Alan Hansen is a television football pundit and ex-Liverpool FC legend who was regarded as one of the most elegant defenders of his generation.

Hansen cost Liverpool the bargain price of £110,000 in 1977, as the Anfield club pursued the treble of League championship, FA Cup and European Cup. They missed out winning the league and in Europe but losing the FA Cup final. A year later Alan was in the side which retained the European Cup with a 1-0 victory over FC Bruges at Wembley, the goal scored by his, now, team-mate Kenny Dalglish.

Liverpool's domination of club football continued in 1980 with another League title and then in 1981 they ended the season with their first League Cup after defeating West Ham United 2-1 in a replay at Villa Park. Hansen scored the winning goal in the 28th minute. They also regained the European Cup with a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid.
In 1984 Liverpool completed a treble of trophies when they added yet another European Cup to the league title and League Cup. The final against AS Roma ended 1-1 and went to a penalty shoot-out, which Liverpool won.

Liverpool emerged trophy-less from the following season, and were banned from all European competition after the 1985 European Cup final at Heysel ended in rioting which caused the deaths of 39 Juventus fans. Though the result of the game was immaterial, Liverpool lost it 1-0. Hansen would never play a European tie again.
In 1986 Liverpool became only the third side in the 20th century to complete a League and FA Cup "double", following Tottenham in 1961 and Arsenal in 1971. Hansen lifted both trophies as captain and earned his first FA Cup winners' medal, thereby completing the domestic set.

In April 1989, after the Hillsborough disaster claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool fans, Hansen was among many Liverpool stars left distraught by the tragedy, attending 12 funerals and visiting the injured in hospital.

Hansen is regarded by many people as the most skilful centre half in the history of British football. Famous for breaking from defence to set up attacks, his game was majestic and he seemed to glide through games. He also represented Scotland 26 times as an international footballer.

For more than a decade now, Hansen has been employed as the main pundit for the BBC's football coverage and he is known as a calm, authoritative, and rational analyst of the game who is particularly keen on highlighting the triumphs and "diabolical" mistakes of defenders. There were strong rumours that Hansen would be approached to take over as manager of Liverpool after his former captain Graeme Souness left in 1994. However, he ruled himself out of the running, stating that despite his great affection for the club, he simply was not interested in coaching or management.

Away from football analysis, Hansen is a keen and talented golfer, playing off a handicap of three. He has hosted documentaries on the sport and worked at the Masters tournament for the BBC. He regularly writes for a national newspaper and has also built a good reputation as a motivational speaker.
Hansen was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2006. Hansen is married to Janet and has a son and a daughter.