NewsLiverpool's Greatest - No.7: Alan Hansen
Years: 1977-1990
Appearances: 620
Goals: 14
Trophies: UEFA Super Cup (1977), European Cup (1978, 1981, 1984), First Division (1978-79, 1979-80, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1985-86, 1987-88, 1989-90), League Cup (1981, 1982, 1983, 1984), FA Cup (1986, 1989)
A long-serving player, captain and serial winner, Alan Hansen is the highest-ranked defender on our Liverpool’s Greatest list.
Pore through the staggering facts of his Reds career and it is not difficult to understand why.
Eight league titles, three European Cups, two FA Cups, four League Cups, 620 appearances and 13 years in the team make him the centre-back all others in club history are judged against.
Those lucky enough to see Hansen strut his stuff note the elegance with which he played the game.
An astute reader of danger, he would so often stamp out opposition attacks before they progressed to threats. On the occasions they did become more problematic, he had the safety net of precise tackling and recovery play in his back pocket.
The package was completed by the Scot’s ability on the ball, building out from defence or confidently carrying possession forward when the opportunity arose.
“He is quite simply the most skilful centre-half I have ever seen in the British game,” said Bob Paisley, who brought him to Anfield from Partick Thistle in 1977.
“He is a joy to watch. Alan has always been an excellent footballer, a beautifully balanced player who carries the ball with control and grace.”
Hansen ended his debut season as a European champion, helping to secure a clean sheet as Liverpool defended the crown by beating Club Brugge 1-0 at Wembley.
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Watch on YouTubeHe displaced the great Emlyn Hughes to play 34 of the 42 league games when Paisley’s men conceded just 16 goals en route to reclaiming the First Division title in 1978-79 – a truly remarkable feat.
In each of the eight seasons that followed, ‘Jocky’ made at least 52 appearances across all competitions – including all 67 fixtures in 1983-84 as Joe Fagan masterminded a treble of league, League Cup and European Cup.
There were a series of central-defensive partnerships along the way, Hansen combining with Phil Thompson, Mark Lawrenson and Gary Gillespie predominantly.
Upon becoming player-manager in 1985, Kenny Dalglish appointed his compatriot as Liverpool captain – and Hansen skippered the Reds to a championship and FA Cup double, clinched through a late-season surge of 15 wins and three draws.
More than a decade after his arrival on Merseyside, he missed only three league games in the 1987-88 title-winning campaign that saw one of the club’s greatest ever sides sweep all before them in scintillating attacking fashion.
Injury sidelined Hansen for the majority of the next term, though the No.6 was able to play in the FA Cup final victory versus Everton.
He then led the Reds to an 18th title – incredibly, his eighth – in 1989-90.
That success proved to be his swansong. At 35, Father Time caught up with Hansen’s body, preventing him from playing again before the decision to retire from football in the spring of 1991.
“It was like magic. Something special, something great,” he later recalled of Liverpool.
“It certainly gives you an edge when you know you’re part of something special and you’re playing for something special. It just gives you that little bit extra.”
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