Rob Friend

Rob Friend

Personal information
Full name	Robert Douglas Friend
Date of birth	(1981-01-23) 23 January 1981
Place of birth	Rosetown, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Los Angeles Galaxy
Number	16
Youth career
1999–2000	Western Michigan Broncos
2001–2002	UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2004	Moss	41	(16)
2004–2006	Molde	40	(14)
2006–2007	Heerenveen	19	(5)
2007	→ Heracles Almelo (loan)	12	(3)
2007–2010	Borussia Mönchengladbach	83	(28)
2010–2011	Hertha BSC	25	(5)
2011–2014	Eintracht Frankfurt	13	(1)
2012	Eintracht Frankfurt II	1	(2)
2013–2014	→ 1860 Munich (loan)	22	(5)
2014–	Los Angeles Galaxy	0	(0)
National team‡
2000–2001	Canada U-20	2	(0)
2002–2004	Canada U-23	11	(12)
2003–	Canada	32	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 October2013. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 3 February 2013

Rob Friend (born 23 January 1981) is a Canadian soccer player who currently plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer.

Club career

Early years

As a teenager Friend tried many sports at a high level including volleyball, tennis, hockey and rugby. At 17, Friend decided to concentrate on football. He sometimes wishes he had concentrated on football earlier on and sees his development as still ongoing. "Others reach a certain level at an early age, but for me I am still developing today", he says. "Therefore I'll often work on things after practice. Things that I missed out on as a youth, to help me improve. Since I decided on soccer, I become better and better and always work harder to improve myself further".

Friend played college soccer at UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. As a senior on the Santa Barbara Gauchos team, Friend scored in 12 consecutive matches which ranks fourth in NCAA history.^[1]

Norway

After he graduated, Friend was drafted in the 4th Round, 35th Overall, of the 2003 MLS SuperDraft by the Chicago Fire.^[2] But instead of playing for Chicago Fire, he decided to play in Norway. Together with fellow countryman Patrice Bernier, he was signed by Moss. In the middle of 2004, he was signed by Molde, with which he became cup champion in 2005.^[3]

The Netherlands

Before the expiration of his contract with Molde, and after he helped Molde win the Norwegian Cup, he was transferred to Heerenveen on a four-year contract. After making 19 appearances with Heerenveen and scoring five goals, he was loaned to Heracles Almelo to conclude the 2006–07 season. On 3 February 2007, Friend played his first Eredivisie match for Heracles against Willem II. He helped the team retain their status in the Eredivisie by scoring three goals in 12 games. Despite his contributions, Heerenveen deemed him surplus to requirements and transferred him on to Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Germany

During the 2007–08 season Friend scored 18 goals in 33 matches, making him Borussia Mönchengladbach's top scorer and the second top scorer in Bundesliga 2. His team finished first, and were promoted to the Bundesliga.

On 17 August 2008, Friend scored in his very first game in the Bundesliga, against VfB Stuttgart. After three years in Mönchengladbach, including two in the Bundesliga, Friend was sold from the club and was bought by the newly relegated Hertha BSC for €1.8 million.^[4]

Friend made his debut and scored his first goal for Berlin on 14 August 2010 in a DFB-Pokal cup match versus Pfullendorf, the game ended as a 2–0 victory. Six days later he made his league debut for the team in a 3–2 victory over Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. On 12 September, Friend had a man of the match performance scoring 2 goals in a 3–1 home victory over Arminia Bielefeld at Olympic Stadium.^[5] Friend finished his first season with Hertha having scored 6 goals in 27 appearances in the 2. Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal. He helped Hertha win the 2. Bundesliga gaining automatic promotion back to top flight football.^[6] On the final day of the 2011 summer transfer window, Friend returned to the second division, joining the newly relegated Eintracht Frankfurt.

United States

On January 13, 2014, Friend made the move to Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy.^[7]

International career

Friend playing against Peru at BMO Field on September 4, 2010

Friend has represented Canada at the U-20, U-23, and senior levels. He saw action in the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship, as well as the 2004 CONCACAF Men Pre-Olympic Tournament.

Friend made his debut with the senior international team on 18 January 2003 in a friendly with the United States. Since then, and as of February 2013, he has been capped 32 times by his country, scoring twice. He has represented Canada in five FIFA World Cup qualification matches.^[8]

International goals

Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	4 September 2006	Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, Montreal, Canada	Jamaica	1–0	1–0	Friendly
2.	31 May 2008	Qwest Field, Seattle, United States	Brazil	1–1	2–3	Friendly

Career statistics

Club

As of 20 October 2013 (2013-10-20).^{[9][10][11][12][13][14]}

International

As of 3 February 2013 (2013-02-03).^[15][10]

Honours

Molde

• Norwegian Football Cup: 2005

Borussia Mönchengladbach

• 2. Bundesliga: 2007–08

Hertha BSC

• 2. Bundesliga: 2010–11

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rob Friend.

• Rob Friend – FIFA competition record
• Canada profile
• Rob Friend at National-Football-Teams.com
• Rob Friend at Transfermarkt

Canada squads v t e Canada squad – 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-finalists 1 Sutton 2 Braz 3 Jazić 4 Reda 5 Hainault 6 de Guzman 7 Stalteri 8 Harmse 9 Friend 10 Gerba 11 Hastings 12 Gervais 13 Hutchinson 14 De Rosario 15 Bernier 16 Nash 17 Hume 18 Nakajima 19 Ribeiro 20 Pozniak 21 Ledgerwood 22 Onstad 23 Giacomi Coach: Hart v t e Canada squad – 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup 1 Hirschfeld 2 Ledgerwood 3 Klukowski 4 McKenna (c) 5 Hainault 6 de Guzman 7 Dunfield 8 Johnson 9 Friend 10 Gerba 11 Simpson 12 Pacheco 13 Hutchinson 14 De Rosario 15 Edgar 16 Ricketts 17 Jackson 18 Borjan 19 de Jong 20 Peters 21 Beaulieu-Bourgault 22 Al-Shaïbani 23 Nakajima-Farran Coach: Hart