Christian Ziege (born February 1, 1972 in Berlin) is a former German football defender and midfielder. With the German national team, Ziege won Euro 96. An attacking left wingback, Ziege was considered a dead-ball specialist.[1]
[edit] Playing career
[edit] Club career
At club level, Ziege played for Bayern Munich (1990–97), Milan (1997–99) and Middlesbrough (1999–2000). In summer 2000 Liverpool F.C. made a £5.5m bid which exactly matched a get-out clause in Ziege's contract. Middlesbrough insisted they had received offers in excess of £8m for Ziege, but were forced contractually to allow Ziege to talk to Liverpool, who then signed him.[2] He made his debut for Liverpool in a 3-2 home win over Manchester City on 9 September 2000, replacing Steven Gerrard in the second half. A combination of knee injuries and the improving form of Jamie Carragher,[3] meant he was transferred to Tottenham Hotspur after one year and 32 appearances in all competitions. He came on as a substitute and subsequently scored in the shootout as Liverpool won the 2001 Football League Cup Final, but he was injured for Liverpool's victorious FA Cup and UEFA Cup Finals of that season. He scored two goals during his spell at Liverpool: against Leeds in the league[4] and Stoke in the League Cup.[5]
On 14 March 2002, Liverpool were fined £20,000 by The Football Association for making an illegal approach for Ziege, while the player himself was fined £10,000.[6] Whilst at Spurs he scored in the 2002 Football League Cup Final but he ended up on the losing side. However, by this time Ziege's injury problems were escalating, and by 2004 his contract was terminated by mutual consent so he could return to Germany.
Ziege returned to Germany with Borussia Mönchengladbach in June 2004,[7] but announced his retirement in October 2005, having not played since the previous December due to a persistent ankle injury.[8]
Ziege's club career allowed him to play in cross-city derbies in Munich (versus TSV 1860), Liverpool (versus Everton), Milan (versus Inter) and London (versus Arsenal and Chelsea); a unique achievement in the modern game.[citation needed]
[edit] International career
Ziege was capped 72 times for Germany, scoring nine goals. Other than the Euro 96 win, he also played for his country at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups (during which he played the final game and sported a rather amusing mohawk), as well as Euro 2000 (he was a member of the Euro 2004 squad, but didn't play).
[edit] Statistics
[9]
[10]
| Germany national team |
| Year |
Apps |
Goals |
| 1993 |
7 |
0 |
| 1994 |
0 |
0 |
| 1995 |
6 |
1 |
| 1996 |
14 |
2 |
| 1997 |
7 |
0 |
| 1998 |
7 |
1 |
| 1999 |
4 |
3 |
| 2000 |
9 |
1 |
| 2001 |
9 |
0 |
| 2002 |
8 |
1 |
| 2003 |
0 |
0 |
| 2004 |
1 |
0 |
| Total |
72 |
9 |
[edit] International goals
| # |
Date |
Venue |
Opponent |
Score |
Result |
Competition |
| 1. |
6 September 1995 |
Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, Germany |
 Georgia |
2–1
|
4–1
|
UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying |
| 2. |
4 June 1996 |
Carl-Benz-Stadion, Mannheim, Germany |
 Liechtenstein |
9–1
|
5–1
|
Friendly |
| 3. |
9 June 1996 |
Old Trafford, Manchester, England |
 Czech Republic |
1–0
|
2–0
|
UEFA Euro 1996 |
| 4. |
25 March 1998 |
Carl-Benz-Stadion, Mannheim, Germany |
 Luxembourg |
7–0
|
7–0
|
Friendly |
| 5. |
8 September 1999 |
Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany |
 Northern Ireland |
2–0
|
4–0
|
UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 6. |
8 September 1999 |
Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany |
Northern Ireland |
3–0
|
4–0
|
UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 7. |
8 September 1999 |
Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany |
Northern Ireland |
4–0
|
4–0
|
UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 8. |
23 February 2000 |
Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands |
 Netherlands |
1–1
|
1–2
|
Friendly |
| 9. |
27 March 2002 |
Ostseestadion, Rostock, Germany |
 United States |
1–1
|
4–2
|
Friendly |
[edit] Managerial career
Following retirement from the game due to injury in October 2005, Ziege picked up his UEFA diploma for coaching. In 2006 he moved into coaching with his last professional club, Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he was named head coach of the club's Under-17 team, succeeding Thomas Schumacher. In 2006-07 the club's U17 team had won ten out of seventeen matches with Ziege in charge when, in March 2007, he was handed the role of Director of Football at the club, as the replacement for the outgoing Peter Pander.[11] At the time of his appointment, with ten matches to go until the end of the season, Mönchengladbach were at the bottom of the Bundesliga, with five points between them and safety. On 15 December 2008 Ziege left Borussia Mönchengladbach. On 26 May 2010 the former head coach, assistant coach and director of football from Borussia Mönchengladbach signed a contract as head coach of Arminia Bielefeld.[12] However, his managerial career got off to a poor start with Bielefeld only picking up three points from a single win from eight games. This being the worst start to a Bielefeld season in twenty-three years. Ziege was released from his post as manager of Arminia on the 6th of November 2010 after a 3-0 defeat away at FC Augsburg.
[edit] Career honours
[edit] Honours as player
with Bayern Munich
with AC Milan
with Liverpool
with Tottenham Hotspur
with Germany
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Persondata |
| Name |
Ziege, Christian |
| Alternative names |
|
| Short description |
Footballer |
| Date of birth |
February 1, 1972 |
| Place of birth |
Berlin, Germany |
| Date of death |
|
| Place of death |
|
Georgia
Liechtenstein
Czech Republic
Luxembourg
Northern Ireland
Netherlands
United States
