Carra admits putting club before country

When a serialisation of Jamie Carragher’s autobiography revealed that playing for his club meant more to the Liverpool defender than turning out for England it caused relatively little fuss.

A few years ago fans would have been up in arms at the idea that an English footballer doesn’t put representing his country at the top of his footballing ambitions.

But none of us were really surprised by Carragher’s revelation.

He never looked as comfortable in an England shirt and certainly was not treated by England fans with the same adulation he receives from the Kopites at Anfield.

He also seemed resentful at the fact he was rarely played in his favoured position of centre half and it was no great shock when the Liverpudlian announced his retirement from the international game last year at the age of 29.

It also follows the modern trend of players increasingly prioritising the club who pay their wages over pride at turning out in the national jersey.

A clear indication of this is seen by the number of players who pull out of international fixtures through injury, only to then appear for their clubs just days later.

Carragher, who made 34 appearances for England, is not the first to turn his back on his national side to extend his club career.

Paul Scholes and Alan Shearer took the same decision and, while Carragher was always a somewhat peripheral figure in the national set up, the pair both could surely have had at least one more major tournament in the starting line up.

All players would have to agree that there is nothing quite like taking part in a major international tournament, it is the ultimate in terms of playing ambition.

But footballers it seems are becoming increasingly apathetic towards the effort it takes to get there, with a two-year qualification process and trips to the likes of Kazakhstan and Belarus.

The annual riches of the Champions League offer a much more accessible reward for the modern player.

While the status of the international game is losing significance in English football in the face of increasing power of club sides, the country’s cricket and rugby teams are seemingly moving in the opposite direction.

In both cricket and rugby England players are on central contracts with the clubs paid compensation for losing players serving their country.

Imagine a situation if England football tried something similar to the England cricket set up, which has recently ordered a number of players to sit out the climax of the county season to rest up for the forthcoming winter tours.

The difference is in other sports the domestic game is set up to serve the national team, in football it appears the clubs view internationals purely as an inconvenient distraction.