Hamann 'not bothered' about England 5-1 win

Sven-Goran Eriksson's side famously came from behind to thrash Rudi Voller's outfit at the Olympic Stadium in Munich and take charge of a group that saw only the winners automatically qualify for the 2002 World Cup.

England did eventually top the standings, but only thanks to David Beckham's last-gasp free-kick against Greece at Old Trafford, which secured the point they needed.

However, the Germans comfortably negotiated their play-off against Ukraine, triumphing 5-2 on aggregate.

And they would go on to reach the World Cup final eight months later, losing to Brazil, who had eliminated England at the last-eight stage.

Speaking exclusively in the February 2012 issue of FourFourTwo magazine, out now, Hamann insists that the 5-1 drubbing did not leave any lasting scars as Germany still went on to reach their goal of securing qualification.

“At the end of the day it was only a qualifier. We were disappointed to lose the game but we weren’t that bothered," he says.

"You have to see the bigger picture, to qualify for the World Cup, which both teams did. I think after that game England thought they had won the World Cup. They hadn’t."

Earlier in that qualification campaign, Hamann's goal at a soggy Wembley Stadium seperated the sides in what was the final match at the national stadium before it's redevelopment.

But again, the 38-year-old played down what proved an iconic moment in English football history, explaining it meant more to Germany as a whole than him individually.

"Scoring that goal at Wembley didn’t really change anything for me," he says. "The most important thing for us was to beat a big team. We hadn’t beaten a big team for a number of years.

"It was a big turning point for us. People had lost faith in the national team and that made them start believing in us again."

Read the full One-on-One interview with Dietmar Hamann, in which he talks about 'that night' in Istanbul, leaving Bayern Munich for Newcastle, swapping Bolton for Manchester City without kicking a ball and peeing on Pepe Reina in theFebruary 2012 issue of FourFourTwo magazine.

It also asks 'What now? for Sir Alex Ferguson and features transsexual internationals, football's biggest con-man, the death of the tackle and a 23-page guide to the Africa Cup of Nations. Subscribe now!