Daniel Agger has thanked Jamie Carragher for guiding him through
his first full season on Merseyside and labelled his fellow
centre back "the best teacher any young player can have."
A series of rock solid displays saw the Dane become a firm Kop
favourite even before his unforgettable goal in the Champions
League semi-final second leg against Chelsea.
Yet Agger insists such a smooth transition into the first team
would not have been possible without the help of Liverpool's number
23.
"Jamie Carragher is the best defender in the world, and not only
this, he is the best teacher any young player can have," said the
22-year-old.
"It's impossible for me to describe the level of respect I have for
him and the way he's helped me in every game."
Agger was also touched by the quotes attributed to his counterpart
following the first leg against Jose Mourinho's men.
The youngster was criticised in some quarters following an expert
performance from Didier Drogba but Carra was having none of
it.
"You don't need to worry about Daniel Agger. He's going to be a top
player for years to come," said the club's vice-captain.
Agger added: "When I think back to what happened in the first leg,
I really don't know what to feel about it. I really didn't feel I
played that badly. For some reason, some people decided to say I
had a bad game.
"Didier Drogba is one of the best strikers in the world and one of
the best I've ever played against. He's one of many strong strikers
in the Premiership which makes it such a tough league.
"I thought Drogba was outstanding in both games, but it's just that
everything in football is decided by the result and people never
look at what really happened in the game afterwards.
"There are some journalists in Denmark who like to get together and
write the same things, so if one person says something they all
agree.
"It's just a big media circus sometimes although, in a strange way,
the Danish media going against me this time made me more motivated
because I'm the kind of person who can show it doesn't matter
what's written.
"I'll never be affected by that.
"It's strange for me because the reaction in Liverpool has been so
different and positive. A lot of our players have had a fantastic
season and our fans are so fair and want to be supportive."
Meanwhile, Agger has spoken of his pride at the team performance on
Tuesday night.
"I'm proud of how all the players performed. All of us worked very
hard, and best of all we kept our concentration for 120 minutes and
made no mistakes, which is very tough at this level against great
players.
"It was a great feeling when I scored. I felt amazing. I've never
even been to a Champions League final as a spectator, but I know
it's a massive game and one I'm really looking forward
to."
