News and Articles related to Town of Pomorie
Current date: 2010-02-09 10:03

Phillip, father of Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher: The English didn’t play as a team

The father of the Liverpool legend attributes England’s failure in the Euro 2008 qualifying rounds to lack of collectiveness and team spirit. He talks about his son, who will never leave Liverpool, about Berbatov, Bulgaria and the sea. He is visiting the seaside resort of Pomorie this summer.

Interview by Ana Kocheva

Q: Liverpool is familiar with Bulgaria; they’ve played against Levski and CSKA. What are your personal impressions of Bulgarian football?
A: It seems like the clouds over Bulgarian football are thickening. It seems like the fans are losing interest. This surprises me; I do not know why it is happening.

Q: Are you familiar with how Bulgarians play in England?
A: Nikolay Mihailov used to play for Liverpool, then he went to Holland. I don’t know how he’s doing there. I know some Bulgarians in Manchester City. Of course, I know about Dimitar Berbatov too.

Q: We are all very interested in what will happen to him.
A: There is no mystery. I know he wants to switch teams. Tottenham will let him go if Manchester United pays them what they want. This will probably happen soon.

Q: Liverpool hasn’t won a championship in the last 18-19 years. Why is that?
A: We have had many titles, cups and successes in the past, but the truth is that many teams out there play better than us now.

Q: Is this why the national team failed in the Euro 2008 qualifying rounds?
A: That happened because the nationals stopped playing as a team. The national team consists of players from different clubs and everyone has his position. They forgot that football is a team game, not an individual sport.

Q: What are Jaime Carragher’s plans for the future? Will he stay with Liverpool or switch to another team?
A: I think he’ll stay with Liverpool till the end of his career. He’s been there since he was 8, now he’s 28. He loves his team, they love him. He’s also a boy from town, and these boys don’t leave, they don’t abandon their mates.   

Q: And how did you wind up here in Pomorie?
A: I love this place, I spend a lot of time here. I know the people; it is nice to go down familiar streets, see old faces, go to shops where you’ve been before.