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IT is the abiding memory of Jamie Carragher’s 16 years of dedicated service to Liverpool Football Club.

The images sum up perfectly both the man and the footballer and why he is so loved and revered by supporters and team-mates alike.

Deep into extra time in Istanbul, his body was wracked with pain, cramp severely hampering his movement.

Carragher had run himself into the ground but he simply refused to throw in the towel. Somehow he kept going, putting his body on the line time and time again with a heroic show of courage to repel the advances of AC Milan.

When Jerzy Dudek parried away Andriy Shevchenko’s penalty in the shootout, it was the Bootle-born defender who led the manic victory charge towards the Reds keeper.

The Champions League triumph of 2005 was his finest hour. But it wasn’t a one-off.

It merely showcased on the biggest of stages the qualities which make Carragher such a rare breed.

He is the ultimate one-club man who deserves to be ranked alongside the greatest names ever to pull on a red shirt.

For Carragher, the team has always come first. A selfless and loyal individual who has always made the most of his talent by setting the highest of standards.

The timing of his announcement that he will retire at the end of the season will have surprised many.

After all he has just started three successive Premier League matches and repaid Brendan Rodgers’ faith with performances of the highest calibre against Norwich City, Arsenal and Manchester City.

Yet in truth it’s just typical of Carragher that he wants to bow out at the top, on his terms and with his head held high.

The thought of extending his playing days elsewhere when his current deal expires this summer never appealed and neither did the prospect of another 12 months at Anfield as a squad player.

Some will wonder whether Liverpool could have done more to retain his services. After all there hasn’t been a new deal on the table for the 35-year-old to sign.

But that didn’t play any part in Carragher’s decision. If he wanted to keep going then a contract extension from the Reds would have been forthcoming.

In fact the centre-back informed Rodgers in October that this was likely to be his last season at Anfield.

The following months only strengthened his resolve to call it a day as he spent most Premier League games watching on from the bench. The transition from ever-present to substitute wasn’t an easy one.

In the wake of Liverpool’s 5-0 rout of Norwich nearly three weeks ago, when Carragher made his first league start for more than two months, he met with Rodgers and informed him that his mind was made up.

With both the player and the manager quizzed in interviews about the defender’s future, Carragher decided it was time to make his intentions clear – he would hang up his boots.

He didn’t want the speculation to provide an unwelcome distraction as Liverpool chase Europa League glory and Champions League qualification between now and May.

True to form, the man who tried to play on after breaking his leg against Blackburn in 2003, put the club first.

As it stands there is no offer of a coaching role to ensure Carragher’s wealth of experience and knowledge is retained by Liverpool beyond the summer but that isn’t an issue.

Carragher wants to weigh up his options over the coming months and intends to take a break from football to spend more time with wife Nicola and children James and Mia.

He's expected to become a television pundit with his services coveted by both Sky Sports and BT Vision, who launch their live Premier League coverage next season. Carragher impressed in a similar role for ITV at last summer's European Championships.

He is working towards his UEFA A Licence, but that is for the long-term and he doesn't intend to rush into a coaching career.

What is clear is that after the Reds entertain QPR on May 19, Liverpool will lose half of their Scouse heartbeat. A gaping hole will be left not only for a top-class centre-half but an inspirational vice-captain.

It’s been some journey for Carra, who joined Liverpool’s youth system at the age of nine.

Only the legendary Ian Callaghan stands above him in the club’s all-time appearance list. On 723 occasions he has lived the dream.

Supporters love him because he’s one of them. He’s the homegrown hero who snubbed Hello! to sell his wedding photographs to the Kop magazine for £1.

* 23 Carra Gold: Jamie Carragher's most memorable Liverpool FC moments

The boy from Brunswick Youth Club on Marsh Lane has never lost touch with his roots.

That is epitomised by the work of the 23 Foundation, the charity he set up to help youngsters across Merseyside. It benefited from a £1million cash injection courtesy of his Anfield testimonial against Everton in 2010.

But Carragher had to fight for that esteemed place in the fans’ affections. In the early years following his debut under Roy Evans in 1997 he was a target of criticism.

Being played out of position as a holding midfielder or at full-back didn’t help his cause. Yet he never complained, he merely knuckled down and vowed to prove the doubters wrong. He achieved that emphatically.

It was Rafa Benitez who finally utilised his talents in a central defensive role. His partnership with Sami Hyypia was the best in Europe.

His never-say-die attitude – coupled with his reading of the game and his organisational skills – was instrumental en route to Istanbul. His performances away to Juventus and home to Chelsea are the stuff of legend.

Last season under Kenny Dalglish, he lost his place due to injury and on his return to fitness he was no longer a guaranteed starter with Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger the favoured pairing.

Sitting on the bench was a bitter pill to swallow having been a cornerstone of the Liverpool side for so long but typically Carra never rocked the boat.

Similarly, for Rodgers he has put aside personal disappointment over a lack of game-time to be a rock of support for the new manager.

When Liverpool walk out to face West Brom on Monday night, the Kop will once again sing about dreaming of ‘A Team of Carraghers’.

In three months’ time Liverpool won’t even have one to fall back on. There will be a void the Reds will struggle to fill.

But as Carra said himself this isn’t a time for reflection. That can wait until the summer.

Before then you can guarantee that Liverpool’s long-serving No 23 will be hell-bent on writing a final glorious chapter in a remarkable tale.

FACTFILE

Born: January 28, 1978 (Bootle)

Liverpool appearances: 723

Liverpool goals: 5

Trophy haul: Champions League 2005, UEFA Cup 2001, UEFA Super Cup 2001 and 2005, FA Cup 2001 and 2006, League Cup 2001, 2003 and 2012, FA Youth Cup 1996, FA Community Shield 2001 and 2006.

England caps: 38

* Joined Liverpool’s youth ranks at the age of nine and signed professionally in 1996 after helping the Reds clinch the FA Youth Cup.

* Roy Evans handed him his debut in a League Cup tie at Middlesbrough when he came off the bench to replace Rob Jones in January 1997.

* Marked his first start in style by scoring with a header in front of the Kop on his home debut against Aston Villa.

* Handed his international debut by Kevin Keegan against Hungary in 1999 and went on to represent England at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup.

* Under Gerard Houllier, he flourished and the Frenchman made the most of his versatility as he used him at both left-back and right-back as well as in a central role.

* Was a key member of the 2001 Treble winning side as he started the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup triumphs.

* Battled back to fitness after breaking his leg at Blackburn in September 2003.

* Rafa Benitez saw him as the perfect centre-half and under the Spaniard, Carra firmly established himself as one of the best defenders in Europe.

* Produced a sequence of heroic displays en route to the 2005 Champions League final and starred in the miraculous comeback against AC Milan in Istanbul.

* Helped Liverpool lift the FA Cup after another dramatic shootout victory against West Ham in 2006.

* Came out of international retirement to play in the 2010 World Cup as he moved to 38 caps for his country.

* Was handed a testimonial against Everton at Anfield in September 2010, which raised £1million for the 23 Foundation – the charity he formed which helps youngsters across Merseyside.

* Came off the bench in the Carling Cup final win over Cardiff City at Wembley in February 2012 as the Reds ended a six-year wait for silverware.

* Made his 700th appearance for Liverpool in the Europa League qualifier away to Gomel in August 2012.

* View all our Jamie Carragher coverage so far including fans' tributes, Twitter reaction, video and pictures