Dietmar Hamann

Dietmar Hamann

Personal information
Full name	Dietmar Hamann
Date of birth	27 August 1973 (1973-08-27) (age 37)
Place of birth	Waldsassen, West Germany
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position	Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club	Milton Keynes Dons
Number	16
Youth career
	Wacker München
1989–1993	Bayern Munich
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1993–1998	Bayern Munich	105	(6)
1998–1999	Newcastle United	23	(4)
1999–2006	Liverpool	191	(12)
2006	Bolton Wanderers	0	(0)
2006–2009	Manchester City	54	(0)
2010–	Milton Keynes Dons	3	(0)
National team‡
1993–1995	Germany U21	10	(2)
1997–2006	Germany	62	(5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 08:34, 28 May 2009 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13:18, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

Dietmar "Didi" Hamann (born 27 August 1973) is a German footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Milton Keynes Dons. Throughout his career, he has played for Bayern Munich, Newcastle United, Liverpool, and Manchester City. He was a member of the German national side from 1997 until 2006.

Club career

Early career

Hamann began his career at the little known Wacker München. After impressing as a junior, he joined Bayern Munich as a 16-year old in 1989 and debuted for the Bayern professional team in 1993.^[1] Hamann joined a team led by Lothar Matthäus, Thomas Helmer, Christian Ziege and Oliver Kahn and played five games, mostly as a right winger. At first, Hamann was only a so-called Vertragsamateur (i.e. an amateur player who had the license for playing professional games). Still, he won his first German championship as a bench player. In the next season, Bayern suffered a major injury wave which claimed midfielders Matthäus, Swiss international Alain Sutter, talent Dieter Frey and veteran Markus Schupp, which allowed Hamann to become a regular; he played 30 Bundesliga games^[1] and established himself as a valuable role player, playing either right wing or defensive midfield. He earned himself a full professional contract and was an important player in the tumultuous 1995–96 campaign, in which Bayern recruited striker Jürgen Klinsmann, coach Otto Rehhagel and midfielders Andreas Herzog, Thomas Strunz and Ciriaco Sforza, but the team was torn apart by heavy internal struggles. Although Hamann was overshadowed by these new midfield recruits, he played in 20 games and provided some stability for the infighting Bayern squad. Bayern ended a disappointing second and saw Rehhagel sacked, but ended the season by winning the UEFA Cup. In the final against Girondins Bordeaux, Hamann was credited with slowing down Zinedine Zidane in the 1st of the (then) two games.

The 1996–97 season was to become Hamann's breakthrough. After being a bench player most of his career until then, new coach Giovanni Trappatoni made him a starting defensive midfielder, and new recruit Mario Basler took the right wing. Hamann played in 23 games, also making his debut in the German national team and won his second German championship with Bayern.^[1] In private life, Hamann had to overcome a scary period when he broke down unconscious and was diagnosed with a stroke, but made a full recovery.^[2] The next season turned out rather disappointing for Bayern who trotted along after newly promoted 1. FC Kaiserslautern for the vast majority of the season and finished second. Now an undisputed starter, Hamann played in 28 games and scored 2 goals. The season ended on a high for Bayern when they secured the German Cup against MSV Duisburg.

Newcastle United

After playing for his country in the 1998 World Cup, he joined Newcastle United, managed at the time by Kenny Dalglish, for £5.5 million. Overcoming an early foot injury, Hamann played in 31 matches and scored five goals.^[1] In July 1999 he opted to join Gerard Houllier's Liverpool, who signed him for £8 million in 1999.^[3] Whilst at Newcastle he played in the 1999 FA Cup Final.

Liverpool

Hamann established himself as an influential midfielder for Liverpool throughout his 7 years at the club. All in all, Hamann played in 191 league games and scored eight goals. In the 2000–01 season, Hamann won his first big English trophy when Liverpool won a much-celebrated cup treble (League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup) and a place in the Champions League.^[4][5]

Hamann established himself as a major first team player for Liverpool throughout his first few seasons there. Despite playing in a strongly defensive midfield role he even popped up with some crucial and brilliant goals from time to time.

Hamann played a major part in the 2005 Champions League Final win over A.C. Milan. Although he was suffering a broken toe during the final,^[6] Hamann's substitution for Steve Finnan at half time was the catalyst for Liverpool's historic fightback. The team rallied after being 3–0 down to bring the game back to 3–3 and finally won in the penalty shootout; Hamann also showed a great amount of composure and bravery, as he took and converted the first LFC penalty with his broken foot.^[7] This was not the only key part he played in their Champions league success. Earlier in the tournament Hamann had been forced to stand in for Liverpool's key player Steven Gerrard in the first leg of the last 16 round against Bayer Leverkusen. He excelled in the match and scored a late free-kick as Liverpool won the match 3–1.

Hamann won the FA Cup with Liverpool in May 2006, coming on as a substitute in the second-half. He more than played his part in another trophy win for the Reds, who were 3–2 down to West Ham United at the time he came on. Steven Gerrard scored an injury-time leveller for Liverpool to take the match to extra-time. Liverpool would go on to win the Cup on penalties after a goalless extra-time. Once again, Hamann scored the first penalty in the shoot-out.^[8]

Manchester City

In June 2006, Hamann was given permission to talk to Bolton Wanderers about a potential transfer to the North West club. Hamann admitted that he would be saddened to leave Liverpool but would make "the best decision for my future". Hamann actually signed a pre-contract in June 2006, to become a Bolton Wanderers player but had a "change of heart",^[9]. He joined Bolton for less than one day before a move to Manchester City.^[10]

On 12 July, he instead signed for Manchester City, with City agreeing to pay £400,000 compensation to Bolton.^[11] On 13 February, he signed a contract until the end of the 2008–09 season and scored his first goal for the club in a UEFA Cup qualifying first round match against EB/Streymur.^[12]

On 1 July 2009, he was released by Manchester City as his contract expired.^[13] Hamann announced on 16 July that he intended stay in England.^[14]

In July 2009, the Daily Mirror reported that Hamann was in the advanced stages of talks with Championship club Preston North End with a view to joining the club for the 2009–10 season. The Daily Mirror reported on 23 July, that Hamann was "interested in the North End switch despite a rival offer from QPR".^[15]

On transfer deadline day in September 2009, BBC Sport quoted Hamann as stating: "Yes, Sven [-Göran Eriksson] phoned me the other day to see if I wanted to sign for Notts County, but I said I wasn't interested at the moment as I feel I can still play at a higher level. There are a couple of things in Germany and I'll make my mind up by the end of the week. I have spoken to a couple of teams in England but that hasn't come to anything yet. Obviously I can still sign after the deadline so maybe if teams don't get the players they want today then I will hear something".^[16]

Milton Keynes Dons

On 20 May 2010, it was announced that Hamann had signed a one-year player-coach role at Milton Keynes Dons.^[17]

International career

Hamann played for Germany at under-21 level before making his full international debut in a friendly against South Africa in November 1997. He was selected by manager Berti Vogts for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, being, at almost 25, the second youngest player in an overaged Germany squad. During the group stage, Hamann drifted in and out of the starting XI, finally breaking into the team when Germany gained momentum in the second round game against Mexico. However, after a quarter-final defeat against Croatia, Germany was out of the tournament.

During the UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying, Hamann established himself as a key player for a transitional Germany side. He played in all of Germany's games at the final tournament as they exited in the first round. Hamann was the last player to score at the old Wembley Stadium before its demolition^[18] when he scored the winning goal in Germany's qualifier for the 2002 World Cup against England in October 2000^[19].

Alongside Michael Ballack and Bernd Schneider, Hamann was one of the key players in Germany's surprising run to the 2002 FIFA World Cup Final. He became the first Liverpool player since Roger Hunt in 1966 to play in a World Cup Final, but finished on the losing side as Brazil won 2–0. He committed a crucial foul, from which Rivaldo shot at goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, who dropped the ball and allowed Ronaldo to score and give Brazil a 1–0 lead. The subsequent Euro 2004 turned out to be Hamann's last tournament. Again, the Euro ended with a disappointing first round exit for Germany. A 1–2 defeat against a Czech Republic side resting its key players proved to be Hamann's penultimate international game.

After a strong performance in the 2005 Champions League final, Hamann was recalled for the Germany squad by new manager Jürgen Klinsmann. In the 2–2 draw against the Netherlands, Hamann produced a lacklustre performance, apparently convincing Klinsmann that he did not possess the required pace for that kind of level anymore. Hamann was dropped from the squad for the subsequent friendlies. Having not been selected for the German squad in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he decided to officially retire from international football.^[20]

Hamann was capped 59 times and scored 5 goals in his essentially six and a half years lasting Germany career. During this time, Hamann was one of the few top players in a squad which rather lacked talent and produced the least successful period in the national team's history (a resilient 2002 World Cup display apart).

Media career

Hamann was enlisted by RTÉ Sport for their squad of pundits ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.^[21][22][23]

Personal life

Hamann has two daughters, Luna and Chiara. He is the brother of Matthias Hamann, who also played in the Bundesliga, mainly for Bayern rival 1860 Munich. Hamann enjoys cricket and once played for Alderley Edge CC 2nd XI vs Neston CC 2nd XI in the Cheshire County Cricket League, taking a catch in the game. He admitted he became interested in the sport during the 2005 Ashes Series. ^{[24] [25]}

On 23 February 2010, the former German international was found guilty of DUI and sentenced to a 16-month driving ban while also being fined nearly £2 000. He had been stopped by police at junction six of the M56 near his home in Styal, Cheshire, at 12.15am on 12 July 2009.^[26][27]

Career statistics

As of 2 February 2009

Career honours

Bayern Munich

• Bundesliga: 1994, 1997
• German Cup: 1998
• DFB-Ligapokal: 1997
• UEFA Cup: 1996

Liverpool

• Football League Cup (2): 2001, 2003; Runner-up 2005
• FA Cup (2): 2001, 2006; Runner-up 1999
• Charity Shield (1): 2001; Runner-up 2002
• UEFA Champions League (1): 2005
• European Super Cup (2): 2001, 2006

References

External links

• Dietmar Hamann career stats at Soccerbase
• Career stats at Fussballdaten.de (German)
• Profile at LFC History
• Profile at FIFA.com

Germany Squad Germany squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup 1 Köpke • 2 Wörns • 3 Heinrich • 4 Kohler • 5 Helmer • 6 Thon • 7 Möller • 8 Matthäus • 9 Kirsten • 10 Häßler • 11 Marschall • 12 Kahn • 13 Jeremies • 14 Babbel • 15 Freund • 16 Hamann • 17 Ziege • 18 Klinsmann(c) • 19 Reuter • 20 Bierhoff • 21 Tarnat • 22 Lehmann • Coach: Vogts Germany squad – UEFA Euro 2000 1 Kahn(c) • 2 Babbel • 3 Rehmer • 4 Linke • 5 Bode • 6 Nowotny • 7 Scholl • 8 Häßler • 9 Kirsten • 10 Matthäus • 11 Rink • 12 Lehmann • 13 Ballack • 14 Hamann • 15 Wosz • 16 Jeremies • 17 Ziege • 18 Deisler • 19 Jancker • 20 Bierhoff • 21 Ramelow • 22 Butt • Coach: Ribbeck Germany squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup Runners-up 1 Kahn (c) • 2 Linke • 3 Rehmer • 4 Baumann • 5 Ramelow • 6 Ziege • 7 Neuville • 8 Hamann • 9 Jancker • 10 Ricken • 11 Klose • 12 Lehmann • 13 Ballack • 14 Asamoah • 15 Kehl • 16 Jeremies • 17 Bode • 18 Böhme • 19 Schneider • 20 Bierhoff • 21 Metzelder • 22 Frings • 23 Butt • Coach: Völler Germany squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 Kahn(c) • 2 Hinkel • 3 Friedrich • 4 Wörns • 5 Nowotny • 6 Baumann • 7 Schweinsteiger • 8 Hamann • 9 Bobic • 10 Kurányi • 11 Klose • 12 Lehmann • 13 Ballack • 14 Brdarić • 15 Kehl • 16 Jeremies • 17 Ziege • 18 Ernst • 19 Schneider • 20 Podolski • 21 Lahm • 22 Frings • 23 Hildebrand • Coach: Völler