The defender's Premiership bow also came from the bench, against West Ham United, and marked his first ever start a week later with the opening goal in a 3-0 home win over Aston Villa.
He became a regular the following season and by the 1998/1999 campaign was considered a player of real promise - which led to his first full international cap in April as an England substitute against Hungary.
The player made a defensive berth his own at Liverpool during 1999/2000 and continued to be a regular in Gerard Houllier's side during 2000/01 season.
Carragher saw off the challenge of German international Christian Ziege to take the left-back slot, despite being right-footed, as Liverpool enjoyed a massively successful season.
He hit the headlines in January 2002 during an FA Cup tie at Arsenal. A coin was thrown from the crowd, and Carragher opted to throw it back into the fans. He earned a red card and a disrepute charge from the FA.
Carragher missed out on the 2002 World Cup, needing surgery on an injury over the summer.
Having shifted from left-back to right-back the signing of Steve Finnan in the summer of 2003 placed real pressure on his place in the team. And he was ruled out for the first half of the season when his leg was broken following a terrible challenge by Blackburn's Lucas Neill in mid-September.
He returned to fitness to be named in England's squad for Euro 2004, but he didn't play in Portugal.
Carragher really came of age in 2004/05 under the tutelage of Benitez, who moved him into the central defensive position and he was voted Liverpool's Player of the Season.
The partnership with Sami Hyypia became one of the strongest in the Premier League - and also conquered Europe as Liverpool surprisingly lifted the Champions League trophy in 2005.
Liverpool through and through and surely destined to play his entire career for the Anfield club and has been awarded the freedom of his home town Sefton, Merseyside, for his local charity work.
His determination to give 100 per cent has made him a firm favourite with both the manager and the fans. His commitment to the Reds' miserly defence was one of the key reasons Liverpool made it to the 2006/07 European Cup final, although they lost to AC Milan.
En-route to the final, in a semi-final second leg against Chelsea on 1 May 2007, Carragher set a record for the most appearances in European competition for the club. His 90th European match took him past Ian Callaghan and once again he was voted Liverpool's Player of the Year for the 2006/07 season by the fans.
Carragher made his 500th appearance for Liverpool on 15 January 2008, in the home FA cup fixture against Luton Town. He was made captain for this match.
Carragher called time on his England career during the brief reign of Steve McClaren after being overlooked as an international centre-back by a series of England managers, who preferred to use the versatile defender as cover along the back four and even as a holding midfielder.
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