Nicknamed ‘The Kaiser’, Dietmar ‘Didi’ Hamann was a model of German efficiency. He spent seven seasons at Anfield during which he was incredible in the holding midfield role. Possessing a rocket shot, he rarely gave the ball away and never shirked out of a tackle. These attributes are just a few of the reasons why he remains so beloved by Liverpool fans everywhere.
Didi was born in September 1973 in Waldsassen, Bavaria. He started his football career with the youth team Wacker Munchen based in Munich, where his father was a coach. It wasn’t long before Didi’s footballing talents were noticed by bigger sides and he was soon on his way to joining the youth set-up at Bayern Munich. He progressed through the ranks at Bayern Munich and made his debut for the first team in 1991 when he was just turned eighteen. He spent nine years with the Bavarian giants and during that period they won two Bundesliga titles as well as a UEFA Cup and German Cup. In 1998 Didi played for Germany in the World Cup in France. After impressing with his displays during the tournament he was signed by Kenny Dalglish for Newcastle United at a cost of £5.5 million.
Didi had a fine season 1998/99 with Newcastle and was voted by their fans as the player of the season. This great form attracted the attention of a number of top teams, including Barcelona and Arsenal, who began bidding for Didi’s services. Didi had fallen out with the Newcastle manager Ruud Gullit which is why he chose to depart St James Park after just one season. Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier had just offloaded the talented but controversial Paul Ince at the end of the previous season and needed a big strong character in the centre of the team. After a failed bid to sign the late Marc-Vivien Foe from West Ham United, Houllier soon realised that Didi Hamann was a perfect choice to fulfil this role and in July 1999 Didi opted to sign for the Reds for £8 million.
Didi made his league debut for Liverpool against Sheffield Wednesday but it was to end in disaster. He only lasted twenty five minutes before he was off the field with damaged ankle ligaments. After an aborted comeback attempt in September, Didi ended up on the injured list until November 1999. When he eventually started to play regularly in the midfield, Liverpool fans soon realised what a quality player he was. In the holding role he never really did anything spectacular or flashy but what he did do was done with substance. There were some critics in the media around that time who failed to grasp just how good he was, accusing him of being too static and anonymous in midfield. What Didi did do, throughout his career, was protect the defence while quietly organising the midfield and intercepting the ball with some ferocious but perfectly timed tackling. He distributed the ball smoothly, rarely losing possession. He didn’t score very often but when he did it was usually spectacular. Memorable goals include one against Newcastle in September 2002 where he beat two players before unleashing an unstoppable shot. Other memorable strikes include a belter from thirty yards against Fulham and one against Portsmouth that was voted Liverpool’s goal of the season for 2003/04.
In October 2000 Didi wrote himself into the record books when he scored the last goal ever scored at the legendary Wembley Stadium. This came from a long range free kick in a World Cup qualifier as Germany defeated England 1-0. This was also the final game for Kevin Keegan as England manager who resigned in the dressing room after the team were booed off the pitch.
Didi then went on to have a spectacular season for Liverpool helping them to an incredible treble of League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup during 2000/01. He had a fine game in the League Cup Final against Birmingham City, almost scoring with a spectacular effort in extra time that rebounded off the post. He missed a penalty during the shoot-out but after Sander Westerveld saved from Andrew Johnson the trophy was Liverpool’s. Didi had a more subdued game during the FA Cup Final against Arsenal but thanks to Michael Owen the second part of the treble was completed. Another good performance alongside Gary McAllister in Dortmund assisted the Reds to the UEFA Cup in the spectacular 5-4 victory over Deportivo Alaves.
Victories in the Community Shield (over Man Utd) and the European Super Cup against Bayern Munich meant that during the 2001/02 season Liverpool held five trophies at once. Liverpool had a marvellous season in the Premiership and finished in second place. This was a mixed season for Liverpool with Gerard Houllier being struck down with a heart defect during a game against Leeds United. He returned five months later to inspire a 2-0 victory over Roma which meant Liverpool reached the quarter final stage of the Champions League to face German side Bayer Leverkusen. It was during the second leg of this tie that we started to realise that Houllier was possibly losing his managerial abilities. It was also the game when we realised, to painful effect, how vulnerable Liverpool were when Didi wasn’t on the pitch. In a game balanced 1-1 with Bayer requiring 2 goals to win, Houllier took off Didi replacing him with Vladmir Smicer and exposing the defence to endless attacks. Bayer were lifted by the German's exit as Smicer did little to help the defence. Once Didi was no longer on the field Bayer and particularly Michael Ballack ran riot and scored two goals in quick succession. Jari Litmanen managed to score another goal for Liverpool and at that stage the score was 3-2 to Bayer but Liverpool were leading on away goals. Unfortunately it was not to be for Liverpool and we were deprived the chance to play in Champions League semi final in which our opponents would have been Manchester United. I’ll always remember the phone in on Radio City afterwards as I was stuck in traffic leaving the pub. Up to this point the reaction to Houllier was mostly always positive after he had restored the club to winning silverware and he had plenty of goodwill after his comeback from illness. This was the night when I began to hear some serious anger and criticism towards Houllier and this was the moment I personally began to wonder if he knew what he was doing. Had we beaten Bayer Leverkusen I believe that we’d have reached the final that season as we always had the knack of beating Man Utd during this period.
In the summer of 2002, Didi helped Germany to reach the World Cup Final were they lost to a Ronaldo inspired Brazil. This made Didi the first Liverpool player since Roger Hunt in 1966 to play in a World Cup Final.
The following season 2002/03 was a mixed bag for Liverpool as they won a trophy but performed poorly in the league. The Reds won the League Cup beating Man Utd in the final with goals from Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen. I had refused a ticket for this game for a mixture of reasons including Liverpool’s poor form at the time and needing any spare cash for my moving to New Zealand two weeks later. This is a decision I have bitterly regretted ever since. This was a particularly bad season for the club because they had invested heavily on players the previous summer trying to build on the promising 2001/02 Premiership finish. Unfortunately the money was wasted on some very mediocre players and this only served to hasten the fans turning on Gerard Houllier.
Houllier was sacked in the summer of 2004 when the Liverpool board finally lost patience. He was replaced by Rafa Benitez and Liverpool went on to have one of their most exciting seasons in recent times during 2004/05. Didi was one of the standout performers during a very stop-start season. Poor results in the league and FA Cup were countered by a run to the League Cup Final and the exciting run in the Champions League. Liverpool lost the League Cup Final in extra time to Chelsea but this pain was soon soothed during the European games. Liverpool got their revenge over Bayer Leverkusen in the first knockout round with Didi scoring a free kick in the first leg at Anfield. Victories over Juventus and Chelsea led us to the final in Istanbul and possibly Didi’s defining moment as a Liverpool player.
When the starting line-up was announced before the 2005 Champions League Final against AC Milan I was one of many thousands of Reds around the world yelling at expletives at the inclusion of Harry Kewell in the starting line-up and no place for Didi Hamann. I didn’t actually realise at the time that Didi was suffering with a broken toe. As we all know AC Milan ran riot in the first half with Kaka destroying our midfield. With the score at 3-0 at half time I was just praying that it wouldn’t become embarrassing with barely any hope we could come back. Didi came on as a second half substitute and most people would agree that his introduction changed the game in our favour. He was responsible for neutralizing Kaka and his solidity in midfield gave Steven Gerrard the freedom to go forward and attack. As we now know Liverpool made the most amazing comeback ever and went on to win the trophy in a penalty shoot out. Despite breaking his foot in extra time, Didi held his nerve to score the opening penalty in the shoot-out. This alone is enough to make him a Liverpool legend in my opinion.
During the summer of 2005 Didi’s contract expired and German side Hamburg and Bolton Wanderers both expressed interest in signing him. He was offered a new one year deal by Rafa Benitez and as Didi told the Liverpool Echo;
"Once Liverpool made me an offer, there was only one place I wanted to play my football."
In December that year he was offered an additional twelve month extension to the contract signed in the summer. This was a clause triggered after he had made twenty two appearences in the season. However his appearences were fleeting in the starting team during the second half of the 2005/06 season. This was partly due to injuries and the form of new signing Momo Sissoko who was absolutely outstanding that season. Didi was once again a substitute for a final as Liverpool played West Ham United in the FA Cup Final. Didi came on during the second half when Liverpool were 3-2 down and looking like losing the trophy. For the second season in a row, Didi’s introduction to a major final was crucial to the eventual comeback with Gerrard scoring the greatest goal ever seen in an FA Cup Final. Just like in Istanbul, Didi stepped up during the penalty shoot-out to cooly blast the ball into the net. For the second successive season Liverpool had won a major trophy and both times Didi Hamann was a major reason.
Didi wasn’t included in the Germany squad for the 2006 World Cup and he chose to announce his retirement from international football. He also decided that his chances of playing regularly for Liverpool would be severely limited in the following season and chose, with a heavy heart, to leave the club. Stiff competition from Gerrard, Sissoko and Xabi Alonso meant that Didi was fourth in the pecking order and he was given permission to leave the club. The only club to make him an offer were Bolton Wanderers so Didi signed a pre-contract with them. However Manchester City then made a bid for him after the announcement was made that Didi would join Bolton. Didi said at the time;
“I had agreed to join Bolton, but I quickly realised that going to them would not be the right move for me. I told Bolton my feelings immediately and they understood my decision”
Man City paid an alleged £400,000 compensation to Bolton and Didi signed a two year contract. His first season with Man City was quite poor as Didi wasn’t playing anywhere near his previous standards and didn’t play very often due to injuries for the most part. His second season under new manager Sven-Goran Eriksson was much better as Didi was a huge influence on Man City’s performances and he was playing regularly. The highlight of his 2007/08 season was when Didi inspired Man City to beating their rivals Man Utd 2-1 at Old Trafford. His form during the season led to the offer of a new one year contract taking him up to the end of 2008/09. His contract was not renewed at the end of the year and he then spent a year away from playing. He spent that time doing media work and working on getting his coaching badges. In July 2010 he signed a one year deal to become player coach at MK Dons. He has said he would love to return to Liverpool one day in a coaching capacity.
Didi Hamann will forever be one of Liverpool’s most beloved players. His fearlessness and calmness on the pitch were just two reasons for Liverpool’s resurgence as a trophy winning team again. Even if he had done nothing else in his Liverpool career his performances in Istanbul 2005 and Cardiff 2006 will secure his place in Anfield folklore. He was voted in at number 44 in the series ‘100 Players Who Shook the Kop’.
Liverpool FC | Supporters Club | Vancouver, BC, Canada
