I played in Liverpool Carabao Cup final - but manager never spoke to me so I joined Tottenham
This former Liverpool star cited his relationship with Gerard Houllier as his primary reason for leaving the club prematurely
Christian Ziege says his breakdown in relations with ex-manager Gerard Houllier led him to leave Liverpool for Tottenham, the Reds' Carabao Cup opponents on Tuesday night. The German joined Liverpool from Middlesbrough in the summer of 2000.
His transfer was contentious to say the least. Liverpool were accused by Middlesbrough of an illegal approach before they activated the full-back's £5.5million release clause.
It was only in March 2004 that details emerged about a discreet settlement between the two clubs over compensation. It was agreed on just before the dispute was set to be heard in court.
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It was hardly worth all the turmoil as Ziege, now 54, made just 32 appearances for Liverpool. One of those came as a substitute in the 2001 League Cup final against Birmingham City, a game the Reds won on penalties as part of their memorable treble that season.
Ziege, while full of respect for Liverpool, previously admitted the move was the wrong one for him at the time. "It was really a big mess, and I didn't like it at all," Ziege said in 2017.
"It was a bad time, I don't like to speak about that move. I didn't really know what was going on. Everyone was fighting and blaming people, and I didn't know anything about it as people behind the scenes were talking and trying to get me to sign for Liverpool.
"I'm not like that. I prefer to say, 'Okay, if I can't go, I'll stay'. It affected me a lot because questions always came up about it, and people from Middlesbrough were not happy, which I understand. I made the wrong decision."
Ziege had stints at Bayern Munich and AC Milan before joining Boro, but struggled to settle at Anfield. He ultimately failed to solve the club's left-back issues and was eventually replaced by Jamie Carragher, who cemented his place in the Liverpool first XI from there on out.
He cites his communication, or the lack of it, with the late Houllier as a major issue. "Liverpool, a massive club with a massive stadium and history. But unfortunately, I had some problems there, problems with the manager. He never talked to me," he said.
"There was no relationship. I was training hard and I asked all the assistant coaches, and my team-mates. 'What am I doing wrong? What can I do better? Do I have to train more?'
"Everybody said, 'No, you're doing everything you should do and you're training well'. He never told me (why I wasn't playing). There was no relationship between him as a manager and me as a player."
Ziege continued: "I realised it was a bad move because I really enjoyed my time playing for Boro. Liverpool were in the UEFA Cup, which we ended up winning that year. We won the FA Cup and the League Cup, and qualified for the Champions League, so it was a great season.
"However, it was the wrong decision, football-wise. I didn't play enough. The League Cup final at the Millennium Stadium was amazing. I came on for the penalties at the end I guess that was why I got brought on! But I didn't even get on the bench for the UEFA Cup final in Dortmund and that was a tough one to take but that's football."
After contributing two goals in his short stint at Anfield, Ziege moved to Spurs for £4m in 2001. Injuries blighted his development, however, leading to just 55 appearances for Spurs across three seasons before he retired in 2005 with Borussia Monchengladbach.