Steffen Freund

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Steffen Freund

| image = 2017083205412 2017-03-24 Fussball U21 Deutschland vs England - Sven - 1D X II - 0222 - AK8I3035 mod.jpg

| caption = Freund in 2017

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1970|1|19}}

| birth_place = Brandenburg, East Germany

| height = 1.80 m

| position = Defensive midfielder

| currentclub =

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 = BSG Motor Süd Brandenburg

| youthyears2 = {{0|0000}}–1988

| youthclubs2 = BSG Stahl Brandenburg

| years1 = 1988–1991

| clubs1 = BSG Stahl Brandenburg

| caps1 = 57

| goals1 = 0

| years2 = 1991–1993

| clubs2 = Schalke 04

| caps2 = 53

| goals2 = 3

| years3 = 1993–1998

| clubs3 = Borussia Dortmund

| caps3 = 117

| goals3 = 6

| years4 = 1998–2003

| clubs4 = Tottenham Hotspur

| caps4 = 102

| goals4 = 0

| years5 = 2003–2004

| clubs5 = 1. FC Kaiserslautern

| caps5 = 9

| goals5 = 0

| years6 = 2004

| clubs6 = → Leicester City (loan)

| caps6 = 14

| goals6 = 0

| totalcaps = 352

| totalgoals = 9

| nationalyears1 = 1992

| nationalteam1 = Germany Olympic

| nationalcaps1 = 2

| nationalgoals1 = 0

| nationalyears2 = 1995–1998

| nationalteam2 = Germany

| nationalcaps2 = 21

| nationalgoals2 = 0

| manageryears1 = 2009–2012

| managerclubs1 = Germany U16

| manageryears2 = 2010–2011

| managerclubs2 = Germany U17

| manageryears3 = 2012–2014

| managerclubs3 = Tottenham Hotspur (assistant)

| medaltemplates = {{Medal|Sport|Men's football}}

{{MedalCountry|{{fb|GER}}}} (as player)

{{MedalCountry|{{fb|GER}}}} (as manager)

}}

Steffen Freund (born 19 January 1970) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder in both the German and English top flights. He was capped 21 times for his country and played a significant part in Germany's UEFA Euro 1996 winning campaign.

Club career

File:Steffen Freund 1990 (cropped).jpg in 1990]]

Freund started his career at Stahl Brandenburg, coming through their youth system. He has said that the Stasi made an unsuccessful attempt to recruit him as an informer during his time at the club.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/32917928 |title=Champions League final: Steffen Freund - How I resisted the Stasi |last1=Crossman |first1=Steve|date=4 June 2015 |website=bbc.co.uk|access-date=4 June 2015}} 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.{{Cite web | url = https://www.rsssf.org/players/sfreunddata.html | title = Steffen Freund - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga | first = Matthias | last = Arnhold | date = 14 April 2016 | access-date = 14 April 2016 | publisher = RSSSF}} 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.

In December 1998, Freund transferred to English Premiership club Tottenham Hotspur.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/these-football-times/2015/oct/19/steffen-freund-tottenham-hotspur-and-midfielders|title=Steffen Freund, Tottenham Hotspur and the changing role of central midfielders|website=The Guardian|date=19 October 2015|access-date=24 May 2020}}{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/3116499.stm |title=Freund joins Kaiserslautern |work=BBC Sport |date=1 August 2003 |access-date=10 May 2019 }} During his time with the London club, he won the League Cup in 1999, starting in the centre of midfield in Spurs's 1–0 win over Leicester City.{{cite web|url = http://www.spursodyssey.com/articles/wcfin1.html|title=Leicester 0 Spurs 1|work=Spursodyssey|access-date=7 October 2014}}{{cite web|url = http://www.lcfc.com/news/article/190314-twih-1999-league-cup-final-1431026.aspx|title=1999 League Cup Final|work=lcfc.com|access-date=7 October 2014}} He stayed at the club until 2003, and despite never scoring a goal in 131 appearances across all competitions, he became a firm fans favourite at the club for his heart, work ethic and commitment. On 4 December 2009, Freund was inducted into the Tottenham Hotspur hall of fame alongside Darren Anderton.{{cite web |title=Pair Join Hall Of Fame |url=https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news-archive-1/pair-join-hall-of-fame/ |website=tottenhamhotspur.com |access-date=23 January 2019}}

At the tail end of his career he went on to have short spells at 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Leicester City.

International career

Between 1995 and 1998, he won 21 caps for the Germany national team.{{Cite web | url = https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/sfreund-intl.html | title = Steffen Freund - International Appearances | first = Matthias | last = Arnhold | date = 14 April 2016 | access-date = 14 April 2016 | publisher = RSSSF}} He won UEFA Euro 1996 with Germany, where he missed out on a place in the final because of an injury in their semi-final win over England. He also appeared at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, where Germany fell at the quarter-final stage to Croatia; Freund was an unused substitute in the match.{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/france1998/matches/match/8783/#match-lineups|title=Germany 0-3 Croatia|website=FIFA|access-date=24 May 2020}}

Coaching career

On 1 September 2007, Freund was appointed assistant head-coach of the German U-20 team.{{Cite web |date=11 July 2012 |title=Freund to assist AVB |url=https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11675/7888967/freund-to-assist-avb |access-date=3 January 2025 |website=Sky Sports}}

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 2011 UEFA European U-17 Football Championship and a third place at the World Cup in Mexico. He then started working with the new generation of U-16 players. On 11 July 2012, Freund was appointed assistant head coach of Tottenham Hotspur. On 5 August 2014 he was appointed International Technical Coordinator.{{cite web|title=Club Announcement: Steffen Returns|url=http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/spurs/News/club-announcement-110712.page?|publisher=Tottenham Hotspur | access-date = 11 July 2012 | date = 11 July 2012}}

On 21 April 2017, while on Sky Sports, Freund stated that he was not interested in getting back into coaching. He instead was enjoying the freedom from pressure which he was experiencing as a pundit.{{fact|date=May 2020}}

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 2011–12 season, Freund began working as a pundit for Eurosport's coverage of the German Bundesliga and Sky Deutschland. He is also a co-commentator for the English world feed of the Bundesliga.{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesliga.com/en/news/Bundesliga/0000311866.jsp|title=DFL Co-commentator profile: Steffen Freund

|website=Bundesliga|access-date=24 May 2020}}

Personal life

Freund is married and has one son and two daughters. His son, Niklas, was as a football goalkeeper for SV Empor Berlin FC, having previously played for VCD Athletic and Redbridge,[https://www.fussball.de/newsdetail/niklas-freund-ohne-papa-auf-der-insel/-/article-id/159909#!/ Niklas Freund: Ohne Papa auf der Insel] before switched over in May 2018 to American football as Wide receiver for the Berlin Bears, Berlin Adler Academy and currently at Berlin Rebels in the German Football League.[https://www.potsdamroyals.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Stadionheft_13_07_2022_web.pdf Vom Fußball in England zum American Football in der GFL. Wide Receiver Niklas Freund #5! ]

Honours

Borussia Dortmund

Tottenham Hotspur

Football League Cup: 1998–99{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/300408.stm |title=Nielsen nicks it for Spurs |website=BBC Sport |date=22 March 1999 |access-date=30 March 2024}}

Germany

European Championship: 1996

Individual

Tottenham Hotspur Hall of Fame: December 2009 Inductee{{Cite web |url=http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/hall-of-fame-41-legends-201114/ |title=Hall of Fame – 41 Legends |date=20 November 2014 |publisher=Tottenham Hotspur Football Club|access-date=30 June 2018}}

References

External links

{{Fussballdaten|freundsteffen}}
{{WorldFootball.net|steffen-freund}}
{{NFT|14282}}
[http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/coaching-staff/steffen-freund/ Steffen Freund] at tottenhamhotspur.com

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Category:Living people

Category:1970 births

Category:Sportspeople from Brandenburg an der Havel

Category:Men's association football midfielders

Category:Premier League players