Graeme Souness gives an emotional tribute to ‘seriously ill’ Alan Hansen who has been in hospital for the last week.
Liverpool announced the news last Sunday while also sending their love and support to the club legend and former Match of the Day pundit and his family at this tough time.
He said on ITV: “I had the pleasure of playing with him, he was an absolute dream for a midfielder. He passed the ball at the right weight at the right angle at the right time. Just a super footballer. I believe he was the best footballing centre-half ever.
“I know that’s some statement but I really believe it. I saw it close-up, he was a real quality performer and as a human being, when people are ill people say they were great guys. I’m telling you, he was a great guy.
“You’d have to search a long, long way to find anyone who’s got a bad word to say about him and that takes some doing. His chat and banter was top-class, he was a pleasure to be around. He’s in the fight of his life right now and we should all say a little prayer to him.”
“The best footballing centre half, ever!”
All of us at ITV Sport wish Alan Hansen the very best ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Sh8Nn8162u
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 14, 2024
Shocked hearing about the legendary Alan Hansen I took this of him 19th May at Anfield and he was in great spirits.@dunhilllinks #AlanHansen #Liverpool #LiverpoolFc #DunhillLinks pic.twitter.com/nzIh1MPAoC
— The Big Cheese (@BigCheeseLogan) June 9, 2024
It’s Alan Hansen’s birthday. And we’re all hoping for good news regarding his health.
Here he is in his pomp, striding out of defence at Carrow Road in 1980.
Majestic.
(👍🎥 @forgottengoals)
— A Funny Old Game (@sid_lambert) June 13, 2024
Souness spoke about Hansen on talkSPORT recently, saying: “He wasn’t a colleague, he was a mate, a good friend, a proper friend. He’s a proper human being. It will be hard to find anyone say a bad word about him.
“He is one of life’s good guys and we’re all saying a prayer for him. I spoke to his wife, Janet, a few days ago and you can imagine the state he’s in, but I’m telling you, he’s one of the best guys you could meet, a proper human being in every sense.”
In his column for the Daily Mail, Souness wrote: “Like everyone, I was shocked to hear the news that my very good friend Alan Hansen was seriously ill this week.
“It’s a desperate time for his wife Janet, his children Adam and Lucy and everybody who is close to him.
“I’m praying, I don’t know who to, but I’m praying that he will be around soon to return to his usual p*** taking duties.
“Alan is a rare breed in life as I don’t know anyone who has a bad word to say about him.
“The best footballing centre-back ever. He’s a rascal with a ruthless sense of humour. Great company, a great story teller… and apparently a great memory.
“His recollection of events can be different to mine but he always tells a story with such great confidence that I go away thinking ‘he must be right then’. He always seems so assured.
“If ever there was a disagreement in the dressing room, it was always Kenny Dalglish and I who were the gobby ones, and if ever there was any resistance, the debate would always be cut short by Big Al’s interjection. All it took was a customary shake of the head and a little acerbic comment. He was the subtle one out of the three of us. His short, intellectual intervention would stop the debate in its tracks and Kenny and I would win the argument. That’s teamwork. We were very tight – although I think these days you would have the other players running off to the Human Resources department to complain they were being picked on!
“We always used to have the ‘Three Jocks picture’ every season with every trophy we won. Phil Thompson, Phil Neal, Terry McDermott and Emlyn Hughes used to try and get on the pictures but we’d push them away to make sure we had our own little snapshot of the moment: ‘Jocks Only’. Three great friends together. In later years, Steve Nicol and Gary Gillespie would be allowed on them too.
“You can reel off whatever names you want but trust me, Alan was the best footballing centre-back ever. He was a midfield player in disguise. Someone you couldn’t dispossess in a telephone box.
He’d drive me mad at times. I’d lose my patience and snap: ‘any danger you are going to start passing me the bloody ball?’ And he would turn and say ‘Why should I pass it to you when I can do it better?’
“He was such a natural athlete. He loves his golf, he was a good squash player too. He would have been good at any sport that he wanted to dedicate himself to.
“Before a game, in the dressing room, we’d all be doing our individual warm-ups and he’d be sat, legs crossed, singing Billy Joel songs, ‘Don’t go Changing’ and all that, reading the programme from cover to cover. Then, when the bell rang to go out and play, he’d stand up and appear to have the stiffest back ever, pulling an agonising face as he straightened himself up, then, within five minutes of the start of the game, he’s giving the opposition’s quickest player a head start and still winning the race.
“He was lightning quick.
“He’d later say he was a bag of nerves before a game but you could never tell then. Half an hour before a football match and he looked like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“Whatever happened, Alan rarely looked ruffled.
“We could be playing on a farmer’s field of a pitch. Mark Lawrenson would be covered head to toe in mud after five minutes and yet, after 90 minutes, Alan would look like he’d just stepped out of Marks and Spencer’s shop window, not a speck of dirt on him. Lawro would love a tackle but Alan never went to ground. He was always reading the game, thinking ahead, a wonderful player.
“People talk about playing high lines of defence, Liverpool were doing that in the ’70s because we had him in our team, and we knew he could give anyone a three-yard head start and catch them.
Manchester United supporters would think Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand were the best partnership, Chelsea fans may say John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho, but as good as they were, there has never been a better partnership than Alan and Lawro. One was very aggressive, the other didn’t need to be. They were way ahead of their time. If you want to see a defensive masterclass just look up 1984 European Cup final – Roma in Rome – when they never gave their World Cup winning forwards a sniff.
“Alan always seemed too smart on and off the pitch. Even when he is bluffing, he’s that convincing you believe him. He is a man you can always count on.
“Over 30 years ago, when I had my heart operation, he was the first one to drive across to Manchester to see me in hospital.
“If I was expecting sympathy I was in for a shock. His humour is ruthless. He just took the mickey out of me as if I’d had a minor procedure. That sharp wit, you’re a brave man to take him on. I just had to laugh and take it on the chin. That banter we had and that we used to share at Liverpool, those are days I wish I could live all over again. He is just the best of men. I just can’t believe he is fighting for his life.”
Twitter users gave their reaction as Graeme Souness gives an emotional tribute to ‘seriously ill’ Alan Hansen…
@Joshpeterchrist: What an emotional watch you could hear it in souness voice keep fighting jockey ,❤️
@dannybuttery: Respect to Souness well said , get well soon Alan Hansen
@sdbanotts: A beautiful footballer to watch, I really hope he gets better soon.
@LeeABaker: Lovely tribute. Hansen is a brilliant bloke
@david_johnst: Great words from one great Scot about another get well soon Alan ✊
@Lat05: Great words Souey 🙏
@Murlio: #Souness truly emotional here . Wishing #AlanHansen all the best 🙌
@odwyer_john61: It’s not often i agree with Souness, but Alan Hansen is the best footballing centre half I’ve been lucky enough to watch. #lfc
@RonanMcCay: Brilliant from Graeme Souness about Alan Hansen, who was one of the best @LFC players I’ve ever seen. Cucumber cool. Fingers crossed he’ll pull through.
@ChrisAllum1: Graeme Souness brought tears to my eyes when he talked about his teammate and friend Alan Hansen.. such a bond there between them.. sending my best wishes to Alan and his family and hope the Scottish players do you proud tonight Get well soon Alan!!!!
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