Dietmar Hamann Biography; Liverpool's "Favorite German"

Throughout his playing career, the former Germany international gained a reputation for being a highly consistent and reliable player. He is adored by Liverpool fans due in large part to his involvement in the club's victory in the 2005 Champions League final. Emerging from the bench to replace the injured Finnan, Hamann's introduction led to a change of shape; out went the back five, as Hamann who later transpired played the entire second half, extra-time and scored a penalty with a broken foot.

Throughout his career, he has played for Bayern Munich, Newcastle United, Liverpool, and Manchester City primarily in a defensive midfield position. He was a member of the German national team from 1997 until 2006 and represented his nation in two FIFA World Cups and two UEFA European Championships, reaching the 2002 FIFA World Cup Final.

A constant part of the

throughout his career, we delve into details in

Dietmar Hamann biography

.

All You Need to Know About Dietmar Hamann Biography

Here in Dietmar Hamann biography, we first learn some basic facts about the German legend before going in-depth about his career and

Dietmar Hamann life story

.

Dietmar Hamann Information

Dietmar Hamann date of birth

is 27 August 1973, and here are some basic facts about the Scottish football icon.

• Full name: Dietmar Johann Wolfgang Hamann

• Nickname: Didi

Personal information

• Date of birth: 27 August 1973

• Zodiac sign: Virgo

• Place of birth: Waldsassen, West Germany

• Religion: Christian

• Mother’s name: Silvia Hamann

• Father’s name: Wolfgang Hamann

• Nationality: German

• Marital status: Divorced

• Wife: Tina Hamann

Body Measurements

• Hair color: Blonde

• Eye color: Gray

• Height: 1.89 m

• Weight: 73 kg

• Body Type: Athletic

Dietmar Hamann Early Life

Born in Waldsassen, West Germany to his parents, Silvia and Wolfgang Hamann,

Dietmar Hamann childhood

narrates him as a young lad with a lot of affections for sports, especially cricket. He explains:

“I’d become very interested in cricket. If there was a match on somewhere in the world, I could stay up and watch it, because sleep was something I couldn’t do.”

He is also the younger brother of Matthias Hamann, who made 59 appearances in the Bundesliga during his playing career and now works as a scout for the Bundesliga team

.

However, Didi started his football journey as soon as he was 5, at the little-known FC Wacker München, and followed his brother in Bayern Munich as he joined the Bavarians as a 16-year old in 1989.

Dietmar Hamann Profile

A contract offer from Bayern Munich put a fast end to Hamann’s childhood as he started his professional early. Hamann debuted for the Bayern professional team in 1993, joining a team led by Lothar Matthäus, Thomas Helmer, Christian Ziege and

and played five games, mostly as a right winger, he won his first German championship as a bench player in the 1993-94 season.

Early Career

In the next season, due to a major injury wave in Bayern which claimed midfielders Matthäus, Alain Sutter, Dieter Frey and Markus Schupp, Hamann became a regular for Bayern. He played 30 Bundesliga games that season 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 the1995–96 campaign.

Despite signature of midfielders Andreas Herzog, Thomas Strunz and Ciriaco Sforza, Hamann 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 new Bayern coach, Giovanni Trappatoni, provided the breakthrough for Hamann as he made him a starting defensive midfielder. Hamann played in 23 games, also making his debut in the German national team and won his second German championship with Bayern.

In private life, Hamann had to overcome a scary period when he was diagnosed with a stroke, but made a full recovery, and after helping Bayern to secure the DFB-Pokal against MSV Duisburg, he joined Kenny Dalglish’s Newcastle United for £5.5 million After playing for his country in the 1998 World Cup. Despite staying only one season at Newcastle, Hamann played in 31 matches and scored five goals and played in the 1999 FA Cup Final.

In July 1999 he opted to join

's Liverpool, who signed him for £8 million. Where his career takes its peak.

Liverpool

A highly athletic midfielder with tremendous composure, 'Didi' developed a strong emotional bond with the club's supporters after arriving at Anfield from Newcastle as part of Gerard Houllier's reshaping of the squad.

After quickly settling in his first season with the Reds, Didi featured on 53 occasions during the treble campaign of 2000-01 and started all three finals that Liverpool reached that season, League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup, and lifted all three of them.

Despite being a holding midfielder for

, he did develop a reputation for having a fearsome shot after such goals as against Leeds United in 2000, Fulham in 2002 and Portsmouth in 2004.

In 2002, Hamann became the first Liverpool player since Roger Hunt in 1966 to appear in the World Cup final, playing the duration of Germany's 2-0 defeat to Brazil.

Despite suffering from a broken toe, Hamann played a major part in the 2005 Champions League Final win over A.C. Milan. Liverpool were trailing 3-0 at half time when manager Rafael Benitez substituted right back Steve Finnan for Hamann, altering Liverpool's formation in the process and kickstarting the historical come-back in the second half. In the penalty shootout, Hamann took and scored Liverpool's first spot kick.

He remembers the game as:

“With about five minutes to go I felt a little crack in my foot. I found out later that it was a hairline fracture of a metatarsal in my right foot. It hurt for sure, but I was in no doubt that on this night of all nights, in this game of all games, I was carrying on.

“The period between the final whistle and the start of the shoot-out must have lasted about six minutes. Rafa came over and asked me a question. ‘Do you want to take a penalty?’ I had a broken bone in my foot, although of course Rafa was unaware of this, but I said nothing about it and had absolutely no hesitation in replying ‘Yes.”

Coming on in the 71st minute of the 2006 FA Cup final for striker Peter Crouch with Liverpool 3-2 down to

, Hamann played another key role in the Reds’ comeback. Liverpool drew level in injury time, and again Hamann went on to score Liverpool's first penalty in the shootout, culminating in victory for the Reds.

Late Playing and Coaching Career

After seven seasons, Hamann ended his Liverpool career with 9 trophies and joined

on 12 July 2006. However, he earlier had signed a contract in June with Bolton Wanderers. After a set of controversial courts, City agreed to pay £400,000 compensation to Bolton.

After 54 appearances through three seasons, Hamann was released by Manchester City as his contract expired in 2009. After a year out of action, Hamann signed a one-year contract as a player-coach at Milton Keynes Dons. He retired from playing career as he played only 12 games that season, and joined Leicester City as a First Team Coach.

After becoming appointed as the manager of the newly relegated Conference Premier club Stockport County on 5 July 2011, Hamann resigned on 7 November 2011, citing the failure of the proposed takeover by Tony Evans to materialise; his team were languishing in 17th place.

Hamann was enlisted by RTÉ Sport for their squad of pundits ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and ever since, he became a popular pundit, appearing in BBC Sports, Sky Sports, and RTE Sport programs.

Hamann returned to playing football for amateur-side TuS Haltern. He signed a contract with the club on 7 March 2015 at the age of 41.

Style of Play

A highly athletic midfielder with tremendous composure, 'Didi' developed a strong emotional bond with the club's supporters after arriving at Anfield from Newcastle as part of Gerard Houllier's reshaping of the squad.

Didi Hamann added strength to Liverpool’s defense immediately and allowed his midfield and forwards the freedom to push up. They had the confidence to take a risk because they had an exceptional player behind them. He was the equivalent of two central midfielders and had the presence of Andrea Pirlo without recognition. Sitting at the base of Liverpool's midfield, Hamann made an art out of breaking down opposition attacks with his intelligent reading of the game and tackling prowess.

He also developed a reputation for having a fearsome shot after such goals as against Leeds United, Fulham, and Portsmouth.

Anfield icon,

said of Hamann:

“He allowed me to go forward, score and set up goals, and he did all my defensive work and tackling for me. At the time we had him, he was in his prime and he was up there with the best holding midfielders in the world.”

Undertaking the dirty work that allowed the more creative players in front of him to thrive, Hamann was one whose business would often go unnoticed, quietly performing his role to perfection while the others around him took the plaudits.

Reception

A world-class defensive midfielder, Hamann was a player who could change the dynamic of a team. His protection, vision, and awareness in the holding position were critical. In addition to the magical 2005 Champions League and 2006 FA Cup Finals, Hamann was one of the key players in Germany's surprising run to the 2002 FIFA World Cup Final alongside

and Bernd Schneider.

Hamann was a player who forever kept his cool in situations of importance, a calming influence over the rest of his teammates, spurring them on over the line in situations that appeared unrecoverable.

He is considered as one of the best Liverpool midfielders in the modern era, and is received by Liverpool fans as their ‘favorite German’. Hamann embraced the people and the culture that he was surrounded with, whether it be taking up an interest in horse racing with Owen, or watching cricket for the first time. As a result, the supporters fell in love with him, and he fell in love with them.

Goal Celebration

After a thunderbolt volley strike, Didi would simply run to the fans with his arms open, and embracing teammates, whether it was a strike against Leeds United or England at Wembley.

Dietmar Hamann Outside Football

Being born to Silvia and Wolfgang Hamann,

Dietmar Hamann religion

is Christianity. He revealed the gambling problems he suffered towards the end of his career in 2012. Hamann is also the European columnist for twentyfour7 Football Magazine, where he passes regular comments on the progress and state of the game on the continent. He released his autobiography, '

The Didi Man: My love affair with Liverpool

' co-written with Malcolm McClean, in February 2012 and it became a Sunday Times Best Seller.

Since being transfered to Liverpool, Didi Hamann find himself welcomed by the city and the culture, and is pleased to be an honorary Scouser. He told an interview:

"It's all about the people. They're unique. They're witty, genuine and love their football clubs. There have been some fantastic changes made in the city too since the capital of culture."

"You just pick the accent up really quickly and learn how hard it is to get a taxi in the city. I remember once I couldn't get a taxi home so I decided to lie down in front of a car to make it stop."

Dietmar Hamann Personal Life

As we mentioned earlier, Didi has an older brother named Matthias, who is also a German football manager and former player.

His parents’ names were Wolfgang and Silvia, and had to overcome a scary period when he broke down unconscious and was diagnosed with a stroke early in his Bayern career, but made a full recovery.

He also revealed he was a smoker since start of his career:

"It was probably something I did more in the later stages of my career. I smoked earlier on too but probably not as much. I used to smoke 10 cigarettes per day when I was playing for Liverpool."

Family, Children and Relationships

Being married and divorced from Tina Hamann, Didi Hamann has two daughters, Chiara and Luna. He wrote a tweet in 2013 joking:

“My daughter @lunahamann just committed the ultimate sin. She followed the whole Kardashian mob on my account. Took me half an hour to unfollow.”

In June 2019, he was accused of pushing his girlfriend Bridget Gray at a Randwick home, however, the charges were lifted later.

Philanthropy

In cooperation with Standard Chartered Bank, an institution for which he also acted as an ambassador, Hamann hosted a football clinic in

. The coaching clinic is an annual event to help youths realize their potentials early in the game. He advised Nigerian football authorities to focus on youth development as a way of raising the standard of the game in the country. He said in an interview during the program: "The authorities should find a way of raising the awareness early in the game because when youths know what they are supposed to know early in life, everything becomes easy for them when they are matured.

"That is why I want to commend the initiative of Standard Chatered Bank for the two day clinic for young boys. You can be sure that in few years to come, these young boys will become great footballers.

"Standard Chatered Bank has done well to initiate this kind of program and many more football clinics should be organised so that budding talents can be discovered," the German said.

Legal Issues

On 23 February 2010, the former German international was found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol and sentenced to a 16-month driving ban in addition to a £2,000 fine.

In June 2019, he was accused of pushing his girlfriend Bridget Gray at a Randwick home. However, NSW Police have dropped domestic violence charges against former English Premier League star Dietmar Hamann who had previously pleaded not guilty to assaulting his girlfriend.

Dietmar Hamann Career Statistics

In this part of

Dietmar Hamann biography,

we take a look at Didi’s career statistics for Bayern Munich, Newcastle United, Liverpool, Manchester City, and MK Dons as well as taking a look at his international career.

Club

During five seasons at Bayern, Didi Hamann 143 appearances for the Bavarians, scoring 10 goals and providing 12 assists. In his one-season spell at Newcastle United, Hamann appeared in 31 matches, contributed 5 goals and four assists.

Hamann made 283 appearances for the reds as he spent seven years there, scoring 11 goals and providing 27 assists.

He made a further 71 appearances for Manchester City being involved in 3 goals, and a further 13 appearances as a player-coach for MK Dons before he retired from playing.

International

Dietmar Hamann nationality

is German as he made 59 appearances for Die Mannschaft. He made 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 and during the group stage, Hamann drifted in and out of the starting XI. After a quarter-final defeat against Croatia, Germany was out of the tournament.

Hamann established himself as a key player for a transitional Germany side during the UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying stage. Hamann was the last player to score at the old Wembley Stadium before its demolition when he scored the winning goal in Germany's qualifier for the 2002 World Cup against England in October 2000.

He was also a crucial player in Germany’s surprising run to the World Cup 2022 finals, where they lost 2-0 to Brazil. The subsequent Euro 2004 turned out to be Hamann's last tournament. Again, the Euro ended with a disappointing first-round exit for Germany. After a strong performance in the 2005 Champions League final, Hamann was recalled for the Germany squad by new manager Jürgen Klinsmann and decided to officially retire from international football in 2006.

Managerial

Hamann only managed Stockport County for less than a year. He left the team languishing in 17th place having taken only three wins from his nineteen league games in charge on 7 November 2011.

Dietmar Hamann Honors

In this last part of

Dietmar Hamann bio

, we take a look at the German’s honors.

He won two Bundesliga trophies, a DFB-Pokal, and a UEFA Cup with Bayern Munich. Hamann ended his Liverpool career with 9 trophies, two League Cups, two FA Cups, a UEFA Cup, a UEFA Champions League trophy, and two UEFA Super Cup in addition to a FA Charity Shield.

Now that you read

Dietmar Hamann biography

, you might also like these articles that were previously written in Sportmob.

Read More:

Follow 

 for