Until the end of the first half, Liverpool didn't score again to retake the lead. Actually, there wasn't much time left for Liverpool to score anyway.

The first half ended soon after they restarted the game.

In the locker room, everyone noticed that Carragher's mood wasn't very high.

Strictly speaking, that goal conceded in the first half was indeed Carragher's fault. He slipped while defending Hulk, losing his balance first, and then was pushed away by Hulk.

So Carragher believed his mistake led to the team conceding a goal.

Everyone felt bad seeing the vice-captain blaming himself so much.

In fact, Carragher had been performing very well since replacing Agger. The team had achieved a winning streak and conceded very few goals. Although Carragher was older and his physical condition wasn't as good as before, he still helped the team out of danger many times relying on his experience, and his experience seemed to be reflected in commanding the defense, making the effect even more obvious.

It could be said that one mistake couldn't erase Carragher's contributions to the team.

Now they should find a way to comfort Carragher.

But the vice-captain's performance in the locker room had always been very strong, and everyone was afraid that comforting him would provoke his dissatisfaction... After all, this was like slapping the vice-captain in the face in front of everyone.

Gerrard wasn't afraid of Carragher's strength, but he was considering Carragher's face. He knew Carragher was a person who cared a lot about face, and if he comforted Carragher in front of everyone, wouldn't that be admitting there was a problem with Carragher's performance? Where would that leave Carragher's face?

Only one person didn't consider so much.

Chen Hero was the last to enter the locker room. Although the team had been tied, he still hugged his mentor Advocaat at the end of the first half, which had nothing to do with the competition between the two teams, it was purely to express his gratitude to his mentor. Because Chen Hero didn't hug Advocaat before the game started, so he made up for it now.

So he was the last to enter the locker room.

When he entered the locker room, he keenly felt the strange atmosphere, but his reaction was quick enough. He didn't even look at Carragher, he just turned around and hummed loudly towards the door: "That Hulk dares to call himself the 'Green Giant'? Such a small guy, just knows how to take advantage of others' misfortune! If the vice-captain hadn't slipped earlier, how could he have succeeded?!"

The way he looked, it seemed like he was talking about this with someone outside.

Suarez was also a clever person.

Seeing Chen Hero suddenly turn his head and talk about Hulk and Carragher as soon as he entered the door, he immediately understood what Chen Hero was going to do.

He immediately chimed in: "Who says otherwise? That little body... If the vice-captain didn't slip, he would be waiting to hit the wall!"

Chen Hero turned his head, looking at Suarez with joy: "Ah! Great minds think alike! In the second half, I'll let them see what a real giant is!"

Carragher couldn't help but laugh listening to these two people acting here.

Of course, he knew what these two people were doing, and in fact, he also knew everyone's feelings. It's just that he was used to being strong in the locker room, and it was difficult to change that mentality all of a sudden...

He was no longer a strong center-back, and his say in the locker room was slowly beginning to erode.

Retire!

This thought suddenly popped into his mind, and once it popped up, he was like he was bewitched, he couldn't get rid of it no matter what, he just kept thinking about retiring, he should retire.

The reason was also very simple, he was a very strong player, his image was the same as his playing style, brave, and actively fighting and intercepting. Therefore, he especially couldn't tolerate the mistake in this game appearing frequently in his subsequent games!

But he still thanked Chen Hero and Suarez for their kindness.

He raised his head and waved to Chen Hero: "Okay, stop acting, you two. I know that was my problem, no matter what the reason, the fact is that I slipped before the other side got the ball. There's nothing that can't be said. Even if he didn't hit me, I would have slipped myself... It's normal, I'm old..."

He said somewhat helplessly, and anyone could hear the unwillingness in his heart.

The night in 2005 when Liverpool miraculously won the Champions League in Istanbul, Carragher's performance ensured that the team could drag the game into a penalty shootout and defeat the already psychologically collapsed Italian giants in the penalty shootout.

That was a masterpiece of his incomparably strong mental strength and strong hero.

In the second half of extra time, AC Milan's Serginho crossed the ball in front of the goal to create a killing opportunity. Carragher tried his best to tackle and destroy it out of the baseline. Then, his leg cramped and he fell to the ground in pain. A minute later, Carragher dragged his injured leg and once again cleared the ball in front of the goal with a flying tackle, and before that, he had already resolved the attacks of Shevchenko and Kaka...

From 0:3 to 3:3, and then to lifting the Champions League trophy, this final was a classic of Carragher and Liverpool. The British media commented after the game: What can make the game result surpass the level of strength and tactics? The answer can only be mental strength. In Carragher, people saw this power.

The tough guy Carragher had his leg broken by Blackburn's Neil at the end of 2003. At that time, everyone thought he would have to rest for at least eight months, but he returned to the field in only four months. If he didn't have a super strong willpower, how could he have completed such a miraculous comeback?

Such a strong and unyielding player always gave orders in the locker room with a tone that didn't allow you to question him, as if his words were orders, like imperial edicts. Some people hated his attitude and called him a "ball bully", but this was actually a manifestation of his personal character, the same as his playing style on the field.

It was such a player as hard as granite who now said the words "I'm old", and the helplessness in his tone was really heartbreaking.

Gerrard heard a hint of something bad in his tone.

"Jamie..."

His words were interrupted by Carragher: "Just now, I've made a decision, I've decided to retire at the end of this season."

He said words that shocked everyone in a very flat tone.

※※※

Martin O'Neill was pushing the door of the locker room. Just as he pushed it open a crack, he heard Carragher's voice.

"...I've decided to retire at the end of this season."

He was stunned for a moment, and didn't step in.

"You're crazy, Jamie!" Then came Gerrard's exclamation.

"What... what's going on?" Chen Hero also felt very surprised.

"I'm not crazy, Stephen. I've thought about it seriously, I should retire. I'm thirty-six years old, this is a suitable age to retire, Stephen." Carragher's voice sounded very determined.

"Don't think wildly, it's just a defensive error, is it worth it?" Gerrard retorted.

"Yes, yes, vice-captain. And it's just a tie, there are still forty-five minutes, we can still overtake them in the second half... It's nothing, you really don't need to take it to heart... What's there to be afraid of conceding a goal? I also have mistakes sometimes, who in this room hasn't made a mistake? You say, right?!" Chen Hero looked around the locker room and said to everyone.

Everyone stood up to express their support for Chen Hero's point of view.

"Yes, vice-captain. We've all made mistakes..."

"I even scored an own goal before, it's really nothing..."

"What's an own goal? I almost tackled and injured my own teammate!"

"You just almost did it, I've made a lot of mistakes..."

"Hey, none of you count for anything. I used to dribble the ball all the way in the youth team, break through levels, and then shoot the ball into our own goal! The coach was going crazy on the sidelines at the time! I didn't even know what was wrong with me at the time..."

For a time, the locker room turned into a self-criticism conference where everyone exposed their shortcomings and revealed their family scandals.

Looking at these teammates competing to smear themselves in order to persuade him to withdraw his decision to retire, Carragher's face was smiling, but his eyes were full of tears.

He stood up from his seat.

Seeing the vice-captain stand up, everyone gradually quieted down.

"Thank you, I understand everyone's kindness... But this is not just a mistake, it's a signal. It's reminding me that I should retire, my body is no longer enough to support this kind of high-intensity confrontation for a season, I'm a little overwhelmed. I've played a lot of consecutive games recently, I haven't done this for two seasons. To be honest, I was very dissatisfied at first that the boss arranged me on the bench..."

※※※

Hearing these words, Martin O'Neill didn't dare to make a sound, he felt that no one in the room should have discovered him, the head coach hiding outside the locker room door.

Hearing Carragher say this, he wasn't surprised. Although Carragher had never shown it to him, he knew and was sure that Carragher was dissatisfied in his heart. From a team's vice-captain, main player to a substitute sitting on the bench, no one would feel good.

He only heard Carragher continue to say.

"But now I know, my body is indeed no longer suitable for this kind of confrontation for a whole season..."

※※※

"But you've only made one mistake. In the many games you've played, your performance has been very good, and we haven't lost..." Gerrard persuaded.

Carragher nodded: "That's right, Stephen. You're right. But I can't tolerate such mistake shots appearing frequently in my future games... And this is almost inevitable, because I'm old."

"But your heart is not old, Jamie!" Gerrard raised his voice.

Carragher looked at the somewhat excited Gerrard and suddenly smiled.

"Actually, my heart is also old, Stephen."