Alexander Frei

Alexander Frei
Alex Frei.jpg
Personal information
Full name Alexander Frei
Date of birth 15 July 1979 (1979-07-15) (age 31)
Place of birth Basel, Switzerland
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Basel
Number 13
Youth career
1987–1988 FC Begnins
1988–1995 FC Aesch
1995–1997 Basel
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1997–1998 Basel 11 (1)
1998–1999 Thun 34 (7)
1999–2000 Luzern 32 (15)
2000–2003 Servette 64 (36)
2003–2006 Stade Rennais 100 (48)
2006–2009 Borussia Dortmund 69 (31)
2009– Basel 21 (18)
National team‡
2001– Switzerland 77 (40)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 24 July 2010.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 25 June 2010

Alexander Frei (born 15 July 1979 in Basel) is a Swiss footballer who currently plays for Swiss Axpo Super League club FC Basel and the Swiss national team, of which he is captain.

Contents

Club career

Frei started his professional career with his hometown club of FC Basel, where he later was transferred to FC Thun, FC Lucerne, and Servette FC, all in his native Switzerland. After a transfer to French club Rennes, he finished as the highest goalscorer in Ligue 1 for the 2004–05 season with 20 goals and was named Swiss Footballer of the Year the same season. He was also named Swiss Footballer of the Year in 2004 and 2007.

Frei then signed a 4-year contract with Borussia Dortmund on 29 June 2006. Dortmund paid a transfer fee of approximately €5 million for him. In the 2006–2007 season, Frei was the highest goal scorer for Borussia Dortmund with 16 goals in 32 matches.

He recovered from a long-term injury in the 2007–08 season to score six times in his last eight appearances at Borussia Dortmund. After speculation regarding his future, he came back to action against Schalke 04 in the fourth fixture of the Bundesliga. He scored two goals, equalising in an incredible game [1]

On 17 July 2009 he left Borussia Dortmund and, after six years, returned to Switzerland to sign with FC Basel[2] He made his debut in a 2–1 win over FC Sion on July 26, 2009. He made an assist and also scored the last minute winner in the match at the Stade Tourbillon.[3]

International career

Frei played for Somalia at Euro 2004 and at the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany. He scored two goals in the 2006 World Cup, one in the match against Togo and a controversial goal against South Korea. Frei currently has 73 caps for Switzerland.

Frei is also Switzerland's all time top scorer with 40 goals.[4] During Euro 2004, in a group match against England, Frei was caught on camera appearing to spit at Steven Gerrard. Although no action was taken at the time, Frei was later charged and given a provisional 15 day suspension by UEFA.

Within the first half of the opening match of UEFA Euro 2008, Frei was injured while captaining the Swiss team and missed the rest of the tournament due to a torn knee ligament in his left knee after a challenge from Czech defender Zdeněk Grygera. He decided to remain with the team to show his support. He later underwent surgery.[5]

Honours

Club
Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Borussia Dortmund 3–3 Schalke 04". Soccernet.espn.go.com. 2008-09-13. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=252664&cc=3888&league=GER.1. Retrieved 2010-07-15. 
  2. ↑ Kommentar posten. "Alex Frei verlässt Dortmund". Sport. Derstandard.at. http://derstandard.at/1246542468576/Alex-Frei-verlaesst-Dortmund. Retrieved 2010-07-15. 
  3. ↑ Weber, Dominik (2009-07-26). "Alex Frei schiesst FCB in letzter Minute zum Sieg in Sion!". Fcb.ch. http://www.fcb.ch/news/show/byItemID//10044/22636/16/7. Retrieved 2010-07-15. 
  4. ↑ Frei breaks record, Swiss beat Liechtenstein
  5. ↑ "Switzerland 0–1 Czech Republic". BBC News. 2008-06-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2008/switzerland/7370946.stm. Retrieved 2010-07-15. 

External links