Michael Carrick: Bio, Tactics, Statics, and What to Expect

Michael Carrick (born July 28, 1981) is an English professional football coach and former player who is now the manager of Premier League team Manchester United. He is most remembered for his 12-year playing career with Manchester United, where he was also captain.

Carrick was a defensive midfielder, although he served as an emergency centre-back for Alex Ferguson, David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, and José Mourinho. His passing ability was the foundation of his playing style, which earned him recognition as one of the best midfielders of his era.

Carrick began his career at West Ham United. He joined the youth team in 1997 and won the FA Youth Cup two years later. He was loaned out twice during his rookie season, to Swindon Town and Birmingham City, before being promoted to the first team in 2000-01.

He was relegated in the 2002-03 season and was named to the PFA First Division Team of the Year the following season. He made over 150 games for the Hammers before joining rival London club Tottenham Hotspur in 2004 for a reported sum of £3.5 million. He was a significant figure at the club for two seasons before going to Manchester United for £14 million in 2006.

Michael Carrick Biography

Michael Adrian Carrick was born on July 28, 1981, in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. He grew up in this town on the River Tyne, on the eastern end of Hadrian’s Wall. At the age of twelve, he was chosen for North Tyneside Schools.

He earned his England Boys’ Club cap while playing for Wallsend Boys’ Club under-16s. Carrick was covered in episode 49 of the BBC children’s programme Live & Kicking, which aired on February 4, 1995. Carrick played as a centre-forward at school and before joining West Ham United; it wasn’t until West Ham that he began to play more frequently as a midfielder. He attended Wallsend’s Western Middle School and Burnside Community High School, where he earned his GCSEs in 1997.

Career

Carrick was a member of the West Ham United youth team that won the FA Youth Cup in 1998-1999. He scored twice in the two-legged 9-0 triumph over Coventry City. According to his manager at the time, Harry Redknapp, Carrick’s problem at the start of his career was primarily physical, and he missed nearly two seasons due to injuries as a result of his rapid development.

On July 24, 1999, he made his West Ham debut in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, drawing 1-1 away against Jokerit. He made his league debut five weeks later, on August 28, when he replaced Rio Ferdinand in a 3-0 win over Bradford City at Valley Parade.

Carrick joined Swindon Town on a one-month loan in November 1999, and he made his debut for the club in a 0-0 draw at home against Norwich City. On November 23, he scored his first professional goal against Charlton Athletic at home, a 2-1 defeat. He scored once again during his loan term, in a 1-1 draw at home against Walsall on December 4.

Tottenham stated on June 10 that they had rejected a proposal from Manchester United for Carrick, who Sir Alex Ferguson saw as a replacement for the club’s former captain, Roy Keane.

Carrick made his debut for the club on August 4, 2006, in a 3-1 pre-season friendly victory over Porto at the Amsterdam Tournament. The next day, Carrick was forced to miss the start of the 2006-07 season after hurting his foot in the tournament’s final encounter against Ajax.

Following his rehabilitation from the injury, he made his competitive debut on August 23 in a 3-0 away league victory over Charlton Athletic. Three days later, he made his first start for the club, a 2-1 victory at Watford. Toward the end of December, he missed two games due to a minor injury.

He recovered in time to play in United’s final game of 2006, a 3-2 home victory over Reading on December 30th. Carrick scored his first Manchester United goal on January 13, 2007, in a 3-1 home win over Aston Villa. One month later, on February 17, he scored his first FA Cup goal in a 1-1 tie against Reading at home.

He then scored one of United’s goals in a 4-1 home victory over Blackburn Rovers on March 31. Carrick scored his first Champions League goals on April 10, scoring twice in a 7-1 home victory over Roma in the quarter-final second leg.

Carrick said in November 2017 that he had undergone a treatment to correct an abnormal heart rhythm after experiencing dizziness during a match and training. The medical therapy was successful, and he returned to United’s first-team squad as captain. Carrick accepted a position on the club’s first-team coaching staff in January 2018, following his retirement at the end of the 2017-18 season.

On 13 May, he made his 464th and final appearance for Manchester United against Watford at Old Trafford, assisting Marcus Rashford in his team’s 1-0 victory. Carrick was replaced at the end of the match, allowing the crowd to give him a standing ovation.

International Career

Carrick was capped by the England national under-18 and under-21 teams before being called up to the senior team for Sven-Göran Eriksson’s first game in command of England in February 2001. Despite being nominated to England’s 31-man squad for the match against Spain, he was an unused substitute in the 3-0 triumph on February 28.

Three months later, he made his England debut, coming on as a second-half substitute for David Beckham in a 4-0 friendly victory over Mexico. On May 28, 2005, he made his debut against the United States, which they won 2-1. Three days later, Carrick started again in a 3-2 triumph over Colombia in the final game of their tour of the United States.

In May 2012, England manager Roy Hodgson stated that he left Carrick out of the 23-man squad and standby list for UEFA Euro 2012 because he had previously told The Football Association that he did not want to be a bit-part player, even if he could help the team “in extremis”.

Hodgson recalled Carrick to the England team on August 10 for a friendly against Italy on August 15. He played the entire 90 minutes in Switzerland’s 2-1 triumph over the Azzurri and replaced Frank Lampard as captain for the final 20 minutes. Carrick came in as a half-time replacement for England in their 5-0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Moldova on September 7, 2012.

Michael Carrick Man Utd manager

Carrick remained at Manchester United after retiring, joining José Mourinho’s coaching staff alongside fellow newcomer Kieran McKenna; both were filling the hole created by former assistant manager Rui Faria, who chose to launch his own managerial career.

Mourinho was fired by United on December 18, 2018, after an indifferent first half of the season, with Carrick briefly serving as acting caretaker manager until being replaced by another former United player, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, for the remainder of the season. In March 2019, Solskjær and his coaching staff were appointed permanently. Carrick remained a member of the coaching team.

Carrick was appointed caretaker manager on November 21, 2021, after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer stepped down as manager. Carrick’s first match in command was a UEFA Champions League fixture away at Villarreal, which United won with two late goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho, securing United’s place in the competition’s last 16.

Following a 3-2 victory over Arsenal on December 2, Carrick resigned as first-team coach and departed Manchester United with immediate effect, shortly after Ralf Rangnick was appointed as temporary manager, a position he would hold for the remainder of the season. During his three matches as caretaker manager, he won two and drew one, with United also drawing with Chelsea in his first Premier League encounter.

Carrick returned to Manchester United on January 13, 2026, taking over as head coach until the end of the 2025-26 season.

Michael Carrickstats as manager

Michael Carrickwife

Carrick and Lisa Roughead, a Pilates instructor with a business degree, started dating while both were in school. They married in Wymondham, Leicestershire, on June 16, 2007, and have a daughter and a boy. His brother, Graeme, is also a coach, having worked for Newcastle United and Middlesbrough’s first team.