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The 2001 UEFA Cup Winning Liverpool Team - Where Are They Now?

PJ Browne
By PJ Browne
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The 2000/01 season was a momentous one for Liverpool. The club won a cup treble under Gerard Houllier. A League Cup final win over Birmingham came in February and then in the space of four days in May they beat Arsenal in the FA Cup Final and Spanish side Alaves in the UEFA Cup Final.

We have a look at the heroes of Dortmund and what they're up to now.

Sander Westerveld

Signed by Gerard Houllier from Vitesse Arnhem in the summer of 1999. The 6' 3" keeper took over from David James and remained first choice for two seasons.

However, the signing of both Jerzy Dudek and Chris Kirkland in August, 2001 signalled the end of his Liverpool career. He left for Real Sociedad in a £3.4m move in December of the same year.

Westerveld retired just two years ago, finishing his playing at South African team Ajax Cape Town where he currently works as goalkeeping coach. Westerveld was an underwhelming presence in the Liverpool net, but has proved himself to be much more adept at saving money: he was named in the recently leaked Panama Papers.

 

Markus Babbel

Babbel arrived at Liverpool on a free transfer from Bayern Munich in 2000. The German international could player at both right back and centre back, starting that final on the right of the defence and opening the scoring in the game after just three minutes. The win over Alaves was his second UEFA Cup winner's medal after having been part of the Bayern team which beat Bordeaux in 1995.

He was diagnosed with Guillain–Barré syndrome in December 2001 a condition which kept him out of action for a year. On his return he was not the same player, after a season on loan with Blackburn he returned to the Bundesliga with Stuttgart, retiring in 2007. Babbel's loss to Liverpool through injury proved to be a huge blow to the club, and was only properly replaced in the squad by Steve Finnan.

A move into management came swiftly after, taking over as Stuttgart boss in November 2008 and achieving Champions League qualification in the same season.

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He is currently the manager of Swiss side FC Luzern after previous stints at the helm of Hertha Berlin and Hoffenheim.

Sami Hyypia

Simply, an Anfield legend.

Spent 10 years at the club after being signed by Houllier for just £2.6m from Willem II. Captained Liverpool against Alaves in the absence of Jamie Redknapp.

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Hyppia joined Bayer Leverkusen in 2009 after playing 464 games for Liverpool. Despite being stripped of the captaincy by Gerard Houllier in 2003, Hyypia remained a hugely important and influential at the club up to his final season in 2008/09. Like Markus Babbel he also moved into management quickly after retirement, becoming Bayern Leverkusen manager in May 2012. Took over as Brighton & Hove Albion boss last summer but lasted until just December when he resigned after his team won just six games in 26 matches. Hyypia is currently the head coach at FC Zurich.

Stephane Henchoz

Arrived at Liverpool from Blackburn around the same time that the club signed Hyypia. The two went onto form one of the best centre back partnerships in the Premier League. Henchoz left for Celtic in 2005, after Rafa Benitez made Jamie Carragher the heart-beat of his team at centre back. Henchoz also played with Wigan and Blackburn for a second time before retiring in 2008.

He completed his FIFA Pro Licence in 2014, and occasionally works as a pundit on BBC 5 Live and Talksport.

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Jamie Carragher

Carragher made 737 appearances in 17 years as a senior player at Anfield, and holds a club record for appearances in European competition. Carragher began his career with Liverpool as the squad's utility man, and played at left-back against Alaves.

Following his retirement in 2013, Carragher moved into punditry, where he formed an unexpected partnership with one time rival Gary Neville on Monday Night Football. Carragher is currently bereft following Gary Neville's ill-fated step into management, and is now Sky's best football analyst by some distance.

Gary McAllister

Joined Liverpool at the age of 35 in the summer of 2000 on a free transfer from Coventry. He might have been in the autumn of his career but there was still plenty of craft remaining. He proved to be one of Liverpool's greatest free transfers ever (unlucky Milan Jovanovic, lad) with is Liverpool highlights a last-minute free-kick against Everton and the third goal of the UEFA Cup Final from the penalty spot.

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McAllister played for two seasons with the club, before leaving to join Coventry as player/manager in 2002. He also had an 11 month spell in charge of Leeds in 2008 and took over as caretaker manager of Aston Villa in the 2010/11 season when Gerard Houllier was taken ill.McAllister now works primarily as a television pundit, making a number of appearances on the club's in-house TV channel.

Dietmar Hamann

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Another summer of 1999 signing by Gerard Houllier. He joined from Newcastle for £8m. He made his greatest European influence for Liverpool in the 2005 Champiosn League final, in which he came on as a half-time substitute to shackle Kaka and allow Liverpool stage an absurd comeback. As well as this, Hamann converted a penalty in the shoot-out with a broken toe.

When Hamann left Liverpool he weirdly joined Bolton Wanderers for a single day, before moving on to Manchester City. He is now a pundit with a number of outlets, most notably the BBC and RTE.

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Steven Gerrard

Gerrard was the last player on the list to leave Liverpool, the 2014/15 season proving to be his 17th and final year with Liverpool. Gerrard decided to play out his career with LA Galaxy, where he has struck many as being extremely melancholic, and appears to be harking for a return to Liverpool.

Danny Murphy

Signed from Crewe in 1997 for £1.5m, Murphy took a few seasons to establish himself at Anfield. He played for for Charlton, Spurs, Fulham and Blackburn after leaving Liverpool in 2004., and retired from football in 2013. He has since joined the multitudinous ex-Liverpool players working in the media. He has a notoriously phlegmatic analyst, and seems to have taken Mark Lawrenson's position as the BBBc pundit least enjoying their job.

 

Emile Heskey

An £11m signing in March, 2000. Heskey went on to scored 60 goals in 223 appearances for Liverpool. That 2001 season was particularly prolific for the striker with him scoring 22 goals.

After five seasons at Liverpool, he moved on to Birmingham in 2004.  He had a two-season spell in Australia playing for Newcastle Jets, and is now back in England playing with Bolton at the ripe old age of 37. Heskey has been in the headlines this season as his former side Leicester City have won the Premier League, a feat not possible had Heskey not given the club £100,000 of his own money to save them from administration in 2002, following the collapse of ITV Digital.

Michael Owen

Number nine on Liverpool's all-time top scorers list with 158 goals.

Owen moved on to Real Madrid in 2004 but never recaptured the form shown during his time at Anfield. A peripatetic existence ensued, and Owen ultimately retired to little fanfare at Stoke City in 2013.

Owen can be heard working as a co-commentator for BT Sport and seen as the subject of a ceasless stream of jokes and abuse on twitter. Owen has recently been unveiled as an official club ambassador for Liverpool FC, the only former Manchester United player to hold the role.

Subs:

Pegguy Arphexad - Finished his playing career with Marseille in 2005. Has been forced to deny rumours he became a porn star upon his return to his native Guadeloupe. The rumours presumably began as a result of his aversion to clean sheets at Anfield.

Gregory Vignal - Accumulated a lengthy list of clubs after leaving Liverpool including Portsmouth, Birmingham and Dundee United. He wsas last spotted playing for French side AS Beziers.

Stephen Wright - Wright is a product of Liverpool's academy and is still playing, aged 36, with Welsh Premier League side Aberystwyth Town.

Vladimir Smicer - Smicer's final kick as a Liverpool player was his successful penalty in Istanbul.  Retired from senior football in 2009 while playing for Slavia Prague, but plays alongside Patrick BErger for an amateur side in Prague.

Patrik Berger - Retired from professional football in 2010 due to a knee injury. He was playing for Sparta Prague at the time. Berger has said he has no intention of going into coaching, intending to spent his time getting his golf handicap down instead, whilst playing part-time alongside Smicer.

Nick Barmby - Retired from playing in 2012 while at Hull, taking over as manager shortly after. His reign lasted just seven months. Succeeded by Steve Bruce. Barmby's son is currently on loan at Portland Timbers from Premier League champions Leicester City.

Robbie Fowler - Another Liverpool legend. Came off the bench to score Liverpool's fourth goal against Alaves. Departed for Leeds the following season and continued playing until 2012. Fowler has also had success outside of football, building up an extensive property portfolio over the years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXzwEZwKoZk

Picture credit: Sportsfile

 

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