Throughout his career, he has played for Bayern Munich, Newcastle United, Liverpool and Manchester City primarily in a defensive midfield position. He also spent time at Milton Keynes Dons as a player/coach before joining Leicester City as a first team coach. He was a member of the German national team from 1997 until 2006 and represented his nation in two FIFA World Cups and two UEFA European Championships, reaching the 2002 FIFA World Cup Final. He is known in Ireland as a football pundit on Raidió Teilifís Éireann's live coverage of major European and International competitions.