linda! Pay attention to the impact! Pay attention to the impact!"
“Oh, oh, oh!” Linda covered her magnificent chest, “Sorry, I can’t help it, I can’t help it.”
Linda sat down with a smile on her lips, her big watery eyes never leaving Gu Ran for a moment.
In addition to Linda, there was another person in Liverpool who was equally excited.
That's the happy boy, Sterling! Sterling stood up in the stands full of Liverpool fans and excitedly shouted: "That's right! That's it! That's the feeling! It's the same as when I played for our youth team! Hahaha! It's really not that I can't defend him! N'Gogo can't defend him! Glenn has no temper! Carragher can't defend him! Aaaaaa!"
Sterling also sang along with the Southampton fans: "Even Carragher with no belly button can't stop him! Can't stop him!"
The Liverpool fans around him could no longer hide their desire to kill Sterling.
In the stands behind the visiting team's bench, Elizabeth was shaking with excitement!
This was her first time watching a game live, and also her first time seeing Gu Ran score a goal! Although she didn't understand football, and didn't understand how explosive Gu Ran was when he was fighting against N'Golo, and didn't understand how cleverly Gu Ran used Chamberlain's fake pass to get rid of Glenn, and didn't understand how amazing it was that Gu Ran could perform a Marseille turn in front of Carragher to strengthen his shot, she was completely drowned in the rush of adrenaline!
This exciting competitive atmosphere is something you can never experience no matter how many plays you perform! Elizabeth's eyes were full of stars, and she kept cheering and jumping in the stands to the rhythm of the Southampton fans' shouts: "Ahhh! Gu! You are so good! You shot so well!"
The saints' wives nearby all looked at Elizabeth with sidelong glances, and conjured up some indescribable images in their minds...
On the north stands, MaxxRT and others all hugged each other happily and celebrated excitedly!
Except for MaxxRT, it was the first time for the others to watch Gu Ran play football. They were worried that Gu Ran would have a hard time adapting to the high-intensity English Premier League matches. Unexpectedly, as soon as Gu Ran appeared on the field, they were shocked and surprised! It was not that Gu Ran had a hard time adapting to Liverpool, but that Liverpool had a hard time adapting to Gu Ran!
"What the hell! What the hell! What the hell!"
"Ran Ge scored a goal as soon as he came on the field!"
"I'm so fucking excited! So proud!"
"Awesome! Brother Ran is so awesome!"
"British beauties - Gu Ran is Chinese! We are all Chinese!"
"I have watched football for so many years, and I have only shed tears twice. The first time was when I watched a group of Chinese people play football, and the second time was when I watched one Chinese person play football!"
"Gu Ran's one-on-one goal-scoring move was so amazing! So exciting!"
"What a pity! We don't have the rights to broadcast the game live! Otherwise, the fans back home would definitely be treated to a feast for the eyes!"
"Yes, yes! Just relying on Ran's goal, our Ran Live will also be a big hit!"
"Hey, Qiao Shan, stop joining in the revelry and update the fans back home in real time!"
"Oops! I was so excited I forgot to update!"
Qiao Shan, who dunked over Jordan, quickly typed on his phone with trembling fingers: [Goal! Gu Ran scored with his first touch! ] [Gu Ran dribbled past Ngogo, Glenn, and Carragher in one go and scored! ] [Sorry guys, words cannot describe how wonderful Gu Ran's goal was! ] [Wait until we get the live broadcast rights! Please bear with me! Just imagine it yourself! ] The domestic live broadcast forum instantly exploded!
Thousands of replies appeared on the live broadcast platform instantly!
Lights, lights, lights, lights~ After the goal, the Liverpool players’ emotion bubbles fell all over the ground within a 20-meter radius around Gu Ran! Among the many blue skill bubbles, there was actually a bubble that glowed green! What the hell???
What's going on? Green bubbles? Gu Ran couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise! This green bubble was dropped by Karagor!
At this moment, Carragher was standing there with his hands on his hips, looking depressed, his head illuminated by a green light that he himself could not see.
…
(End of this chapter)