PAST PLAYER PROFILE - Dietmar Hamann

Dietmar Hamann : Midfield (1999-2006)
Date of Birth: 27/8/1973
Birthplace: Waldasson, Bavaria
Debut : V Sheffield Wednesday, 7th August 1999. Won 2-1
1st team games: 283
1st team goals: 11
Other clubs: FC Wacker Munchen, Bayern Munchen, Newcastle United.
Honours won with Liverpool: Worthington Cup 2001, FA Cup 2001, UEFA Cup 2001, FA Charity Shield 2001. UEFA Super Cup 2001, Carling Cup 2003, UEFA Champions League 2005, FA Cup 2006


PROFILE

Mr dependable, popular German star Dietmar Hamann left Liverpool in July 2006 to sign for Manchester City bringing to an end seven glorious years at Anfield.

One of the best holding midfield players in Europe, Didi played a major part in the Champions League win over AC Milan when he entered the field as a second half substitute and inspired the team to come back from 3-0 down, when he marked Kaka and enabled Steven Gerrard and company to get the Reds back into the match.
He also came on as a substitute in the FA Cup win over West Ham in 2006 and more than played his part in another trophy win for the Reds.

Didi was signed by Gerard Houllier from Newcastle United for £8 million in 1999 and quickly became a fans favourite and a vital member of the Liverpool team.

Hamann was the holding player in midfield who breaks up attacks and is also a good passer of the ball.

After starting his career at the little known Wacker Munich, where his father was coach, Didi joined their more illustrious city rivals Bayern as a 16-year old in 1989. He made his first team debut two years later and in nine years with the Bavarian giants won two Bundesliga titles, the German Cup and UEFA Cup.

After playing for his country in the 1998 World Cup he joined Newcastle, managed at the time by Kenny Dalglish, for 5.5 million.

Following his spell at St James' Park, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal all declared an interest but in July 1999 he opted to join Gerard Houllier's Liverpool revolution.

The 2000/2001 season saw Hamann prove himself as a man for the big occasion, excelling as the club won a much-celebrated cup treble and a place in the Champions League.

Hamann since 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 the 2002 World Cup 2-0. Despite the defeat he was widely regarded as one of Germany's best players during the tournament.

Didi wrote himself into the record books when he became the last man to score at Wembley Stadium, his long range free-kick helping Germany to a 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over England in October 2000.

PAST PLAYER PROFILE - Djimi Traore

Djimi Traore: Defender. 1999-2006

Date of birth: 1/3/1980
1st team games: 141
1st team goals: 1
Birthplace: Laval
Honours with Liverpool: Worthington Cup 2003, Champions League 2005, FA Cup 2006.




PROFILE

Djimi Traore left Liverpool just before the start of the 2006/2007 season to begin a new career at Charlton Athletic.

The Mali international will be remembered as one of the heroes of Istanbul and he made a goal-line clearance in the Champions League final against AC Milan.
Traore was signed by Gerard Houllier from Laval in France in 1999. After establishing himself at centre half during the 2002/03 season when he deputised for the injured Stephane Henchoz, Traore then fell out of favour with Gerard Houllier in 2003/04 and spent most of the time in the reserve team.

He was set for a move to Everton just before the start of the 2004/2005 season but new manager Rafael Benitez blocked the transfer and he ended up with a Champions League winners medal. Traore had an excellent Champions League campaign for Liverpool and his sliding last ditch tackles won him admirers during that campaign.

The highly rated Traore was one of the most sought after youngsters in Europe when Houllier paid Laval £500,000 for him in February 1999 as the manager claimed AC Milan, Paris St Germain and Lazio were just a number of top clubs who courted Traore's signature. Houllier had described the player as having great potential and a big player for the future.

PAST PLAYER PROFILE - Jan Kromkamp

Jan Kromkamp : Defender
Date of Birth: 17-08-1980
Birthplace: Makkinga, Holland
Debut : v Luton Town, January 7th 2006. FA Cup 3rd round. Won 5-3
1st team games: 18
1st team goals: 0
Other clubs: Go Ahead Eagles, AZ67 Alkmaar, Villarreal.
International caps while with Liverpool: -
International goals while with Liverpool: -
Honours with Liverpool: FA Cup 2006.

PROFILE

Dutch international right back Jan Kromkamp won an FA Cup winners medal during his short spell with Liverpool in 2006.

Kromkamp was Rafael Benitez's first signing of 2006 when he arrived at Anfield during the transfer window in a swop deal that saw Spaniard Josemi move to Villarreal.

He made his Liverpool debut as a substitute in the epic FA Cup 5-3 win over Luton in January 2006 and went on to pick up an FA Cup winners medal in his first season at Anfield. He played his part in the final when he came on as a substitute and brought some fresh energy to the team on the right side of midfield.

Born in Makkinga, Holland, he started his professional career as a midfielder with Go Ahead Eagles in 1998, for whom he scored five goals in 61 appearances before joining AZ67 Alkmaar.

His spell in La Liga with Villarreal was brief. After joining them during the summer of 2005 he found it hard to settle and made just a handful of appearances before Liverpool swooped.

Kromkamp was sold by Benitez to PSV Eindhoven in September 2006.

PAST PLAYER PROFILE - Stephen Warnock

Date of Birth: 12-12-1981
Birthplace: Ormskirk.
Debut : -
1st team games: 67
1st team goals: 1
Other clubs: Bradford City loan, Coventry City loan.
International caps while with Liverpool: -
International goals while with Liverpool: -
Honours with Liverpool: Super Cup 2005

PROFILE

Stephen Warnock was a solid and reliable performer at left back who never let anyone down when called upon for first team duty.

He came through the Academy and bounced back from two broken legs to achieve his dream of breaking into the Liverpool first team.

Despite earning rave reports in the reserve team, Warnock was never given a fair chance under Gerard Houllier and had two season long loan spells with Bradford City and Coventry City. Indeed during his spell at Coventry he was named the supporters Player of the Season.

It was the summer of 2004 when Warnock, who was pondering his Liverpool future, had a new lease of life at Anfield under Rafael Benitez. The player was included for the pre-season tour of the USA and Canada and played in all three of the matches.

Warnock then made his Liverpool debut as an 80th minute substitute for Steven Gerrard during the Champions League qualifier in Graz. He then started in Olympiacos but his most memorable game was away in Bayer Leverkusen on the road to Istanbul. He had a storming game which was epitomised in stoppage time when he made a superb tackle in stoppage time to stop the Germans scoring.

Despite being a regular in the squad for the majority of the 2004/2005 season he then suffered major disappointment when he wasn't included in the party for the Champions League final against AC Milan.

In the following season 2005/2006 Warnock was an unused substitute in the Super Cup final when Liverpool beat CSKA Moscow 3-1 in Monaco, but was again left out of the squad for the 2006 FA Cup final in Cardiff.

Unfortunately a series of niggling injuries restricted Warnock's progress at Anfield and he left to join Blackburn Rovers in January 2007.

PAST PLAYER PROFILE - Bolo Zenden

Date of Birth: 15/08/1976
Birthplace: Maastricht
Debut : v TNS. July 13th 2005, Champions League qualifier. Won 3-0
1st team games: 47
1st team goals: 2
Other clubs: PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona, Chelsea, Middlesbrough.
International caps while with Liverpool: -
International goals while with Liverpool: -
Honours with Liverpool: UEFA Super Cup 2005, FA Community Shield 2006.

PROFILE

Versatile Dutch international Boudewijn Zenden was captured on a free transfer from Middlesbrough in July 2005 and played his part in helping Liverpool reach the Champions League final in 2007.

Zenden, who was commonly known as Bolo, became the third Dutchman to play for Liverpool following in the footsteps of Sander Westerveld and Erik Meijer. He had an injury hit spell at Anfield but he was a useful outlet for Rafael Benitez because he could play central midfield, left midfield and even played at left back on a few occasions.

The Dutchman's best moment was the 2007 Champions League semi-final at Anfield. He was a surprise choice to start the game but he did a good job on the left side of midfield and scored a penalty in the shoot-out that Liverpool went on to win.

He also played in the Champions League final against AC Milan and in the 2005 Super Cup final he showed his versatility by playing in three positions during the win over CSKA Moscow in Monaco.

Bolo began his career at PSV Eindhoven and collected a Dutch Championship winner's medal in 1996, before he moved to Spanish giants Barcelona. Benitez first came across Zenden when he played for Barcelona and helped the Catalan club win the Spanish title in his first season at the Nou Camp.

He then moved to the Premiership in 2001 when he joined Chelsea for a fee of 7.5 million, before spending the whole of the 2003/04 season on loan with Middlesbrough, scoring the winner against Bolton Wanderers in the Carling Cup final as the club won their first ever major trophy.

PAST PLAYER PROFILE - Djibril Cisse

Date of Birth: 12/08/1981
Birthplace: Arles, France
Debut : v Grazer AK. 10th August 2004, Champions League qualifier. Won 2-0
1st team games: 79
1st team goals: 24
Other clubs: Auxerre, Marseille
International caps while with Liverpool: 32
International goals while with Liverpool: 9
Honours with Liverpool: UEFA Champions League (2005), UEFA Super Cup (2005), FA Cup (2006)

PROFILE

Flamboyant striker Djibril Cisse became a club record signing when Liverpool paid £14 million for his services in July 2004 and he went on to score in three major cup finals for the club.

Regarded as one of the top strikers in Europe, he was signed by Gerard Houllier, even though the Frenchman had left before the player arrived at Anfield.

The speedy striker had awful luck on signing for the Reds when he broke his leg during a match at Blackburn on October 30th 2004. He then made an amazing recovery and was back in the nick of time to score a vital penalty in the Champions League shoot-out win over AC Milan.

The following season he came off the bench to help Liverpool win the UEFA Super Cup when he scored twice and set up another goal for Luis Garcia in the 3-1 win over CSKA Moscow.

His last game for Liverpool ended in glory too when he achieved a dream of scoring in three cup finals in a red shirt. He scored a fantastic goal as Liverpool beat West Ham in Cardiff to win the FA Cup.

Unfortunately for the player he was then ruled out of the 2006 World Cup Finals when he broke his ankle for a second time in the space of two years.

The striker then recovered and spent the 2006/2007 season on loan at Marseille. The move was then made permanent in the summer of 2007.

PAST PLAYER PROFILE - David Raven

David Raven Defender
Date of Birth: 10-03-1985
Birthplace: Liverpool
Debut : V Tottenham Hotspur. December 1st 2004, Carling Cup quarter-final
1st team games: 4
1st team goals: 0
Other clubs: -
International caps while with Liverpool: -
International goals while with Liverpool: -
Honours with Liverpool: -

PROFILE

Right back David Raven came through the Academy and was given his first team chance by Rafael Benitez during the run to the Carling Cup final in 2005.

Raven made his first team debut during the Carling Cup tie at Tottenham in December 2004 and made one memorable goal saving tackle in particular to deny Jermaine Defoe a certain goal. Liverpool won the game on penalties and Raven was named Man of the Match

A big Liverpool fan who swopped a potential career as a musician to ply his trade in football, Raven was captain of the England youth team.

In search of regular first team football he left Anfield to join Carlisle United in the summer of 2006.

PAST PLAYER PROFILE - Darren Potter

Darren Potter : Midfield
Date of Birth: 21-12-1984
Birthplace: Liverpool
Debut : v Grazer AK, August 10th 2004. Champions League qualifier. Won 2-0
1st team games: 17
1st team goals: 0
Other clubs: -
International caps while with Liverpool: -
International goals while with Liverpool: -
Honours with Liverpool: -

PROFILE

Republic of Ireland Under-21 international Darren Potter came through from the Academy and made his first team breakthrough in the 2004/2005 season under Rafael Benitez.

The midfielder, who was released by Everton as a youngster, made his debut in the Champions League qualifier with Graz in August 2004 when he came on as a substitute for Steve Finnan. Potter then made his full debut in the second leg 1-0 defeat.

He saw regular action in the Carling Cup run in 2004 and produced some impressive performances against the likes of Tottenham, Middlesbrough and Millwall as the Reds reached the final before they lost 3-2 to Chelsea.

He enjoyed a loan spell with Southampton during the 2005/2006 season before moving to Wolves.

PAST PLAYER PROFILE - Gabriel Paletta

Gabriel Paletta : Defender
Date of Birth: 15/02/1986
Birthplace: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Debut : v Reading, October 25, 2006 at Anfield. Won 4-3
1st team games: 8
1st team goals: 1
Other clubs: Banfield, Boca Juniors
International caps while with Liverpool: -
International goals while with Liverpool: -
Honours with Liverpool: -

PROFILE

Defender Gabriel Paletta became the second Argentinian to sign for Liverpool after Mauricio Pellegrino in the summer of 2006.

The centre-back was a product of the Banfield youth system, breaking into the first team in 2005. He helped his country win the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championships, playing in all seven games alongside the likes of Lionel Messi.

From there, most presumed Paletta would join Argentine giants River Plate. Indeed, the club had already reserved the number six shirt for him before Liverpool swooped.

His no-nonsense approach to the game led to comparisons with club legend Jamie Carragher during the early days of his Anfield career. Unfortunately, such talk proved premature.

Paletta played just eight games during his single season on Merseyside after making his debut in the League Cup against Reading.

Still, he did join an exclusive group of players who scored on their Reds debut (Stan Collymore, Nigel Clough – meet Gabriel Paletta).

The defender left Liverpool for Boca Juniors in August 2007.

PAST PLAYER PROFILE - Paul Jones

Paul Jones : Goalkeeper
Date of Birth: 18-04-1967
Birthplace: Chirk
Debut : v Aston Villa. 10th January 2004. Premiership. Won 1-0
1st team games: 2
1st team goals: -
Other clubs: Kidderminster Harriers, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Stockport County, Southampton, Watford, Millwall, QPR.
International caps while with Liverpool: -
International goals while with Liverpool: -
Honours with Liverpool: -

PROFILE

Welsh international goalkeeper Paul Jones played two games for Liverpool during a short loan spell as cover for the injured Jerzy Dudek in 2004.

A former farmer who grew up supporting Liverpool, Jones, who was out of favour at Southampton, fulfilled an ambition to play for his boyhood favourites when Gerard Houllier came calling.

Dudek and Chris Kirkland were both injured and Houllier felt third choice keeper Patrice Luzi wasn't experienced enough, so Jones got his unexpected chance.

He kept a clean sheet on his Liverpool debut as the Reds beat Aston Villa 1-0 at Anfield but in his second and final appearance Houllier's side lost 2-1 away at Tottenham.