German European Championship winning defender Markus Babbel was part of what I consider to have been the best Liverpool back four this decade. He was also a popular and integral part of Liverpool’s treble winning season in 2000/01. He was struck down with a debilitating illness in his second season which called a halt to his time at Anfield far too soon.
Markus Babbel was born in September 1972, in Munich, Germany. He began his football career in the youth team at Bayern Munich. After rising through the playing ranks he made his first team debut during the 1991/92 season. After twelve appearances (four as substitute) for Bayern, Markus moved to Hamburger SV (Hamburg) in August 1992. He became a first team regular at Hamburg and also made the first of twelve appearances for the German under 21 side.
After two seasons at Hamburg, Markus was transferred back to Bayern Munich in 1994. At this time they were the German Bundesliga champions after Franz Beckenbauer had returned to coach them for one season in 1993/94. Markus had six fine seasons at Bayern Munich and was an integral part of the team. He also won a number of medals during his time at the club. In 1996 they won the UEFA Cup beating Bordeaux in the final after the club president Beckenbauer had stepped back in as caretaker manager. They won the Bundesliga again in 1996/97 and also in 1998/99. In the 1998/99 season they also reached the Champions League final losing in injury time to Manchester Utd at the Camp Nou in Barcelona. In Markus’ final season at Bayern Munich, 1999/2000, they won the German league and cup double.
During his time at Bayern Munich, Markus began playing for the German national side. He was an important member of the team that won the 1996 European Championships in England. He also played for Germany during the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championships.
During the 2000 European Championships, Liverpool’s main right back Vegard Heggem suffered a serious injury. This meant that he lost his place for the following season which eventually pretty much ended his Anfield career. A slot had opened up at right back and fortunately for Liverpool’s manager Gerard Houllier an outstanding player was ready to make the position his own. In June 2000, after helping Bayern Munich to win the double in Germany, Markus Babbel was snapped up by Liverpool on a Bosman-style free transfer.
Markus had a few teething troubles when he first arrived at Anfield when he was ordered in front of the squad to explain remarks to a German newspaper about being played out of position. He apparently felt he would be best deployed as a centre back. Despite this slight setback, Markus took his place for the 2000/01 season in what I consider to be the best Liverpool back four since the 1980’s. The regular defensive formation was Markus at right back, the outstanding combination of Hyypia and Henchoz at centre back and Jamie Carragher at left back. With some tremendous defensive performances, Liverpool had the second best goal difference that season after Premiership champions Manchester Utd.
Markus made his league debut for Liverpool in August 2000 in a 1-0 victory at home to Bradford City. He established an instant rapport with the Liverpool supporters thanks to his incredible stamina and his never say die attitude. He was like a racehorse with his rampaging runs up and down the right flank. He scored three goals during the season, two of which came in season defining matches. His first goal for the Reds came in an 8-0 victory away at Stoke City in the League Cup. His second goal came in the incredible Merseyside derby in April 2001. This is the game most famous for Gary McAllister’s amazing free kick in the dying seconds to win the game 3-2. Markus scored Liverpool’s second goal as he latched on to a rebound on the edge of the Everton area before smashing the ball into the back of the net. His third goal of the season came in an even bigger game, the UEFA Cup Final against Spanish side Deportivo Alaves. Markus opened the scoring with a fantastic header from a McAllister free kick. Liverpool went on to win the trophy in a 5-4 score-line after a golden goal in extra time. It is a game still regarded as the greatest UEFA Cup Final of all time.
Markus played in all three cup finals as Liverpool won the phenomenal treble of League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup. He had an absolutely fantastic game in the UEFA Cup Final and in my opinion he was only just behind McAllister for the man of the match award. He was also a major contributor to Liverpool finishing third in the Premiership and qualifying for the Champions League for the first time. He started every league game and missed just three of Liverpool’s sixty three games in that incredible season. It is possible that this may have been a factor in the illness that struck him down soon after.
Markus started the following season and helped Liverpool win two more trophies at the start of 2001/02. The Charity Shield was secured with a great victory over Man Utd and the European Super Cup was won in a victory over Markus’ old club Bayern Munich in Monaco. This meant that Markus now had five medals in just over one year at Anfield. This was an amazing start to his Anfield career but unfortunately tragedy was just around the corner to prevent Markus from playing in the Champions League after he had done so much to assist in qualification the previous season.
He had looked poor and slow in the Super Cup Final but at the time I had assumed he was carrying a minor injury. Unfortunately I was wrong and after complaining of tiredness, he was substituted at half time in game against Bolton Wanderers in late August 2001. He was diagnosed with Guillan-Barre Syndrome and didn’t play again for fifteen months. Guillan-Barre Syndrome is a life threatening, wasting illness that affects the peripheral nervous system. The disease is characterized by weakness which affects the lower limbs first, and rapidly progresses in an ascending fashion. Patients generally notice weakness in their legs, before it progresses into the upper parts of the body. Fortunately the illness is treatable and 80% of patients have a complete recovery within six months to a year. Patients usually recover with the aid of hospitalisation, rest and, once the early stages are over, rehabilitation and physical therapy. I will never forget how shocking and upsetting it was when photo’s surfaced of Markus in a wheelchair looking weak, gaunt and a shadow of how he had looked striding on the Anfield turf just a few months earlier. He was one of our fittest players during the treble season and now he was too weak to even walk. All of a sudden with the release of these photo’s no Liverpool fan was concerned about when he’d be back in the team, we were now more concerned about his life.
A lot of bad things have been said about Gerard Houllier’s time as Liverpool manager, but one thing that has never been doubted is how much he cared about his players. This was never proven more strongly than when he offered Markus a new contract during this dark period. The loyalty that Houllier showed and the support and well wishes he received from Liverpool supporters must have given him a huge boost as he embarked upon his long and slow recovery.
Thanks to Markus’ natural fitness he did eventually recover and made his first team comeback in November 2002 against Sunderland. Unfortunately he never managed to regain his outstanding previous form and didn’t play a regular part in the team during the 2002/03 season. After spending the majority of the season playing in the reserves, Markus was justifiably concerned for his Anfield future. When Steve Finnan was signed in the summer of 2003 it was clear that his future lay elsewhere and he spent the 2003/04 season on loan at Blackburn Rovers.
He played twenty five league games for Blackburn and scored three times as he helped them to a sixth place finish in the Premiership and qualification for the UEFA Cup. Despite playing well during the season, Markus wasn’t signed permanently by Blackburn and in 2004 he returned to Germany to sign for VfB Stuttgart on a free transfer, where he teamed up with his old Bayern Munich manager Giovanni Trapattoni. He was a semi-regular in the team over the following three seasons and helped them to become the Bundesliga Champions in his final season as a player in 2006/07.
After he retired from playing in May 2007, Markus became the assistant coach at Stuttgart. After finishing sixth in the Bundesliga in 2007/08 and having a bad start to the following season, Stuttgart fired the manager Armin Veh. After impressing as a coach Markus was given his first football management position when he was promoted to first team manager at Stuttgart in November 2008. He was sacked by Stuttgart in December 2009 and is currently the head coach at Hertha Berlin.
Markus Babbel is fondly remembered by Liverpool supporters as much for his performances during the treble season as for his brave recovery from a life threatening illness. He was an outstanding right back and had he not been struck down and lost some of his abilities, I believe he could have played for Liverpool for at least another five years thanks to his incredible fitness. He was voted in at number 53 in the series ‘100 Players Who Shook the Kop’. This was despite only playing one full season for Liverpool and is a testament to how integral he was to the Reds winning five trophies in his short time at the club.
Liverpool FC | Supporters Club | Vancouver, BC, Canada
