Steffen Freund

Steffen Freund

Personal information
Date of birth	19 January 1970 (1970-01-19)
Place of birth	Brandenburg, East Germany
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Defensive Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Germany U-16 (Manager)
Youth career
	BSG Motor Süd Brandenburg
0000–1989	BSG Stahl Brandenburg
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1989–1991	BSG Stahl Brandenburg	31	(0)
1991–1993	Schalke 04	53	(3)
1993–1998	Borussia Dortmund	117	(6)
1998–2003	Tottenham Hotspur	102	(0)
2003–2004	1. FC Kaiserslautern	9	(0)
2004	→ Leicester City (loan)	14	(0)
Total		326	(9)
National team
1992	Germany Olympic	2	(0)
1995–1998	Germany	21	(0)
Teams managed
2009–	Germany U-16
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Steffen Freund (born 19 January 1970 in Brandenburg) is a German former professional football player. He played as a defensive midfielder. He is currently the manager of the German Under 16 football team.

Career

He started his career at Stahl Brandenburg, coming through their youth system. In 1991 he was transferred to FC Schalke 04 and he established himself as an important midfield player. Schalke were forced to sell Freund due to financial reasons in 1993 to Borussia Dortmund where he stayed until 1998. During his time at Dortmund, he won the league twice in 1995 and 1996 and gained a Champions League medal in 1997, but was left out of the squad for the final altogether. After this he transferred to English premiership club Tottenham Hotspur where he stayed until 2003 and is famous for having never scored a goal. He did however win the League Cup with Spurs in 1999. He was a firm fans favourite at the club for his work ethic and commitment. At the tail end of his career he went on to have short spells at 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Leicester City. On 4 December 2009, Freund was inducted into the Tottenham Hotspur hall of fame alongside Darren Anderton. Although not one of the club's greatest players Steffen was a cult hero.

International career

Between 1995 and 1998, he won 21 caps for the German national team. He won UEFA Euro 1996 with Germany and also competed in the FIFA World Cup 1998.

Coaching career

On 1 September 2007 Freund was appointet assistant head-coach of the German U-20 team. On 5 December 2007, he was named as a new assistant to Nigeria coach Berti Vogts for the time of the African Nations Cup. He then resumed his work as assistant to german U20-manager Frank Engel. In May 2009 he finished his coaching badges and on 17 July 2009 he was appointed manager of the German U-16 team signing a two-year contract. A year later he began managing the German U-17 team leading them to a runners up medal at the and a third place at the World Cup in Mexico. He then started working with the new generation of U-16 players.

Television career

In 2006 he appeared alongside Boris Becker in a special England v. Germany edition of the popular panel show They Think It's All Over. At the start of the 2011/2012 season Freund began working as a expert for Eurosport coverage of the German Bundesliga and the german edition of pay-tv channel Sky.

Personal

Freund is married with one son and two daughters and currently lives in the town of Potsdam.

Career honours

• Bundesliga: 1994–95, 1995–96
• European Championship: 1996
• UEFA Champions League: 1996–97
• Intercontinental Cup: 1997
• Football League Cup: 1999