Tottenham cult hero Christian Ziege won Euro 96 and played in World Cup final, was part of Liverpool’s treble-winning squad but was ‘close to dying’ after red card

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He won three league titles, two UEFA Cups, an FA Cup, a League Cup, a European Championship and played in a World Cup final but Christian Ziege is one of those players that gets somewhat lost in the annals of football history.

The former full-back played in the Premier League for five years at Middlesbrough, Liverpool and Tottenham, while also representing European giants Bayern Munich and AC Milan before his time in England – its an impressive CV.

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talkSPORT.com takes a look back at the career of Ziege, who’s life was nearly ended by what appeared to be an innocuous injury

Being German, he unsurprisingly enjoyed success on the international stage, winning Euro 96.

Ziege tournament was eventful, netting in Germany’s opening match, scored a penalty in their nerve-shredding semi-final against England and started the final.

He would also feature in the 2002 World Cup final where Germany narrowly lost to one of the great Brazil sides, spearheaded by all-time great Ronaldo.

Ziege’s time at Boro was short-lived but a huge success and he, eventually, got a move to Liverpool after just one season at the Riverside Stadium.

It was later deemed by the Football Association that the Reds made an illegal approach for the player, which resulted in a £20,000 fine for the club and a £10,000 fine for Ziege himself.

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Ziege scored twice and got six assists in 32 appearances for Liverpool, a decent return for a defender

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But Gerard Houllier didn’t appear to be be impressed by Ziege’s attacking prowess

All that expenditure would seem worth it on paper given Ziege was part of the Liverpool squad for their incredible treble-winning season in 2000/01.

The reality is he contributed little towards it. He made a cameo appearance in their League Cup final victory but wasn’t in Liverpool’s matchday squads for their FA Cup and UEFA Cup triumphs.

It’s been suggested that Ziege’s ability to get forward may have worked against him at Anfield, with Gerard Houllier preferring a rigid but solid defence. The right-footed Jamie Carragher was even played in Ziege’s preferred left-back position at points.

Ziege then joined Tottenham and although he made just 54 appearances in three years at the club, fans will always love him for his stunning free-kick against Arsenal in December 2002.

And Ziege retains a lot of love for the Lilywhites too.

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Ziege’s true free-kick earned Tottenham a creditable 1-1 draw against a formidable Arsenal side

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Ziege also scored in the 2002 League Cup final, a match Spurs lost

Ziege’s career though, went from high to low in dramatic circumstances.

Just 11 days after that famous goal against Arsenal, Ziege was sent off in a Boxing Day clash at home to Charlton but it was a thigh injury he sustained during the match that proved to be the far bigger concern.

“I was close to dying,” he told Four Four Two.

“I got a knock on my thigh. It wasn’t a big kick but my leg swelled up really badly after the match. I was in massive, massive pain.

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Ziege was sent off in the 90th minute

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But a much bigger setback was just around the corner for him

“My wife told me to call the doctor but it was Boxing Day and I said, ‘I can’t call him now.’

“My wife called him and he said we have to look at the pressure inside the leg and I should go to hospital.

“They operated on me, and I can’t remember too much about the next few days because they put me on a lot of medication.

“They told me if we’d left it another 30 or 45 minutes, they would have had to cut off the leg as otherwise I would have died.

“It was so scary and I had to have another operation five months later because the muscle was dead. They had to take it out and I had to start again.”

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The highlight of Ziege’s career was surely winning Euro 96. No one can take his medals away from him

Ziege was sidelined for 11 months and although he made appearances for Spurs after, his injuries ultimately resulted in the termination of his contract being mutually agreed in 2004.

He returned to his homeland to sign for Borussia Monchengladbach before retiring from the game in 2005 aged 33 and moved into coaching.

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January 30, 2022 at 03:00PM Premier League Football Fixtures and Results - talkSPORT https://ift.tt/LeXs8DZtu