HomeFootballInside Didi Hamann’s love affair with Irish football as he returns to...

Inside Didi Hamann’s love affair with Irish football as he returns to RTE screen

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DIDI HAMANN was back on our TV screens as his compatriots at Dortmund upset the odds in Paris.

Having travelled there with a 1-0 lead, they wound up repeating the trick and dumped Kylian Mbappe and the rest of their more illustrious foes out.

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Not only did Mats Hummels head home the winner but he was a brick wall defensively all nightCredit: Getty
Their overall team performance was a brilliant combination of well-drilled defending as well as no shortage of creativity on the break

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Their overall team performance was a brilliant combination of well-drilled defending as well as no shortage of creativity on the breakCredit: AFP
Julian Brandt, Jadon Sancho and Ian Maatsen in particular were a constant threat when they did launch a counter-attack

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Julian Brandt, Jadon Sancho and Ian Maatsen in particular were a constant threat when they did launch a counter-attackCredit: AFP
The 50-year-old was delighted for his countrymen and backed them to beat either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the Champions League final

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The 50-year-old was delighted for his countrymen and backed them to beat either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the Champions League finalCredit: RTE Sport

But the former Liverpool midfielder is not solely drafted in to give a token insight into German sides.

He’s been a long-running – if sporadic – presence on RTE screens since all the way back in 2010 when he joined the national broadcaster’s punditry stable for the World Cup.

As to how the 59-times capped star wound up being enlisted in the first place, it simply came down to one producer trying his luck.

In a 2022 Irish Examiner interview, Hamann recalled: “I’d made a few appearances on the BBC’s Football Focus and then Match of the Day.

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“I don’t know if [RTE sport producer] Eugene O’Neill saw them but he asked me would I mind coming over to Dublin for the 2010 World Cup.

“And right away I found myself learning so much from the guys who were there – John, Liam, Eamon, Bill.”

His forthright style made him a natural fit with Messers Giles, Brady and Dunphy – and a hit with viewers.

Ever since then he’s routinely cropped up on big-time Champions League, World Cup and Euros broadcasts as well as plenty of Ireland internationals.

Indeed, he even amusingly refers to Ireland as ‘we’ when outlining why Stephen Kenny or whomever needs to perform better in their roles.

These days his trips to Dublin are a bit longer as he moved home a few years ago after living in the UK for over two decades.

Jadon Sancho belts out Adele as he leads Dortmund’s Champions League dressing room celebrations

Brexit prompted this decision as he explained how it turned him off Britain altogether.

“I just thought with all the challenges we face these days in Europe and the world and the need for co-operation, I didn’t want to live in a country that didn’t want to be part of it.

“I’d also been working for a few years by then for Sky covering the Bundesliga a couple of times a week so I had been thinking of it [moving to Munich] anyway.

“But Brexit sealed it for me.”

Posing at a photoshoot with RTE's other pundits for the 2018 World Cup

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Posing at a photoshoot with RTE’s other pundits for the 2018 World Cup
Lining out against The Boys in Green at the 2002 World Cup

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Lining out against The Boys in Green at the 2002 World CupCredit: Getty – Contributor
Clashing with Roberto Carlos in the final where they lost to a Ronaldo-inspired Brazil

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Clashing with Roberto Carlos in the final where they lost to a Ronaldo-inspired BrazilCredit: PA:Empics Sport
Irish football fans primarily associate his playing days with his seven-year stint at Liverpool

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Irish football fans primarily associate his playing days with his seven-year stint at LiverpoolCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
But he also played for Newcastle United and Man City as well as making over 100 appearances for Bayern Munich in his early days

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But he also played for Newcastle United and Man City as well as making over 100 appearances for Bayern Munich in his early daysCredit: PA:Press Association

View on Irish job

In November 2023 he went on the record that if it were up to him, Roy Keane would succeed Kenny as Republic of Ireland boss.

Having battled the Corkman on many an occasion, he clearly values someone who holds similarly old school values.

He explained: “Roy Keane would be my first choice for the Ireland job!”

“The national side doesn’t have a sponsor for the senior team yet, and Roy would give them five or ten sponsors straight away!

“I’m not saying that’s the only reason they should consider Roy because we all know he can manage at the highest level. 

“He’s a very well-respected man on and off the pitch.

“I’m not sure if he’ll take the job, but people tell me he may. He’d be the first one I’d speak to. He’d be my choice.” 

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