Plucked from the Dutch league for a bargain £2.5m, he became a Liverpool legend winning a clutch of honours, and the rest they say is history.
After he retired he became an inexperienced manager for German club Bayer Leverkusen, playing an attractive type of football. Schooled by Houllier and Rafa in the art of defending and organisation, he has taken their brand of football and gave it his own twist.
Currently in 2nd place behind runaway leaders Bayern Munich and One point ahead of Champions Dortmund, operating on a very limited budget, could we see Big Sami grace the Premier League or La Liga? Could he even be a future Liverpool manager?
Current Record is very respectable;
P W D L F A GD Win %
34 21 7 6 65 35 +30 61.76