By Theo Gardner
An ‘Unsung Hero’ is a player that was integral to their team(s), be that through playing a role that doesn’t traditionally receive a lot of plaudits, turning up for their team in big moments or going unnoticed due to the other stars they played with.
Michael Carrick is one of those players.
Carrick often doesn’t receive the plaudits he deserved due to his position and play-style both lending themselves to going under the radar and not grabbing the headlines.
Despite this, the best footballing minds noticed his high-level ability. Pep Guardiola said that Carrick was ‘one of the best holding midfielders [he’s] ever seen in his life’, likewise, Xavi called him a ‘complete player’. He is the very definition of underrated.
Carrick was capped 34 times by his country and has five Premier Leagues, an FA Cup, and two European titles to his name.
Career
Carrick came through the West Ham academy, making 8 appearances and scoring one goal during his debut season. He would spend 4 more seasons at the club, leaving with over 100 league appearances.
Loan moves to both Swindon Town and Birmingham City followed, however Carrick would only make 8 cumulative league appearances for the two clubs.
In the 2004/05 season, Carrick signed for Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £3.5 million. Despite a slow start to life in North London, Carrick cemented a place within the starting eleven once manager Martin Jol joined the club. Carrick would go on to make 75 appearances over two seasons.
This is when the Red Devils came calling, Sir Alex Ferguson signed Carrick for an initial fee of £14 million ahead of the 2006/07 season. Carrick would spend the rest of his career at Manchester United.
At United, Carrick enjoyed an illustrious career winning silverware on 17 separate occasions. He would retire in the 2017/18 after making 464 appearances for the club – 316 of them coming in the Premier League. Carrick retired being within the top 20 players with the most Premier League appearances ever.
Game Intelligence and Play Style
Within his career, Carrick played both as a defensive midfielder, and sporadically as a centre back. Unlike other players who may be considered as all-time greats within these roles, Carrick did not possess the same level of speed, physicality or power. Instead Carrick thrived due to high levels of positional intelligence when out of possession and an outstanding passing ability when on the ball.
It is a testament to his incredible ability within these facets of the game that he was able to transcend those with the natural, physical attributes that lend themselves to this positional role. With the aforementioned plaudits heaped upon Carrick by the games greats it is hard not to wonder how appreciated he would have become in a system built around him, or one that favours possession-based football – playing to his attributes.
Indeed, as crazy as it might sound, Carrick was good enough to play at the highest level and he would have looked at home in any of Europe’s top sides at the time.
It would seem absurd to suggest that Carrick could look at home within the Barcelona side of the time, however it is clear that he was admired by both Pep Guardiola and Xavi – two legends of the club. This in itself aptly showcases just how underrated he was as a player.
Managerial Career
Naturally, players who have such a high level of understanding within the game tend to succeed as managers. Despite having only just started within management, Carrick has already showcased this. He served as the caretaker manager for Manchester United during late 2021, and he has recently taken up the post of Middlesbrough manager. When he took over in October, Middlesbrough had 17 points from a possible 48 to start the season – sitting at 22nd in the league.
Since taking over, Carrick has revolutionised the side. He has incorporated a possession-based style of football (drawing parallels to his playing days). Carrick’s Middlesbrough try to retain the ball while attempting to create offensive overloads – a tactic which has seen the side flourish thus far. Carrick’s Middlesbrough now sit 3rd in the league, poised to enter the playoffs to earn a place in the Premier League next season. This system has massively improved individuals within this squad as well. Chuba Akpom sits 4 goals clear at the top of the Championship’s scorers charts (at the time of writing), and in the assists table, Daniel Barlaser and Ryan Giles sit joint for top spot alongside Sheffield United’s Ndiaye and Norwich’s Pukki.
Final Thoughts
It is clear that Michael Carrick is a footballer who has spent his career being hugely underappreciated. Carrick was a constant in a United side who consistently performed at the highest level and won a wealth of silverware. A hugely intelligent player, Carrick utilised his understanding of the game to his advantage and this has shone through in his managerial career just as it did in his playing career.
