It's strange knowing what we know now, but on this day in 1999, German international Thomas Helmer completed his move to Sunderland. The 34-year-old central defender had only weeks prior been in the Bayern Munich squad that were beaten by Manchester United in the Champions League final.
He'd also played in two World Cups for his country, and Peter Reid stated he'd bring "invaluable experience" to his squad.
Helmer moved from Bayern Munich on a Bosman free transfer and immediately joined his new teammates for the tour in Denmark. Before Bayern, Helmer had spells with Arminia Bielefeld and Borussia Dortmund, so the move to Wearside was his first outside of Germany as he talked about his move:
I am looking forward to joining my team-mates in Denmark and helping Sunderland do well in the Premiership next season. I could have joined Liverpool six months ago but felt that the time was not right for me or my family.
As soon as I heard of Sunderland's interest I came straight over and was very impressed with the Stadium of Light and what the manager had to say