IT WAS a case of love at first sight.

Didi Hamann may have grown up in Bavaria but the German international immediately felt at home when he arrived in Liverpool from Newcastle in the summer of 1999.

“From the moment I stepped into Liverpool I felt this strange feeling begin to wash over me,” he said.

“I was excited by the sights and the sounds and welcomed by the people. I was part of a very special time in the history of Liverpool Football Club, which is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

“As the years went by, Liverpool became a part of me, and I very much hope that I became a part of Liverpool.

“It was, is and I believe always will be a magnificent love affair. A passionate, flaming and enduring love affair with an amazing football club, a unique city and a remarkable people.

“It was the home-grown lads that I bonded with early on and still remain great friends with today.

“Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Robbie Fowler and Jamie Carragher immediately took to me and I found that the Scouse way of looking at the world began to seep deep into my pores as if through some form of osmosis.

“I knew that I was born in Germany, I knew that I was German and I was proud to continue to play for my country. Yet something was seeping through me. It was almost as though there was an element of me that felt English.

“It began to emerge and grow as it was nourished by the day-to-day banter of the Scouse contingent in the squad, who seemed to regard me as one of their own.”