Michael Carrick

West Ham United

Carrick was part of the West Ham United youth squad that won the FA Youth Cup in the 1998–99 season. He scored twice in their two-legged 9–0 record final victory over Coventry City. According to his manager at the time, Harry Redknapp, Carrick's difficulty at the start of his career was mainly physical and he lost almost two seasons to injuries because of his rapid growth. He made his debut for West Ham in a 1–1 away draw with Jokerit in the UEFA Intertoto Cup on 24 July 1999. His league debut came five weeks later on 28 August, when he replaced Rio Ferdinand in a 3–0 victory over Bradford City at Valley Parade. In November 1999, Carrick was sent on a one-month loan to Swindon Town and made his first appearance for them in a 0–0 draw at home with Norwich City. He scored his first professional career goal in a 2–1 defeat at home to Charlton Athletic on 23 November. He scored once more during his loan spell, netting in a 1–1 draw at home to Walsall on 4 December. Although he impressed during his spell he could not help the team find a much-needed win during his 6 outings, playing his final game for them in a 3–0 defeat at Manchester City on 18 December. In February 2000, he was sent on loan again, this time to Birmingham City, making just two appearances for the Blues. Carrick returned to Upton Park and scored his first goal for West Ham United, scoring the first in a 5–0 home win over Coventry City on 22 April. During his first season he was voted as…

Carrick was capped by the England national under-18 and under-21 teams before receiving his first call-up to the senior team in Sven-Göran Eriksson's first game in charge of England in February 2001. Despite being named in the 31-man squad to face Spain, he was an unused substitute in England's 3–0 victory on 28 February. Three months later he made his England debut, replacing David Beckham as a second-half substitute in a 4–0 friendly win over Mexico. His full debut came during their 2–1 victory over the United States on 28 May 2005. Three days later Carrick started again in a 3–2 victory over Colombia in the final game of their tour of the US. On 8 May 2006, Eriksson named Carrick in a 23-man provisional squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, eventually being named in the final 23-man squad for the tournament in Germany. He was an unused substitute for all three of England's Group B games as they advanced to the knockout stage. Carrick played just one game in the tournament, a 1–0 victory in the second round match against Ecuador on 25 June. The next game he was dropped to the bench for the quarter-final tie against Portugal, with Owen Hargreaves replacing him. The game ended goalless after extra time, Portugal won 3–1 in the subsequent penalty shootout and knocked England out of the World Cup.

Carrick had been regularly overlooked by various England managers when it came to the central roles, with Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard generally being preferred. He started nine…

Manchester United

Carrick remained at Manchester United after retirement, having been handed a position on José Mourinho's coaching staff, alongside fellow new appointee Kieran McKenna; both were filling the void left by former assistant manager Rui Faria, who opted to begin his own spell in management. Mourinho was sacked by United on 18 December 2018, following an indifferent first half of the season, resulting in Carrick briefly being named acting caretaker manager, prior to the appointment of another former United player Ole Gunnar Solskjær into that position for the rest of the season. Solskjær retained Carrick as part of his coaching staff, with Solskjær and his coaching staff being appointed on a permanent basis in March 2019. On 21 November 2021, after Ole Gunnar Solskjær left his role as manager, Carrick was named caretaker manager. Carrick's first match in charge was a UEFA Champions League tie away at Villarreal, which United won thanks to late goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and a first United goal for Jadon Sancho, sealing United's place in the last-16 of the competition. Following a 3–2 victory against Arsenal on 2 December, Carrick stepped down as first team coach and left Manchester United with immediate effect, shortly after the appointment of Ralf Rangnick as interim manager, who would go on to remain in the role for the rest of the season. During his three match reign as caretaker manager, he recorded two wins and one draw, with United also having…

Michael Carrick was born on 28 July 1981 to Vince and Lynn Carrick in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, and has a younger brother Graeme. He first became involved in football at the age of four. A boyhood fan of Newcastle United, he played five-a-side football with Wallsend Boys Club on Saturday nights, courtesy of his father's volunteer work at the club. Aged nine, he had trials with Middlesbrough, Stoke City, Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Chelsea. At the age of 12 he was selected for North Tyneside Schools. While playing for Wallsend Boys' Club under-16s, he was capped for the England Boys' club side. At age 13, Carrick was profiled by the BBC children's programme Live & Kicking episode 49, which aired on 4 February 1995. During his school years, and the years up until his move to West Ham United, Carrick actually played as a centre-forward; it was only at West Ham that he started to play more often as a midfielder. He studied at Wallsend's Western Middle School and Burnside Community High School, completing his GCSE exams in 1997.