Kerim Frei

Kerim Frei

Frei with Turkey in 2016
Personal information
Full name Kerim Frei Koyunlu[1]
Date of birth (1993-11-19) 19 November 1993
Place of birth Feldkirch, Austria
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position Winger
Club information
Current team
İstanbul Başakşehir
Number 29
Youth career
2006–2010 Grasshopper
2010–2011 Fulham
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2013 Fulham 23 (0)
2012Cardiff City (loan) 3 (0)
2013–2017 Beşiktaş 68 (7)
2017 Birmingham City 13 (1)
2017– İstanbul Başakşehir 0 (0)
National team
2008 Switzerland U15 1 (0)
2010–2011 Switzerland U18 7 (4)
2011 Switzerland U19 7 (1)
2012 Switzerland U21 2 (0)
2013 Turkey U20 5 (0)
2013–2014 Turkey U21 6 (3)
2013–2015 Turkey A2 2 (1)
2012– Turkey 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11:52, 21 July 2017 (UTC).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11:52, 21 July 2017 (UTC)

Kerim Frei Koyunlu (born 19 November 1993) is a footballer who plays as a winger for İstanbul Başakşehir and for the Turkish national team. He previously played club football for Fulham, Cardiff City, Beşiktaş and Birmingham City, and represented Switzerland up to under-21 level.

Early life

Frei was born in Feldkirch, Austria to a Turkish father and a Moroccan mother and was raised in Switzerland.[2]

Career

Club career

Frei made his first team début on 7 July 2011 in Fulham's Europa League first qualifying round, second leg match against NSÍ Runavík of the Faroe Islands, where he came on as a substitute in the 72nd minute replacing Andrew Johnson.[3] Following his debut, Huw Jennings gave his thoughts about Frei debut to Fulham.com:

Frei then went on to make his first start for Fulham, playing on the right wing in the Europa League second qualifying round, first leg match against Crusaders in Belfast on 14 July 2011, receiving a yellow card in the 62nd minute.[5]

He made his first start in English competition in a League Cup third round fixture away to Chelsea on 21 September 2011 and made his Premier League début on 10 December 2011, coming on a substitute for Mousa Dembélé in an away match against Swansea City. Fulham lost the match 2–0.[6] Frei scored his first senior goal for Fulham in the Europa League 2–2 draw against Odense BK at Craven Cottage, side footing home from a Dembélé through ball.[7]

On 16 March 2012, Frei signed a contract extension with Fulham, lasting until the summer of 2015.[8] A week later, Frei started in Fulham's 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford against Manchester United. He was replaced by Bryan Ruiz in the 67th minute.[9]

On 9 April 2012 in a 1–1 draw against Chelsea, Frei received the Man of the Match award from Sky Television for his performance.[10]

On 26 October 2012, Frei joined Cardiff City on loan until 2 December.[11] His first appearance was against Burnley, coming on in the 83rd minute for Craig Noone.[12] On 22 November, Frei was recalled to Fulham after 3 appearances.[13]

Beşiktaş

Frei joined Turkish club Beşiktaş on 6 September 2013, signing a five-year deal.[14][15]

Birmingham City

On 20 January 2017, Frei returned to English football, signing for Birmingham City on a three-and-a-half-year contract.[16] The fee was an initial €2.25 million, potentally rising to €3.5M.[17] He made his debut in the EFL Championship the following day, as an 82nd-minute substitute in a 1–1 draw away to Blackburn Rovers,[18] but never established himself in the team. He finished the season with 13 league appearances, only 3 of which were in the starting eleven,[19] and was an unused substitute 16 times.[20] He scored once, with a 28-yard (26 m) free kick away to Rotherham United on 14 April; Frei "stepped up and arrowed the ball straight and dipping beyond [Rotherham's goalkeeper]" to win the club's Goal of the Season award but not the match.[19][21]

İstanbul Başakşehir

After just six months with Birmingham City, Frei returned to Turkey. He signed a four-year contract with İstanbul Başakşehir on 21 July 2017.[22][23]

International career

Frei switched national team allegiances from Switzerland to Turkey in June 2012.[24] He represented Turkey at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Career statistics

As of match played 7 May 2017
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Fulham 2011–12[25] Premier League16010107[lower-alpha 1]1251
2012–13[26] Premier League70100080
Total 230201071331
Cardiff City (loan) 2012–13[26] Championship3030
Beşiktaş 2013–14[20] Süper Lig9010100
2014–15[20] Süper Lig2937012[lower-alpha 2]1484
2015–16[20] Süper Lig234915[lower-alpha 1]0375
2016–17[20] Süper Lig70443[lower-alpha 3]0144
Total 6872150020110913
Birmingham City 2016–17[27] Championship131131
İstanbul Başakşehir 2017–18[20] Süper Lig00000000
Career total 10782351027215815
  1. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. Three appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, nine appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, one in Turkish Super Cup

Honours

Beşiktaş J.K.

References

  1. TÜRKİYE 1-1 DANİMARKA, Turkish Football Federation, accessed 17 November 2012.
  2. "Through the Ranks". Fulham FC. 7 April 2010. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  3. "UEFA Europa League 2012 – NSÍ-Fulham". UEFA. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
  4. "A Classic Ten". Fulham Official Website. 8 August 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  5. "UEFA Europa League 2012 – Crusaders-Fulham". UEFA. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  6. "Swansea City 2 – 0 Fulham". Fulham FC. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  7. "Fulham 2 – 2 Odense BK". Fulham FC. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  8. "Frei Contract Extension". Fulham FC. 16 March 2012. Archived from the original on 8 May 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  9. "Manchester United – Fulham 1–0". BBC Football. 26 March 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  10. "Frei earns captain's praise". Sky Sports. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  11. "Fulham's Kerim Frei loaned to Cardiff City for a month". BBC Sport. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  12. "Cardiff 4–0 Burnley". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  13. "Fulham recall winger from Cardiff City loan". Fulham Chronicle. 22 November 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  14. "Frei Departs". Fulham FC. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  15. "Kerim Frei chooses Beşiktaş". Beşiktaş JK. 6 September 2013. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  16. "Kerim Frei: Birmingham City sign former Fulham winger from Besiktas". BBC Sport. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  17. "Kerim Frei resmen Birmingham'da!" [Kerim Frei is officially a Birmingham Player] (in Turkish). beIN Sports. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
    "Birmingham City have agreed deal worth €3.5m, details now released". Sport Witness. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  18. "Blackburn Rovers 1–1 Birmingham City". BBC Sport. 21 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  19. 1 2 Ireland, Shane (15 May 2017). "Why Kerim Frei's Birmingham City career could be over before it even got going". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "K. Frei". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  21. Dick, Brian (14 April 2017). "Rotherham United 1 Birmingham City 1 – Kerim Frei's first goal not enough for Blues". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  22. "Kerim Frei: Birmingham City midfielder joins Istanbul Basaksehir for undisclosed fee". BBC Sport. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  23. "Hoş geldiniz Kerim Frei, Da Costa" [Welcome Kerim Frei, Da Costa] (in Turkish). İstanbul Başakşehir Futbol Kulübü. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  24. Fulham starlet Kerim Frei opts to represent Turkish National Team Turkish-football.com
  25. "Games played by Kerim Frei in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  26. 1 2 "Games played by Kerim Frei in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  27. "Games played by Kerim Frei in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
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