A terrific vision of the game, strong in one-on-one duels, a good right-footed shot, strong in defence and in attack - the whole of Germany and the football world know what Torsten Frings has to offer on the pitch.

bundesliga.de takes a look behind the scenes...

"Lollipop"

Nicknames belong to football like goalkeepers and tacklings, but only a few people know where they come from. Torsten Frings is nicknamed "Lutscher" (english: lollipop), and he reveals why: "That's thanks to Andreas Herzog who played for Werder during my first spell with the club. I was 20 years old and quite cheeky to the older players. The team-mates adopted his nickname, and I never got rid of it afterwards."

Alemannia Aachen

Torsten Frings and Werder Bremen - a very close affair. But it was with Alemannia Aachen the midfielder made his first steps in the football world with. "That was back in the Regional League", Frings remembers. "I still go to the Tivoli nowadays to watch Alemannia."

22

Torsten Frings wears the shirt number 22 since permanent shirt numbers have been introduced in the Bundesliga. The two reasons: he was born on November 22 1976, and he got married on a 22nd as well.

Tattoos

When the temperatures rise and the longsleeves disappear from the training ground, you can spot Torsten Frings' tattos. He chooses them together with a friend, who also does the tattoos.

Raccoon

Torsten Frings is known for loving animals. Dogs, cats, horses, ponies - the Frings family has them all. Not that extraordinary, but the "Frings Zoo" also was home to a raccoon once. "That was on impulse. I read in a Berlin paper that someone offered baby raccoons, tame and domesticated. And I thought 'hey, why not'?" By now the raccoon is with friends of the Bremen star.

Hold'Em Poker

The Werder fans were in for a real surprise when Frings appeared on TV, playing poker in the "TV total PokerStars.de Nacht". And the midfielder proved that he is a real expert at the poker table, too.

Cross country vehicle

The car lover bought a Hummer H2 during his spell with Borussia Dortmund. He stated on his homepage that he had always wanted to buy a cross country vehicle. "It may take some getting used to and some may think I need to show it off, but the car is great!" Maybe not that great - by now Frings has sold it on.

Muhammad Ali

"The most important sports character of all times" - according to Frings - is the legendary Muhammad Ali. The Bremen star has internalised Ali's will power and shows that on the pitch in every match. The best footballers, according to Frings, are "Kaka and Ronaldinho".