Former Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur star Christian Ziege has returned to football for the first time since the death of his wife last year.
Ziege, 53, has undertaken a coaching role at Bundesliga club Borussia Monchengladbach, where he retired as a player in 2005.
The German, who played for Liverpool in 2000-01 before representing Tottenham between 2001 and 2004, has joined as an assistant coach for the German club's U17 side and led his first training session on Wednesday evening alongside head coach Denis Hauswald.
Ziege took an extended break from football after his wife Pia passed away last year, having already not worked in a coaching role since 2022 when he left Austrian club FC Pinzgau Saalfelden.
He has now decided he is ready to return to the game, which lost its importance following the difficult period emotionally.
'After the death of my wife Pia, whom I had previously cared for around the clock, it took me a while until football regained the same importance for me as before,' he explained to German outlet Bild.
'I simply thought I'd approach the club and say that I would very much like to work again in the area I know best.'
'I'm really looking forward to it,' Ziege added. 'What connects me most to Borussia is that I was given the opportunity to start my second career here.'
Ziege's coaching career began at Borussia Monchengladbach following his early retirement at the age of 33.
He operated in multiple roles from interim manager to director of football between 2006 and 2010, before taking on a brief managerial stint at Arminia Bielefield.
Between 2011 and 2014, he was a head coach for various youth teams in the German national set-up and later worked as a manager in Spain, Thailand and Austria.
Ziege announced in November 2024 that his wife Pia had died following a long battle with 'a serious illness'.
The ex-Tottenham, Liverpool and Middlesbrough player paid tribute to her three months later by sharing a heartbreaking post on Instagram, which included a black and white photo of his wife and a caption: 'Still don’t get it.'
Ziege announced Pia's death back that month, writing: 'Our world has stood still since November 4th. Pia has closed her eyes forever after a long and serious illness.
'We would like to thank everyone who has walked this long and difficult path with us, as well as for the great sympathy and compassion. Pia, you will live on forever in our hearts.'
'And there are always traces of your life, thoughts, pictures, moments. They will remind us of you, make us happy and sad and never let us forget you.'
The former football star and Pia had been married since 1997. They have two children, Alessandro and Maria. Pia also had another daughter, Katharina, from a previous marriage.
Ziege had previously revealed that his wife helped save his life by persuading him to go to hospital quickly for emergency surgery after he suffered a blot clot in his leg when playing for Spurs in 2002.