I was lucky enough to play with leaders like Oliver Kahn and Lothar Matthäus. I played with World Cup winners and Champions League winners before I came to England, so I knew the standard of performance required to reach the very top. You could see that Steven Gerrard had it in his early days.

There was still a long way to go. When I joined Liverpool in 1999 everyone was raving about this kid but I had heard it all before when I was at Bayern Munich. Potential is no guarantee of success.

When someone tells me a player will be an England international in five years, I am cautious. Life becomes serious when you play against men. Then you see whether the kid can make it. You need to make sacrifices. You cannot go out with your mates. That’s why a lot don’t make it, but that was not a problem for Stevie. His work ethic was brilliant.

There were wonderful moments on the pitch, but he was brilliant behind the scenes as well. The way he has conducted himself over the years is outstanding and his desire to become a better player every day stands out. He has so much drive.

His talent was obvious. He was always a fantastic passer and he was very powerful. That burst of speed he had when he was in full flow, he was almost unstoppable. He had good technique and he was a superb striker of the ball. Everything was there for him to become a top player but you still have to prove that you can play. He answered all those questions emphatically.

He was very confident in training. He would tackle everyone. He had no fear. He was respectful but when he trained he tried everything in his power to win games and do well. All he wanted was to play for Liverpool.

He broke into the team and became a leader. He scored goals, changed games in a split-second and it made sense when Gérard Houllier gave him the captain’s armband.

The Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers, says he will miss Steven Gerrard ‘as a man’ Guardian

It brought out the best in Stevie. There was a lot of pressure on him, a local lad captaining his team, but he never hid.

There was no doubt in my mind that he deserved it, because he had already been playing like a captain for two or three years. Sami Hyypia was a good captain. He did a fantastic job and he was a great player for us but Gérard thought it was the time to give it to Stevie and he thrived off it.

The more responsibility you put on him, the better he was.

Look at the Champions League final against Milan. Was it his best performance? I’m not too sure. It was a collective effort.

Stevie could probably find one or two games where he played better. But he was one of the driving forces behind our victory. He scored the all-important first goal to get us back in the game. He was a leader and having him on the pitch always gave us great belief.

A year later we were dead and buried in the FA Cup final against West Ham. So he saved us with that screamer from 30 yards in the last minute.

He was playing some of his best football under Rafa Benítez at that time. Rafa improved him. He used him in positions where he had less defensive responsibility. Stevie never wanted to play on the right or off the striker but I told him early on in his career that he was wasted chasing back. Of course he can play in central midfield but I always felt he was more influential when he was further forward. He had the ability, with his pace and power, to burst past players, he has a fantastic right foot and he scored so many goals.

I played against him as well. It is rare to find a central midfielder of his height and pace. He was the full package. You had to close him down 25 yards from goal, because he could score from there, but if you got too tight he would knock the ball past you. I preferred having him on my team. Stevie never won the Premier League but I do not think he has any regrets. He can look back on a fantastic career and he left nothing out on the pitch. He always tried 100%. He played for the club he loves for so long and Saturday’s game is going to be emotional for everyone. Stevie is one of a kind. Will a player of that calibre stay at one club for such a long time again? I doubt it. That is why he is special.

In a way, I am not looking forward to seeing him walk out at Anfield for the last time. But sometimes things happen. It would be great if it’s 0-0 in the last minute and there’s a free-kick 25 yards out and he puts it in the top corner.

That would be the perfect send-off.

Dietmar Hamann played 283 games for Liverpool and won the 2005 Champions League final and the 2006 FA Cup together with Steven Gerrard