Five minutes with... Steffen Freund

Steffen Freund, 52, won just about everything with Borussia Dortmund and Germany including the Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League and Euro 96.

A member of Germany’s 1998 World Cup squad, the midfielder arrived at Spurs in late December, 1998, making his debut against Sheffield Wednesday in January, 1999, before playing Wimbledon five times! Two of those games were in the semi-final of the League Cup, and Steffen went on to help us lift the trophy against Leicester City at Wembley just two months after joining us.

A firm fans’ favourite, Steffen later recovered from a serious knee injury to make 131 appearances in all competitions before departing back to Germany and FC Kaiserslautern in 2003. He would later return as part of Andre Villas-Boas’ coaching team in 2012.

In recent years, he’s turned to media duties where he’s a popular pundit and co-commentator for the likes of RTL/Nitro, the DFL, Servus TV in Austria and Sportcast DFB-Pokal, on top of being a Technical Observer for UEFA.

How are you today, Steffen?

Steffen: “I’m very well, working as a pundit and co-commentator on different channels in different countries, most of the job is in Germany for RTL, doing the Europa League. I do the Champions League for Servus TV in Austria, the Bundelsiga for the DFL world feed, in English, and sometimes I work for UEFA as a Technical Observer.”

Tell us about Eintracht Frankfurt...

Steffen: “I think something changed two or three years ago at Eintracht Frankfurt, the mentality. I can compare it to what Antonio Conte is doing now at Spurs, bringing the mentality so the players are ready to work at the highest level, you go into games with the belief that no-one can beat you, everyone is running, everyone is working hard. Eintracht Frankfurt is a team with one of the best work rates in the Bundesliga, it’s top class, and maybe that’s why they won the Europa League last season, they are so strong. They were also unbeaten – don’t forget, in 2019 they lost in the semi-finals of the Europa League against Chelsea, having been the better side. That was the first really good season from Frankfurt. Now, they are in the Champions League for the first time because they won the Europa League, and they won the Europa League through that mentality. That’s the danger for Tottenham on Wednesday night. They drop deep, press high and try to score in transition.”

Will Mario Gotze's return make a difference?

Steffen: “Gotze had a really good start to the season. He missed the game in Frankfurt but returned against Vfl Bochum at the weekend. With the ball, he’s one of the best players around, and he’s really fit now, he played a lot of games during his time at PSV, so he’s back to full fitness. He will help Frankfurt, because he will look to play the final pass, Hojbjerg and Bentancur will have to be wary, because Gotze can still make the difference.”

What do you remember about your Spurs debut?

Steffen: “It was Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough (9 January, 1999). I only had one training session, but George Graham said to me, ‘okay, you will start at Hillsborough’. I can remember it was 0-0 and, at that time, I have to be honest, both teams were strong, no time on the ball, I was always running and trying to push for the second ball, then back to protect the defence and, after 60 minutes, I couldn’t move!”

What is your favourite memory at Spurs?

Steffen: “To win silverware and that’s good to mention now with Antonio Conte, because we have a good chance of doing it again. In my time, when I signed in late December, 1998, that was my dream. George Graham told me we would soon play the semi-final of the League Cup against Wimbledon, a tough, tough task at that time. They were strong, a difficult opponent. We beat them, now we would play at Wembley, but the important thing is to win at Wembley. We did it, two months a Spurs player and already a winner. That was my dream, and we did it after two months.”

What does Tottenham Hotspur mean to you?

Steffen: “The Club will always hold a special place in my heart. I had a dream that, one day, I could play abroad. After playing in Euro 96, that dream was the Premier League. Then the chance came for me to play for Tottenham Hotspur, one of the traditional top five big teams in England. For me, a dream came true. I played for good clubs, like Borussia Dortmund. Spurs was something special from the moment I signed my contract, and that feeling is the same today. That will never change.”

What are you up to later?

Steffen: “The main game on Servus TV tomorrow evening is Spurs against Frankfurt, so I will be the pundit for that game. I will go in the office later and prepare myself, both teams, so the people watching will know everything about these two teams. I will also wear my 1999 League Cup Final shirt!”

We caught up with Steffen on Tuesday afternoon. Follow him via steffenfreund.com or @SteffenFreund on Twitter.