Jamie Carragher claims he knew Michael Owen was "special" the first time he watched him play in a match for Liverpool's youth side.
The pair were in separate age groups during their academy days, with Carragher the elder by two years.
Owen then got his first break towards Liverpool stardom when, aged 16, he was a surprise call-up for an under 18s fixture in which Carragher was involved in.
"He was a few years younger than me, and I always remember the youth cup run we had, under 18s, and we didn’t have great strikers in the team" Carragher told Sky Sports.
"It wasn’t like it is in academies today with players from round Europe it was just lads from round Liverpool.
"We got to the quarter final and [former academy director] Steve Heighway said, 'I’ve got a lad, he’s still at school, I’m gonna bring him in and play Michael Owen'.
"I didn’t know who this kid was. He came in and scored a hat-trick against Man Utd, so I think that showed straight away that this lad was something special."
Owen went on to score another hat-trick in the first leg of the youth cup semi-final against Crystal Palace, before getting on the scoresheet in the second leg of the final win over West Ham.
He then made his first-team debut as a 17-year-old, just four months after Carragher, before becoming a goalscoring sensation for both club and country.
But Carragher feels even though Owen came of age in that quarter final victory, his path to the senior side had already been mapped out for him.
"I think he’s the one player if you ever spoke to the youth coaches at that time and certainly Steve Heighway, I don’t think there’s ever a guarantee with anyone, that they’re going to be a top player," Carragher added.
"So much can go wrong between the ages of 16 and 20/21.
"But I think with Michael Owen they already knew at 14/15 that this lad was going to be in the first team at 17 or 18. He was that special and that good.
"And to come in that night against Man Utd and get a hat-trick. He didn’t know any of his team, he was two years younger than everyone, you knew he was something special."
