Jamie Carragher and wife Nicola at Glastonbury festival
Jamie and Nicola Carragher have been together for almost 30 years (Image: Instagram/23_carra)
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher's wife revealed she felt "embarrassed" after her husband's profile soared following the club's historic Champions League triumph in May 2005, as she grappled with the additional scrutiny it placed upon their lives. Liverpool overcame an AC Milan team brimming with world-class talent as they recovered from 3-0 down to win the trophy on penalties.
Under the management of Rafael Benitez, the Anfield side secured their fifth European crown against Carlo Ancelotti's outfit. Carragher's spouse, Nicola, told The Telegraph how her husband's elevated celebrity status following the final meant they attracted constant attention, along with their children, James and Mia.
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"When the kids were little, Liverpool won the Champions League and James was made player of the year. He was a very recognisable face and that did affect me a bit," she confessed.
"If we were out in public I was always worried that people were looking at us. I felt shy, embarrassed. I remember being in a restaurant and he was messing about with the kids, pulling faces, hiding under the table, making a right fool of himself."
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"As long as the kids were happy, he didn't care what anybody thought. What I can tell you is he is without doubt the best dad in the world
"Yes, there have been times when he has done things he regrets, but so have I. If the world focused on every stupid thing that you did or I did, we'd be in trouble."
The match famously known as 'the miracle of Istanbul' proved to be the defining moment for numerous Liverpool players at that time.
While many had celebrated the glory of the treble-winning campaign of 2001, when the Reds secured the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup, clinching the Champions League in such spectacular circumstances propelled figures like Carragher into the spotlight like never before.
Carragher lifts the European Cup after a dramatic victory over AC Milan on May 25, 2005
Jamie Carragher lifts the Champions League after a dramatic victory over AC Milan. (Image: Getty Images)
Speaking to The Mirror in 2020, Carragher revealed how Liverpool's fifth European Cup victory transformed his life. "It's funny how those great European triumphs are known by the city where they took place. As a kid, for me it was Rotterdam, with Everton. Rome '77. [Manchester] United have Barcelona... Not 'the Bayern game,' but Barcelona," he said.
"Istanbul, though. It's somehow even more powerful. It's our city and our club. Just the word makes you feel lucky to have been part of it. An honour and a privilege.
"It's the one moment in my career I'd love to go back to. That moment of realisation, and then release. I ran towards Jerzy [Ex-Liverpool goalkeeper, Dudek] and was the first one there. But there was no way I could stop and hug someone. I needed to keep running, jumping, shouting, screaming.
"I couldn't have bottled that up. It was just an energy rush that had to come out. I carried on around the track, couldn't have stood still with the players, had to get involved in the crowd. It's just a pity I didn't get that energy in the first half.
"We had a great night in the hotel after the game, with the lads, the chairman and the manager giving speeches. But when we got back to Liverpool for the homecoming was the real celebration."
"The final was on a Wednesday and I kept drinking until the Sunday night! I was with people back home who couldn't make it to the game but still had so many stories, and I'm probably more interested in how they felt.
"I think it's one of those games – it's for the people of the city, not the players. The whole city had a glow to it, a bounce in the step for six months."
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