[lfc-news] Carra interview - Official Site

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Official LFC Website, 2 May 2005
CARRA FIRED UP FOR CHELSEA CLASH
Steve Hunter

Jamie Carragher says he can't wait to play in the Champions League
semi-final at Anfield and tells us why he feels the Kop can help the
team beat Chelsea and reach Istanbul.

~ Jamie you're so near to the big match with Chelsea now. How much
excitement is there amongst the squad?

Jamie Carragher: It's a chance that we may never get again. Hopefully we
will but we realise how big a game this is. The chance to play in a
Champions League Final doesn't come around very often so we're all
looking forward to a very special night.

~ What has been the motivation in the Champions League this season?

We've proved a lot of people wrong in the Champions League. At the
moment you'd probably say Chelsea are slight favourites, so it's up to
us to prove everyone wrong again. We've done it before and I'm sure we
can do it again. And with the help of the crowd that will give us a lift
as it did in the earlier rounds.

~ People talk about the Chelsea defence being so solid, but you have
also, particularly in the Champions League?

We have done a lot of work on the training ground and that has helped
us. We know Chelsea have got an excellent defence but it's up to us to
perform as we have done in the Champions League. It's very important we
keep it tight and stop them getting an away goal. It's only half-time
now and we didn't want to go too gung-ho. Chelsea have said they were
quite pleased to get a 0-0 and I think we were quite pleased. We all
realised that the tie was going to be decided at Anfield.

~ How important will the crowd be tomorrow?

The crowd have been great. The atmosphere at the Olympiacos game has
gone down as one of the best ever and the Juventus game maybe surpassed
even that. Hopefully the fans will help us again tomorrow. The players
got a lot of credit after the Juventus game, but I think a lot of credit
should go to the supporters. They lifted us to a great performance in
the first half against one of the top teams in Europe. And now we're
playing another top team, but if the crowd can do their part and we can
do ours than hopefully we can get thesame result.

~ Is there a mixture of nerves and excitement?

Every player is different, but speaking for myself, I am very excited.
It is a game we have been looking forward to. We were very disappointed
to get beat in the Carling Cup Final and we've got a chance to overturn
them now in a bigger competition. It's still at the back of our minds
that we were disappointed to lose a cup final to Chelsea, but we've got
a chance now to beat them and get through to the Champions League Final
and that gives it an extra edge.

~ How big a miss will Xabi Alonso be?

He's a fantastic player. He's a great passer of the ball, as good a
passer as anyone in Europe. It would have been great if he could have
played because no doubt his passing would have helped, but we put in a
good performance without Xabi in the first Leg against Juventus and we
will be looking for a similar performance again. Whoever comes in for
him will be sure to do a good job.

~ The Manager has stressed that it's a team game, but how important will
Steven Gerrard be tomorrow night?

It's as an important game for Steven Gerrard as it is for all of us. Who
knows when we'll get the chance to play in a Champions League semi-final
again. He's one of our big players of course and normally if he plays
well we play well so I'm sure if he puts in a top performance it will
certainly help us.

~ You have been playing better in the Champions League than in the
Premiership?

That's the way it's gone this season, but hopefully next season we will
do a lot better in the Premiership. We have enjoyed some good results in
the Champions League and some people have been looking for reasons why,
but we've just got to look to continue our good form in the Champions
League for this game.

You say that you think Chelsea are the slight favourites?Yes. They've
just won the Championship, we're fifth in the league and they spend a
lot of money so maybe they should be slight favourites. We were
delighted with the result we got at Chelsea, but with the crowd on our
side it might make things more even. We realise Chelsea are a top team
and it's going to be difficult for us, but as I said I think the crowd
are going to have a big part to play.

~ I suppose that you're hoping that them winning the Premiership will
affect them mentally?

No, I'm sure that will have given them a great boost. A lot of the
players that will play tomorrow played at Bolton, but I'm sure they just
wanted to be on the pitch when they won it. We have respect for what
they have achieved because we know how difficult the Premiership is, but
this is a different game now and it's up to us to stop them in their tracks.

~ Jamie do you this will be an end to end exciting game or more cat and
mouse?

Jamie Carragher: Who knows? We'll see how the start of the game goes but
we'll be looking to make a good start in front of our supporters and get
the crowd behind us. They will be our 12th man but it's important that
we use our brains as well as our heart. The fans will want us to be
attacking non-stop but it's a European game and we have to got to be
very aware of the away goal, so it's important that we use our brains.
European nights at Anfield are always special and I've played in a few
of them games myself now and I'm sure tomorrow will top everything. If
we get the right result on Tuesday I think this would eclipse
everything, maybe even St Etienne.

~ It's going to be a frenetic first 20 minutes and the first goal will
be vital do you think?

Yeah of course it will be especially in a European game. We want to make
a good start and score more goals than they do.

~ You are a Liverpool fan so how do you personally try and prepare for a
game like this?

Well I just try and relax as much as possible but the demand for tickets
for this game has probably been more than if we had a cup final. We know
how big a game this is but you just try and take it in your stride and
try and perform to the best of your ability. All the pressure is on
Chelsea because their manager got sacked last year for reaching the
Champions League semi-final. We want to get to the final and we are very
close.

~ You will be coming up against Didier Drogba, is he the type of player
you relish coming up against?

You come up against top players at this level and he has done a good job
for Chelsea. He is a physical presence so it will be a physical battle,
more like a Premiership game.

~ Sami Hyypia scored a great goal against Juventus, it's about time his
central defensive partner got on the scoresheet isn't it?

Oh I know yeah but as long as I keep a clean sheet then I'll be happy.

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