| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dietmar Hamann | ||
| Date of birth | 27 August 1973 | ||
| Place of birth | Waldsassen, West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1978–1989 | FC Wacker München | ||
| 1989–1992 | Bayern Munich | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1992–1994 | Bayern Munich (A) | 24 | (8) |
| 1993–1998 | Bayern Munich | 105 | (6) |
| 1998–1999 | Newcastle United | 23 | (4) |
| 1999–2006 | Liverpool | 191 | (8) |
| 2006 | Bolton Wanderers | 0 | (0) |
| 2006–2009 | Manchester City | 54 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Milton Keynes Dons | 12 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 1993 | Germany U20 | 3 | (0) |
| 1993–1995 | Germany U21 | 10 | (2) |
| 1997–2005 | Germany | 59 | (5) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2011 | Stockport County | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:40, 5 July 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Dietmar "Didi" Hamann (born 27 August 1973) is a German footballer who was most recently manager at Stockport County. Throughout his career, he has played for Bayern Munich, Newcastle United, Liverpool, and Manchester City primarily in a defensive midfield position. He also spent time at Milton Keynes Dons as a player/coach before joining Leicester City as a first team coach. He was a member of the German national side from 1997 until 2006.
Throughout his playing career Hamann gained a reputation for being a highly consistent and reliable player. He is highly respected by supporters of Liverpool due in large part to his involvement in the 2005 Champions League Final. Hamann has stated his ambition of becoming the manager of Liverpool in the future.
On 5 July 2011 Hamann was named as the new manger of Stockport County, replacing former manager Ray Mathias. Though he resigned from the post on 7 November 2011 after only four months with Stockport struggling in 17th place in the Conference National citing failure of a proposed takeover by Tony Evans.[1]
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Hamann began his career at the little known FC 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.
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 two goals. The season ended on a high for Bayern when they secured the DFB-Pokal against MSV Duisburg.
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.[3] Whilst at Newcastle he played in the 1999 FA Cup Final.
Hamann established himself as an influential midfielder for Liverpool throughout his seven 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]
Hamman has also stated that it would be a "dream come true" to manage Liverpool one day.
Hamann has written a book called The Didi Man about his time at Liverpool. "The Didi Man is Hamann's warm, personal and highly entertaining story of his time on Merseyside at a football club which will always have a very special place in his heart." The book is due to be released 2nd February 2012.
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]
After Dietmar Hamann left Manchester City he was heavily linked with a move to Preston North End, however Derek Shaw did not offer him a big enough Premiership package and chose to sign Kevin Nicholls for £700,000 instead.
On 20 May 2010, it was announced that Hamann had signed a one-year player-coach role at Milton Keynes Dons.[17] He left the club on 3 February 2011 to join Leicester City as a First Team Coach.[18]
On 5 July Hamann was appointed as the new manager of newly-relegated Conference National club Stockport County, replacing Ray Mathias. His appointment was made after businessman Tony Evans took over the club.[19] In his first league game in charge of Stockport, Hamann's side drew 1-1 with Forest Green Rovers at The New Lawn.[20] The match was broadcast live on Premier Sports. Hamann resigned as Stockport County boss on 7 November 2011, citing the failure of the proposed takeover by Tony Evans to materialise; his team were languishing in 17th place having taken only three wins from his nineteen league games in charge.[1]
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 over-aged 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[21] when he scored the winning goal in Germany's qualifier for the 2002 World Cup against England in October 2000.[22]
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.[23]
Hamann was capped 59 times and scored five 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 notwithstanding).
Hamann was enlisted by RTÉ Sport for their squad of pundits ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.[24][25][26] He has also guested as a pundit on the BBC's Match of the Day 2. Hamann has also appeared on Sky Sports football coverage as a pundit, usually when the match involves a club he has played for, most commonly Liverpool.
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,[27] taking a catch in the game. He admitted he became interested in the sport during the 2005 Ashes Series.[28][29]
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.[30][31]
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Germany | League | DFB-Pokal | Premiere Ligapokal | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 1993–94 | Bayern Munich | Bundesliga | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |
| 1994–95 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 6 | 0 | 37 | 0 | |||
| 1995–96 | 20 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | 7 | 0 | 29 | 2 | |||
| 1996–97 | 23 | 1 | 4 | 0 | - | 2 | 0 | 30 | 1 | |||
| 1997–98 | 28 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 41 | 6 | ||
| England | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 1998–99 | Newcastle United | Premier League | 23 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 5 |
| 1999–00 | Liverpool | Premier League | 28 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 1 |
| 2000–01 | 30 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 53 | 3 | ||
| 2001–02 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 47 | 1 | ||
| 2002–03 | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 41 | 2 | ||
| 2003–04 | 25 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 35 | 3 | ||
| 2004–05 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 43 | 1 | ||
| 2005–06 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 31 | 0 | ||
| 2006–07 | Manchester City | Premier League | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| 2007–08 | 29 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 18 | 1 | ||
| 2010–11 | Milton Keynes Dons | League One | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Total | Germany | 106 | 6 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 143 | 10 | |
| England | 280 | 12 | 29 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 69 | 2 | 396 | 17 | ||
| Career total | 386 | 18 | 41 | 5 | 19 | 0 | 92 | 4 | 538 | 27 | ||
| Germany national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1997 | 1 | 1 |
| 1998 | 12 | 0 |
| 1999 | 6 | 1 |
| 2000 | 11 | 1 |
| 2001 | 6 | 0 |
| 2002 | 12 | 1 |
| 2003 | 1 | 0 |
| 2004 | 9 | 1 |
| 2005 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 59 | 5 |
| Club | Nation | League | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % | |||||
| Stockport County | England | Conference National | 5 July 2011 | 7 November 2011 | 19 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 15.70 |
| Total | 19 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 15.70 | ||||
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