Tuesday and Thursday afternoons were the routine press conference times arranged by Liverpool Football Club. The head coach and players would attend, answering reporters' questions, addressing recent hot topics about the team, or simply engaging in verbal battles with media outlets they didn't like.
On this day, none of the media outlets attending Liverpool's press conference expected that they would witness a historic moment.
Vice-captain Carragher represented the team, which did not surprise everyone. As captain, he often attended press conferences to communicate with the media on behalf of the team, which was his responsibility.
Carragher was no stranger to this scene.
He followed Martin O'Neill onto the stage and sat down, everything seeming normal.
O'Neill spoke first.
"There's something I need to announce." He looked at Carragher beside him.
Carragher knew that he was expected to tell the reporters.
He leaned forward slightly, closer to the microphone.
Seeing Carragher about to speak, the reporters were puzzled. Logically, if there was anything to announce, it should be the head coach. Players didn't speak, only answering when reporters asked questions...
But now that Carragher was announcing the matter, the reporters were very surprised.
Carragher cleared his throat. "Um... well, I've decided to officially retire at the end of this season."
After saying this, he sat back down, his face expressionless.
The reporters below the stage hadn't reacted yet, everyone was waiting for him to continue, not even registering what he had said.
The scene suddenly fell into an eerie silence.
Then finally, some media members reacted.
An old reporter suddenly stood up from his chair, knocking it over in his panic.
Like a fuse being lit, a commotion suddenly broke out in the press conference room.
"Huh? What's going on?"
"Retire? Did I hear that right? Did Jamie just say he was retiring, right?"
"Jamie, are you serious? You're not joking, are you?!"
"Why, why so suddenly..."
Carragher had played for this team for so long that everyone had overlooked his age. He was the most senior player in the current Liverpool squad. He was already thirty-six years old, so shouldn't his retirement be so surprising?
But many people found it unbelievable. They had become accustomed to having Carragher at Liverpool. So what if he was thirty-six? Maldini could play until he was forty!
In addition, Carragher's performance had been generally good recently, without injuries, in good form, serving as the team's starting center-back, and making great contributions to the team's winning streak. In this situation, why would he retire?
Everyone couldn't figure it out.
Could it be because of that goal conceded against Chelsea in the last game? But that was just one goal, it wasn't worth retiring over, right?
"Everyone quiet down, quiet down!" Clint Haughton, the Liverpool press officer responsible for maintaining order and supporting the press conference, reminded everyone not to make noise. "If you have any questions, you can raise your hand, but please be quiet now!"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone stopped talking, but all raised their arms.
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After training, everyone was in the locker room showering and changing clothes, preparing to go home or go out and have fun with friends.
But today, everyone was not discussing where to go or what to eat. Instead, it was Carragher's fate.
They all knew that Carragher had gone to the press conference with O'Neill.
Everyone knew what this meant.
Most likely, the vice-captain would announce his retirement at the press conference.
Once these words were spoken, they couldn't be taken back...
It basically meant that Carragher's retirement was irreversible.
"It's really annoying," Chen Hero said, pouting with his upper body bare. "I said it, it's all Chelsea's fault! It's all that Hulk's fault! If it weren't for them, how could the vice-captain have the idea of retiring? He didn't have this idea at all before!"
Everyone agreed, echoing and criticizing Chelsea together.
"Next time I meet them, I'll definitely score a few more goals to avenge the vice-captain!"
Chen Hero said.
But could scoring a few more goals make the vice-captain change his mind, retract his decision, and not retire?
Gerrard stepped forward to comfort his teammates. "Okay, leave Chelsea alone. Next time we meet them will be next season. What's the point of winning more, Hero? Let's try to win the league title this season and dedicate it to Jamie. He has dedicated his entire football career to Liverpool, and he deserves to lift his most dreamed-of league title trophy when he leaves!"
"The captain is right, the league title!" Everyone cheered.
Chen Hero curled his lips. "Captain, I said that a long time ago. I will definitely give him a league title and never leave any regrets or stains on his career! We were going to win the championship anyway, but now we have an absolute reason why we can't fail!"
He said, clenching his fist.
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"Yes, I have decided to retire. I am thirty-six years old, is that surprising?" Carragher spoke eloquently into the microphone.
"This is not a big deal, and I have given it careful consideration. I think it is very appropriate to say goodbye to my career at this time. I don't want this matter to involve too much of the team's energy."
Carragher was telling the truth, otherwise, with the number of years he had played for Liverpool and his status in the hearts of Liverpool fans, it would have been entirely possible to hold a grand press conference.
But he felt that his retirement was a very normal thing. Every season, a large number of players leave their beloved teams and end their careers. He was just an ordinary member of them, and there was no need to treat him specially. He also didn't want his retirement to become a stumbling block to disrupt the team's preparations and affect everyone. That's why he handled it so low-key.
"I will work hard in training and matches until the end of the season. In these last half seasons, I will fight for the team's victory and championship, just like I have done before. I have nothing to say, and there is nothing to answer about my retirement. It's all in these words. That's it, I'm just here to inform everyone, you don't need to pay too much attention to it..."
After speaking, he greeted Martin O'Neill and got up and left.
A group of reporters under the stage looked at each other in dismay as they watched Carragher's back.
At this time, they still felt somewhat unreal—the person who had played for Liverpool from the youth team to the adult team was about to end his Red Army career like this? Too ordinary and plain, right?
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"This afternoon, at Liverpool's routine press conference, Jamie Carragher announced a shocking news! He told reporters at the scene that he has made the decision to retire and will officially end his career at the end of this season!"
On TV, a recording of the earlier scene was being played. Carragher calmly stated his plans to the camera.
"Um, well... I've decided to officially retire at the end of this season."
Many fans in front of the TV looked up and watched intently.
A choked voice said, "What a tough guy, it's obviously such a sad and helpless thing, why can he not shed a tear and say it so calmly and casually?"
"Isn't it? I still remember his several clearances in Istanbul. At that time, his legs were cramping and he could hardly stand up, but he still successfully blocked AC Milan's attack... Without him, we might not have won our fifth Champions League! Such a strong person was also defeated by time! Alas!"
"So Jamie is thirty-six years old... Unknowingly, he's about to retire."
"Jamie is old, I feel like it was just yesterday when I watched him and Owen lift the Youth FA Cup for the Liverpool youth team... Now Owen has long since retired, and Jamie is almost there."
"Jamie is old, and we are old too..."
This is the Red Army Bar, the territory where Chen Hero's fan organization, the Red Giant Bear, operates, but at this moment, they are all Jamie Carragher fans.
Phil Gibbs and the other young people are more than ten years younger than Carragher, and it can be said that they grew up watching Carragher play.
So they also have a lot of feelings about Carragher's retirement. Carragher's retirement seems to have taken away their childhood memories as well...
"I think... Liverpool owes Jamie a league title..." Phil Gibbs murmured.
His words were immediately agreed by the people around him.
"That's right! We should send Jamie off with a league title! He has served the team for so many years, and he is only one league title away. Shouldn't we fulfill his wish?"
"This season, we must win the league title!"
"Champion! Champion! League Champion!" Tom Jackson raised his arms and shouted.
He moved everyone in the bar, and everyone was excited and shouted slogans with him.
For a time, there was only one voice in the Red Army Bar.
"Champion! Champion! League Champion!"
"Champion! Champion! League Champion!"
"Champion! Champion! League Champion!!"
Everyone stomped their feet and waved their fists, just like in the stands, chanting in unison.
Everyone in the bar fell into a frenzy.
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At 9:30 p.m. Liverpool local time, 4:30 a.m. Beijing time the next day, Chen Hero simultaneously updated his Twitter and domestic Weibo.
The content was simple and did not include any cute pictures.
He wrote:
Sorry everyone, I want the Premier League title.