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Didi Man
Dietmar "Didi" Hamann is a complete one-off. The foreigner with a Scouse accent. The German who now plays cricket for his local village team. The overseas footballer turned anglophile who fell deeply in love with the city of Liverpool, its people and its eponymous football club.
The classy midfielder had a long and distinguished playing career, but it was his seven seasons at Anfield that marked him out forever as a true Liverpool legend. His cult status was secured when he came off the bench at half-time during the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul to inspire his team to a dramatic come-back and spectacular European glory.
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 classy midfielder had a long and distinguished playing career, but it was his seven seasons at Anfield that marked him out forever as a true Liverpool legend. His cult status was secured when he came off the bench at half-time during the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul to inspire his team to a dramatic come-back and spectacular European glory.
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.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2012
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About the author
Dietmar Hamann
3 booksDietmar Johann Wolfgang "Didi" Hamann is a German professional football coach, former player and media personality.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 22, 2013
For the older generation, most would remember where they were the day JFK died. For the football fan, in particular of Liverpool Football Club, most would remember where they were or what they were doing on the night of 25 May 2005. For fans in South East Asia in general and Malaysia in particular, that would be the wee hours of the morning on 26 May.
I was sat on my couch in front of the TV as the hour approached 5 a.m. or thereabouts, mentally exhausted and somewhat dumbfounded, having just witnessed one of the greatest if not THE greatest comebacks of all time in world football; Liverpool's win over AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League Final.
One of the reasons that win would forever be etched in the memories of LFC fans as well as fans of football in general is the introduction at half time of the man who wrote this book. Didi Hamann is a German Scouser, if ever there was one, a German by birth but a Scouser at heart. Liverpool through and through.
Didi's account of what happened behind the scenes at Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul on that fateful night, before, during and after the match is one of the highlights of this book. He writes with his customary frankness. His straight-forward style is engaging and you feel right in the thick of things. Some of the writing is emotional and you could feel along with Didi as he takes you through some of his experiences.
At times, in some parts of the book, he rambles a bit but it is forgivable. He is after all not really a writer and he is telling the story of some of the most momentous moments of his Liverpool career. He also offers some thoughts on his fellow players and a particularly frank assessment of the state of the England national team.
Overall, it is an entertaining book, more so if you're into football and LFC, as I am.
I was sat on my couch in front of the TV as the hour approached 5 a.m. or thereabouts, mentally exhausted and somewhat dumbfounded, having just witnessed one of the greatest if not THE greatest comebacks of all time in world football; Liverpool's win over AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League Final.
One of the reasons that win would forever be etched in the memories of LFC fans as well as fans of football in general is the introduction at half time of the man who wrote this book. Didi Hamann is a German Scouser, if ever there was one, a German by birth but a Scouser at heart. Liverpool through and through.
Didi's account of what happened behind the scenes at Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul on that fateful night, before, during and after the match is one of the highlights of this book. He writes with his customary frankness. His straight-forward style is engaging and you feel right in the thick of things. Some of the writing is emotional and you could feel along with Didi as he takes you through some of his experiences.
At times, in some parts of the book, he rambles a bit but it is forgivable. He is after all not really a writer and he is telling the story of some of the most momentous moments of his Liverpool career. He also offers some thoughts on his fellow players and a particularly frank assessment of the state of the England national team.
Overall, it is an entertaining book, more so if you're into football and LFC, as I am.
February 20, 2014
This is a love letter for LFC fans around the universe. A well respected footballer, whose love for Liverpool is unquestioned but you can count on him to be the most neutral pundit you can ever have.
I wanted to write a better book review, but again I lost words for Didi. Except that I really think he's a legend amongst LFC legends. Can't wait for him to get a chance as manager. Long live the Kaiser.
I wanted to write a better book review, but again I lost words for Didi. Except that I really think he's a legend amongst LFC legends. Can't wait for him to get a chance as manager. Long live the Kaiser.
June 28, 2012
The Scouse German legend !! he will always be a liverpool fan and is loved by all LFC fans ,,, a great read
September 28, 2018
If you are a LFC fan and have seen Didi play, then this book is a must read.
August 24, 2020
I'm sure I'd seen a Liverpool fan somewhere claiming this was quite funny, so I thought I'd give it a try. With its sans serif font and 270-ish pages, I can't imagine they spent too long deciding what to cut, but this wasn't really an autobiography in the traditional sense, but a collection of thoughts and stories from his playing days.
It was readable, and mercifully skated over his youth career which is normally the most tedious part of footballers' books. Playing to its target market, this focused mainly on Liverpool, but then he did play most of his matches for them. There were some surprising omissions, such as the Alaves victory, but the insight into Rafa was genuinely quite interesting, with an appreciation that the less fun training paid off in games. But to a certain extent it seems like Hamann hated training and warm-ups anyway.
Not all of his anecdotes were great though. Kev Seed takes up 7 pages, and reminded me of one of those jokes that used to do the rounds on Facebook which was a set up and punchline in two lines tacked onto the end of irrelevant fluff. I imagine you had to be there. But despite the lowbrow humour, one of his Trapattoni stories did make me laugh, and generally he found the right balance between off-field banter and the more serious side of football.
As seems to be a trend in retired footballers' autobiographies, the girlfriend he mentions in such glowing terms is no longer around, and I almost felt sorry for him, a 50 times capped German cobbling together a non-League side. He doesn't seem to have done much since then either, which is a shame as he seems like he genuinely has an interest in the game, although his smoking and general attitude was possibly a sign that today, he'd be playing football at a much lower level as things have moved on. On the whole, this was ok, but far from a must-read.
It was readable, and mercifully skated over his youth career which is normally the most tedious part of footballers' books. Playing to its target market, this focused mainly on Liverpool, but then he did play most of his matches for them. There were some surprising omissions, such as the Alaves victory, but the insight into Rafa was genuinely quite interesting, with an appreciation that the less fun training paid off in games. But to a certain extent it seems like Hamann hated training and warm-ups anyway.
Not all of his anecdotes were great though. Kev Seed takes up 7 pages, and reminded me of one of those jokes that used to do the rounds on Facebook which was a set up and punchline in two lines tacked onto the end of irrelevant fluff. I imagine you had to be there. But despite the lowbrow humour, one of his Trapattoni stories did make me laugh, and generally he found the right balance between off-field banter and the more serious side of football.
As seems to be a trend in retired footballers' autobiographies, the girlfriend he mentions in such glowing terms is no longer around, and I almost felt sorry for him, a 50 times capped German cobbling together a non-League side. He doesn't seem to have done much since then either, which is a shame as he seems like he genuinely has an interest in the game, although his smoking and general attitude was possibly a sign that today, he'd be playing football at a much lower level as things have moved on. On the whole, this was ok, but far from a must-read.
February 15, 2023
This is a fascinating look into the mindset of a footballer from an era that has now passed. It’s interesting to see ‘behind the scenes’ of his time at some of the most famous football clubs in the world. I don’t necessarily agree with his opinions on everything but as he has ‘been there and done it’ you can’t fault his knowledge on the subject. It’s also particularly interesting to see how a German player can become so engrossed with the English way of life. His use of very English phrases throughout amused me. Liverpool supporters would say, ‘He’s one of us now.’ From reading this book I'd have to agree. He clearly has deep affection for that particular club and his time playing there. It’s not all about one club though as he covers his entire playing career. I guess this might appeal to fans that want to reminisce about his playing time. I’m sure that it will hold equal appeal to those younger fans that may find it hard to believe a professional international footballer could also enjoy smoking from time to time! A good read about a player that played at the highest level.
September 1, 2023
Didi Hamann is very funny and likeable in this book. There are many entertaining stories in this book such as the Kev Seed encounter. I found the passages regarding the 2005 Champions league final very interesting as it gave me further insight about that match which I have watched and read about many times in other books written by other football players from that match. In this book, there is very little about his childhood and the majority of the book is centred on his time at Liverpool as the title of the book suggests. Overall, this book is a light, interesting and entertaining read that I would highly recommend.
January 12, 2018
3/5 stars. It’s OK. There’s no earth-shattering revelations but it’s interesting to read Hamann’s views on some of the events and people that I remember, especially when compared to other players’ recollections (from other autobiographies).
I met Didi at Dublin Airport in 2016 and can vouch that he was indeed happy to engage with me and my wife, posing for a photo with me. I thanked him for 2005, of course!
I met Didi at Dublin Airport in 2016 and can vouch that he was indeed happy to engage with me and my wife, posing for a photo with me. I thanked him for 2005, of course!
July 9, 2018
Entertains in parts, but not particularly revealing.
April 2, 2013
Like most of these sort of books, unless you are a fan of the player or team they spent most of their career playing for, this won't resonate and will unlikely be of interest. In my case, I'm a Liverpool fan and Didi Hamann was a stalwart of Liverpool's midfield in the late noughties/early 2000's, hence why I thought this might be worth a look.
It's a short and sweet reminiencence of his playing career in the Premier League, the majority of it spent with Liverpool. It's not all that insightful in terms of the dressing-room goings on between the players, which is perhaps a little bit of a let down given he was seemingly very much 'one of the lads' and one of the key characters in what was a very talented but inconsistently acheiving sides. I would have liked to have seen a little more insight into the likes Robbie Fowler, Sami Hypia, Stevie Gerrard, who were very much part of the furniture during Hamann's time at Anfield. There are plenty of juicy 'spice boy' tabloidesque stories he could have shed some light on I'm sure many a fan would have enjoyed.
Where it is insightful, is his thoughts on Football management and the particular managers he played for. Also, I could't agree more with him on his diagnosis on the failure and unrealistic expectations of our national football team, which, given he is German, are very sobering!
A recommended, light-hearted read for any Liverpool fan.
It's a short and sweet reminiencence of his playing career in the Premier League, the majority of it spent with Liverpool. It's not all that insightful in terms of the dressing-room goings on between the players, which is perhaps a little bit of a let down given he was seemingly very much 'one of the lads' and one of the key characters in what was a very talented but inconsistently acheiving sides. I would have liked to have seen a little more insight into the likes Robbie Fowler, Sami Hypia, Stevie Gerrard, who were very much part of the furniture during Hamann's time at Anfield. There are plenty of juicy 'spice boy' tabloidesque stories he could have shed some light on I'm sure many a fan would have enjoyed.
Where it is insightful, is his thoughts on Football management and the particular managers he played for. Also, I could't agree more with him on his diagnosis on the failure and unrealistic expectations of our national football team, which, given he is German, are very sobering!
A recommended, light-hearted read for any Liverpool fan.
August 21, 2014
He is no literary genius but Dietmar Hamann reveals the vulnerability of the privileged whilst also helping Reds and general football fans relive the great times when Liverpool were winning trophies and friends again.Who would have thought a German would be smitten by cricket, and fall in love with Britain and its people (scouse especially) so much. The verdict on the England footballing team and it's prospects for the future makes unhappy reading, but is shrewdly perceptive in its analysis. We haven't seen all the Didi Man has to offer in this country yet!
September 9, 2014
The book had some nice little stories about his career at Liverpool and some of the antics that he got up to. But the book feels more like an extended interview, with a lot of vague references and no real chronology to the chapters, it feels like it could have been so much more. Worth a quick a read, but it just seems odd that for all the history of the 'kaizer' couldn't they have done a proper autobiography?
February 9, 2012
I love the team, I love the player. This is a difficult one to read without wearing a smile throughout. I loved the chapters on "The Cultural Attache to Bootle" and obviously the Istanbul chapter. It's a very nice insight to Didi's life past and present. If you are a fan there are some wonderfully funny stories in here. Must read !
June 30, 2014
Didi is obviously a different footballer than the typical british players. Intelligent and funny, this is a hugely enjoyable read, one that debunks the sort of straight-laced we expect of Germans. Touching how he has framed his days at liverpool fc as a love affair, something that continues to this day.
February 12, 2013
Im not a big fan of autobiographies but enjoyed this a witty and informative read, but is this because im a Liverpool fan?
October 8, 2013
tailed off a bit towards the end but I enjoyed it
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews