Dietmar Hamann

 ( 1973 Births ) 

Hamann established himself as a major first team player for Liverpool throughout his first few seasons.

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, 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 Liverpool penalty with his broken foot. 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. When it was clear his time at Liverpool was coming to a close, David Moyes, the manager of Liverpool's rival club Everton, called him to try and convince him to join the club, but Hamann refused, saying: “David, I appreciate the interest, but, after all the years I've had at Liverpool and the things I've experienced, it's just not possible to join Everton".

On 12 July, he instead signed for Manchester City, with City agreeing to pay £400,000 compensation to Bolton. 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.

However, on 28 August 2013 during Colin Murray's morning radio show with TalkSport Bolton Wanderers chairman Phil Gartside announced that the club had never officially signed the midfielder and that they had "put (the papers) in the drawer". A Premier League investigation found that this wasn't the case and that Bolton had indeed signed Hamann, and expressed confusion as to why Gartside had lied about it.

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

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".

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 when he scored the winning goal in Germany's 2002 World Cup qualifier against England in October 2000.

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 only the second Liverpool player after Roger Hunt in 1966 to play in a World Cup Final while still at the club, but finished on the losing side as Brazil won 2–0 in Yokohama. In the 67th minute of that match, Hamann lost the ball to opposing forward Ronaldo, who passed to Rivaldo, who shot from outside the area; goalkeeper Oliver Kahn gave a rebound, allowing 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.