Widely regarded as a brave keeper with strong relaxes, Dudek is the first Pole to move to Liverpool.

He was linked with Arsenal in the summer of 2001, but an £8.5 million deal fell through when the Gunners signed Richard Wright instead. Everton also expressed an interest but a move never materialised and he remained at the Dutch club until Gerard Houllier swooped.

Jerzy made his first team debut for Sokol Tychy during the 1995/96 season but after only playing 15 games for them, Dutch side Feyenoord recognised his outstanding potential and pounced to get their man.

He quickly became a cult hero in Rotterdam, and during the 1998/99 season was voted the best keeper in the Dutch League. Indeed, legendary Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker rates Dudek as 'the best goalkeeper I've seen in 30 years'.

His eye-catching performances for Feyenoord and Poland thrust him into the spotlight before Gerard Houllier pounced to bring him to Anfield.

He had a superb first season at Anfield, keeping 26 clean sheets with many fans and pundits comparing him to Anfield legend Ray Clemence.

Dudek also played in the World Cup Finals for Poland in the summer of 2002. He had a mixed 2002/03 season when his form dipped but Dudek bounced back to produce a 'Man of the Match' performance in the Worthington Cup Final victory over Manchester United in 2003.

New Liverpool coach Rafael Benítez made Dudek his No1 at the start of the 2004/05 season, naming him in the sides that defeated Grazer AK over two legs in their Champions League qualifier.

Dudek was one of Livepool's heroes in the 2004/05 Champions League Final agains AC Milan. With the match tied 3-3 the keeper made a superb double save against Andriy Shevchenko in extra time to help send it to penalties. Dudek's spaghetti leg antics in the shoot-out distracted Serginho who shot over the bar. Dudek also saved Pirlo's and Shevchenko's shots.

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