Jamie Carragher reveals worst possible start to Liverpool career with yellow card after 20 SECONDS

LIVERPOOL icon Jamie Carragher went from zero to hero on his Anfield debut.

The ex-defender started his first match for the Reds against Aston Villa in January 1997.

But just a few seconds into the clash, he found himself skating on thin ice.

Carragher received a yellow card for a reckless challenge on Villa midfielder Andy Townsend.

And he was arguably lucky to avoid being sent off in embarrassing fashion.

Recalling the mishap in the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast by Sky Bet, Carragher said: “My first start for Liverpool was against Aston Villa.

“I’d played a couple of games beforehand – I came on in a cup game away to Middlesbrough and then we played West Ham at home, and I came on at half-time, playing centre-midfield with John Barnes when I was eighteen.

“The week after, we played Villa and they were a good team. It was Brian Little’s team with three at the back and Dwight York upfront.

“I started that game and got booked after 20 seconds. I did a two-foot tackle on Andy Townsend straight after kick-off. You’d probably get sent off for that now.”

Despite his shaky start, Carragher went on to score his first Liverpool goal in front of the Kop.

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The Reds went on to win 3-0 at Anfield.

Carragher started the match in midfield but was eventually moved to right-back after establishing himself as a regular name in the first team – even though he preferred to play centrally.

“I went right-back because if I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t have been a Liverpool player,” he added.

“Gérard Houllier always wanted me in his team. He used to say to me at the start of preseason, ‘I’m going to play you most weeks. I don’t know where, but you will play.'”

The 46-year old went on to make 737 appearances for Liverpool before retiring in 2013.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk