Kevin Keegan was a massive success at Hamburg, but at that time the transfer represented a huge leap into the unknown for a British player.

Up until recent years, British footballers have generally been far less willing than their continental counterparts to go and play abroad.

With that in mind, it is easy to understand just how big a gamble it was when Keegan made that switch in 1977.

The midfielder was Liverpool's leading star and was on the verge of helping the club win their first-ever European Cup when the move to Hamburg was agreed, so why did he go, and why HSV?

Keegan told FourFourTwo in 2007: "I’d dispute that I could have moved to any club in the world.

"In 1977 there were no English players abroad and they weren’t seen as a good investment. Only John Charles, the Welsh Juventus legend, had done really well.

"Hamburg was the only offer I received, and that’s where I went.

"They phoned me, and I said I wanted to leave Liverpool - I felt I was stagnating there, even though I loved the club, the fans and the players.

"I needed a change; I’m not the type of character who stays at one club for his whole life.

"Hamburg offered me four times the salary I was earning, which was incredible. So financially it made sense, and my wife spoke German, which was a great start.

"I just thought, ‘That’s the kind of challenge I want to try’."

Keegan went on to win back-to-back Ballons d'Or at Hamburg - and he is still the only Englishman ever to win more than one - while also helping the club claim a Bundesliga title and reach a European Cup final.

There was, however, one drawback to the move...

"I don’t like sausages – unfortunately, I couldn’t get away from them in Germany!" Keegan said.

"I loved the cakes over there though, much to my coach’s annoyance.

"There was a fantastic patisserie next to the training ground...but I’ve never been a sausage fan."

This interview first appeared in the April 2007 edition of FourFourTwo magazine.