Didi Hamann is a bit of a character, the type you don't really see in the game anymore. He wasn't exactly the most careful with his body off the pitch, with his drinking and smoking habits well known.
Still, he always performed when he was on it. That didn't mean his antics didn't get him in trouble, however. One such example came in Japan on the day Liverpool played in the Club World Cup final back in 2005.
While Hamann could not play due to injury, he still travelled to Asia with the rest of the team. Liverpool would lose the final to Sao Paulo, with the German and Jamie Carragher going to a Japanese bar to watch a Premier League soon after.
Speaking on Sky Sports, he recalled how he managed to end up in a Japanese jail cell that night:
"We had a few shandies and it all got a bit out of hand..." 🍻😂@DietmarHamann opens up on *that* night in Japan when at the Club World Championship with #LFC! 👀#SkyFootballShow pic.twitter.com/jMO29uwuxF
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 30, 2020
We lost the game 1-0. After the game we were pretty disappointed as you can imagine. Arsenal and Chelsea were kicking off around 10 o'clock (Japanese time), so by the time we got to the hotel and had dinner, we said 'let's find a boozer to watch the game'.
Carra had a few mates over there. We watched the game and had a few shandies. It got a bit out of hand towards the end and police arrived.
They all ran off, and with me not being the quickest, I was the first one to get caught.
The police took me. I was in my tracksuit and I told them I was a player, which they probably didn't believe. Nobody spoke any English or German.
We had a guy who looked after us that week, he was a Japanese guy who studied in England. Somehow I got hold of him in the hotel and he came and got me out of the police station around five or six in the morning, just in time to have some coffee and jump on the bus back to the airport.
Luckily for all involved, nothing would come of it in the end. At least Carragher seemed to get a good laugh out it...
