There are so many English defenders that would give their right arm to be in the team but Carra gets called up. Don't get me wrong, he was an epic defender for Liverpool, in his prime he was a rock in defense. But he never repeated the same performances for England and after he wrote this in his autobiography it seems strange that he would get the call. Its not like team moral was great anyway, why make it worse...
"Did I care we'd gone out of the tournament? Of course I did. Passionately. Despite this, whenever I returned home from disappointing England experiences one unshakeable, overriding thought pushed itself to the forefront of my mind, no matter how much the rest of the nation mourned.
"'At least it wasn't Liverpool,' I'd repeat to myself, over and over.
"The text messages of consolation I received on the coach included one from Kenny Dalglish.
"'I would rather miss for England than LFC,' I wrote back.
"I confess, defeats wearing an England shirt never hurt me in the same way as losing with my club. I wasn't caring or indifferent, I simply didn't put England's fortunes at the top of my priority list.
"Losing felt like a disappointment rather than a calamity. I was never in love with playing for England in the first place. By the time I stopped I felt a huge weight lifting."
"'At least it wasn't Liverpool,' I'd repeat to myself, over and over.
"The text messages of consolation I received on the coach included one from Kenny Dalglish.
"'I would rather miss for England than LFC,' I wrote back.
"I confess, defeats wearing an England shirt never hurt me in the same way as losing with my club. I wasn't caring or indifferent, I simply didn't put England's fortunes at the top of my priority list.
"Losing felt like a disappointment rather than a calamity. I was never in love with playing for England in the first place. By the time I stopped I felt a huge weight lifting."
