Profile

Liverpool needed a tall striker up front and when Houllier was trying to build his own team, Erik Meijer seemed a sensible acquisition on a free transfer on the 1st of July, 1999.

Erik made more first-team appearances for Liverpool than many supporters realise in the 1999-2000 season, 21 in the League and a further three in the League cup, a competition that saw his only senior goals for the club, a brace in the less than luxurious surroundings of Boothferry Park, Hull. Only three more appearances followed in 2000-2001, all as a substitute, although he was on the bench for both legs of the UEFA cup tie with Rapid Bucharest. By the time that tie was played, it was clear that the manager was going to look elsewhere for his back-up striker options. Erik may have had limited abilities as a footballer but he had a never-say-die attitude that perhaps inspired better performances from others around him.

Erik had already been on the books of seven different clubs in Holland, Belgium and Germany before joining Liverpool. So it wasn't a surprise that he decided to return to mainland Europe and join Hamburg after being released by Liverpool. After a moderately successful spell at Hamburg (11 goals from 58 league matches), Meijer moved to Aachen, a town on the German/Dutch border close to the Limburg area of southern Holland where he had been born. His goals helped Alemannia Aachen to reach the German cup final in 2004, when despite defeat to Werder Bremen, his club was entered into the UEFA cup because Werder had already qualified for Europe as German champions that season. Erik was also a key player as Aachen returned to the top division of German football for the first time in 36 years. After that promotion, Erik retired as an active player shortly before his 37th birthday.

Erik became a bit of a 'cult' player amongst Liverpool supporters. despite his time on Merseyside being only brief. Whilst a Hamburg player, he travelled to Dortmund for Liverpool's UEFA cup final in 2001, where he was seen partying with many Reds before the match. In 2008 he was asked to become a patron of the newly-formed AFC Liverpool club, a position he immediately accepted.

Other Clubs:
Fortuna Sittard, Antwerp, FC Eindhoven, MVV Maastricht, PSV Eindhoven, KFC Uerdingen 05, Bayer Leverkusen, Preston (loan), Hamburg SV, Alemannia Aachen