Five... Germans to play for Spurs

Continuing our 'five' series, and ahead of our UEFA Champions League fixture against Eintracht Frankfurt at Deutsche Bank Park this evening (8pm UK, 9pm local), we take a look at five Germans to pull on our famous lilywhite shirt, going all the way back to 1908!

Max Seeburg, 1907–1909

One appearance in the Football League

We fielded our first German-born player all the way back in 1907. Max Seeburg was here for 17 months, scored five goals in 15 games in our final Southern League campaign and made a single appearance - at Hull City on 26 September, 1908 - in our first season of Football League action. That appearance is believed to have been the first by an overseas player in the history of the Football League. Born in Leipzig in 1884, Max also had spells at Tottenham Park, Cheshunt, Chelsea, Burnley, Grimsby Town and Reading. A carpenter by trade, Max also ran a pub in Reading prior to the First World War. He was interned in a concentration camp for a few weeks in October/November, 1914. He was later enlisted into the Army and during January, 1920, while working as a club steward and resident in Reading, he was given a certificate of naturalization and granted British citizenship. He went on to utilise his original skills as a cabinet maker in later life and passed away at a residential home at Thatcham, Newbury in January, 1972.

Jurgen Klinsmann, 1994/95, 1997/98

68 appearances, 38 goals

One of the biggest coups in the Club's history, Jurgen's arrival stirred the attention of the footballing world in the summer of 1994. A world-class striker but also a fantastic character off the pitch, Jurgen responded to claims of him being a 'diver' with his infamous dive celebration after scoring on his debut at Sheffield Wednesday that August, a celebration he repeated after scoring on his home debut against Everton. He went on to score 29 goals in 1994/95, striking up a lethal partnership with Teddy Sheringham, who weighed in with 23 as Ossie Ardiles put together his 'famous five' - Klinsmann, Sheringham, Darren Anderton, Nick Barmby and Ilie Dumitrescu. World Cup winner in 1990 and Euro 96 winner with Germany, Jurgen began his career at Stuttgart Kickers in 1981 and had spells at VfB Stuttgart, Inter and Monaco before his 1994/95 campaign at Spurs, where he was named FWA Footballer of the Year. He moved to Bayern Munich and the Sampdoria before returning to Spurs for the second half of 1997/98, when a four-goal haul in a 6-2 win at Wimbledon in May, 1998, helped stave off the threat of relegation. He later played for Sampdoria and Orange County Blue Star before managing Germany, Bayern Munich, the USA and Hertha Berlin.

Steffen Freund, 1999-2003

131 appearances

A central midfielder with plenty of bite on the pitch, a cult hero off it, Steffen arrived at Spurs in January, 1998 having won the lot at Borussia Dortmund - back to back Bundesliga titles, DFB Supercup, UEFA Champions League in 1997 - and happy memories of England as part of Germany's Euro 96 winning squad. Within a few months of his time in N17, he'd played Wimbledon five times and won the League Cup! A driving force in George Graham's side, Steffen's job was to win the ball and pass it on to the likes of Darren Anderton, David Ginola, Jurgen Klinsmann, Les Ferdinand and Teddy Sheringham. He recovered from a serious knee injury in 2002 to take his appearance tally to 131 before departing for FC Kaiserslautern in 2003. Born in East Germany, Steffen began his career at Stahl Brandenburg and Schalke before his success at Borussia Dortmund. He would later return to the Club as first team coach in 2012.

Christian Ziege, 2001–04

55 appearances, 10 goals

Another member of Germany's Euro 96 squad, Ziege was famed for his 'wand' of a left foot, seen at its best when he lined up a free-kick from 35 yards against Arsenal in December, 2002. The result? A Gazza-like execution, as Ziege curled his strike from a central area into the top right corner. "Oh wow," bellowed the commentator. "What a stunner!" Christian, the first player to feature in a World Cup Final as a Spurs player in 2002, also scored in the 2002 League Cup Final, only for us to lose to Blackburn in Cardiff. His time here took a turn for the worse on Boxing Day, 2002, when what seemed like a routine 'dead leg' saw his thigh muscle swell up dangerously - known as 'decompartmentalisation' of the muscle - and he needed emergency surgery. He later moved back to Germany with Borussia Mönchengladbach, but only played another 14 times. Born in West Berlin, he made his name at Bayern Munich before moving to Inter and then England, with spells at Middlesbrough and Liverpool. He's also coached in Germany, Spain, Thailand and is now with Pinzgau Saalfelden in Austria.

Watch - Ziege's stunner!

Lewis Holtby, 2013–15

42 appearances, 3 goals

An energetic midfielder, Lewis was born and raised on the German border with the Netherlands in the town of Erkelenz and kicked off his footballing education with Borussia Mönchengladbach. After a spell at Alemannia Aachen, he caught the eye at Schalke, who completed two top four finishes in the Bundesliga and made it to the quarter-finals of the Europa League in 2012. He arrived at Spurs under Andre Villas-Boas in January, 2013, and soon became a popular figure with our fanbase at the Lane, the highlight, a belter to secure a Premier League win at Fulham. However, Lewis was soon back at Craven Cottage on loan and after a few appearances under Mauricio Pochettino, returned to Germany and Hamburg in 2015. Capped three times by Germany, Lewis was back in England and played 56 times for Blackburn Rovers, 2019-2021 before returning to Germany again, this time for Holstein Kiel in 2 Bundesliga.