Didi Hamann once told Sven-Goran Eriksson about the best midfielder he has ever played alongside.
The former City man did not pick out Lothar Matthaus, who captained West Germany to World Cup glory, was capped 150 times for his country and named World Footballer of the Year in 1991.
He had no words for Steven Gerrard, one of the Premier League greats, and a stalwart for Liverpool for so many years. And he did not single out Xabi Alonso, who showed his brilliance in Liverpool’s march to European glory in 2005 and has since become a mainstay for Real Madrid.
No, the man Hamann said was the pick of his midfield partners ended up playing just 37 Premier League games before he was beset by illness and appeared to draw his own career to a conclusion just before Christmas. That man is Michael Johnson, and Eriksson – who was his manager for the majority of his City appearances – has spoken of his sadness at a sparkling career unfulfilled.
Eriksson tried to help Johnson get back on track when he was manager at Leicester, taking the lad on loan for seven uneventful games. When Eriksson left the Foxes, so did Johnson, and he has not played since, with City terminating his contract in December.
Speaking to Swedish newspaper Expressen, Eriksson said: “I had him as a young gun at City and everyone was talking about him as the next big star in the English national team.
“But then he got injured for a long time and after that, something happened. I’ve heard about his problem outside the pitch, with alcohol. I hope he will find himself again. When he came back from injury, he was with the reserves – after that I brought him to Leicester but it wasn’t working out.
“When I left Leicester, they told him to leave the club.
“He is a really nice boy, I like him, and it’s sad he isn’t playing.
“Didi Hamann said he was the best midfielder he ever played with. Well, you can understand that – he was a very talented boy.”
