Former striker, now cheese sommelier
© Imago
Alex Frei was Derbyheld at Borussia Dortmund, top scorer in the French Ligue 1 and is still a record goals of the Swiss national team. At the transfer market, the 45-year-old, who made a name for himself as a thoroughbred striker, gives an insight into his player career, talks about transfers that have not been concluded, long nights with Petr C and Xherdan Shaqiris flausen in the head.
Although Frei still appears as an expert on Swiss TV, he has now withdrawn something from the football business and is pursuing a new hobby-the cheese dairy. The most successful snapper of the Swiss national team has trained as a cheese sommelier. “During my active career, I once said that I would like to become a cheese sommelier after my career. The statements of the Switzerland Cheese Marketing AG have noticed and so I have completed a five -month training. It is actually anything but cheese, it is really fun,” says free wink.
The fact that football can be cheese and, especially when it comes to bad games, he experienced in two games, especially in two games. In March 2012 and November 2005. “The 0: 7 defeat with Basel against Bayern Munich in the Champions League was an absolute disaster. We felt not a single chance, deservedly got a clap and went under singing and soundless. I also have a little sad, especially after this game.
Alex Frei’s career beginnings: Dear Stade Rennes instead of Bundesliga
Most of the ex-attacker experienced successful games, beautiful moments and of course many hits. One, if not the most important, gate that many doors opened to him, was the decisive goal in the semi-finals of the Swiss Cup 2001. With the 1-0 victory, his then club Servette FC moved into the final, which could also be won 3-0 against Yverdon through a goal by Alex Frei. “The goals were of course beautiful and important, but the overall development at that time was much more important for my further career. I say consciously that the championship games show the true constancy of a good player. I think constant players are much more important in professional football than highly acclaimed mayers,” says the 84-time national player, who was able to draw attention to themselves with strong performances in Geneva and 45 goals in 79 mandatory games. He attracted the interest of some German Bundesliga clubs, but in the end he decided to surprise many observers to switch to Ligue 1 to Stade Rennes.
Attacker Alex Frei started his international professional career at FC Basel – and also broke up there in 2013
“Before every change, I deliberately set up a pro and contra list. On this list there were things such as life culture, culinary delights, the fan culture within the club or how often the club made a change of coach. I could have switched to VfB Stuttgart or Borussia Mönchengladbach at the time, but after the pro and contra list I trusted my gut. The born in Basel. The change was not a good sign, the seasons in the debut season were limited. The determination and lightness, which actually expired freely on the square, were gone, so there was an early farewell in the room.
Basel, BVB & Co.
Frei’s career in numbers
To overview
“Of course I was concerned with a change, but for me this change would have been like a failure – and I didn’t want to fail. I then looked for a conversation with the coach László Bölöni at the time and wanted to ask him for a deal. He just laughed and said he didn’t do a deal. I replied: ‘I make the following suggestion: You give me the chance to present myself in five games. He then said that my courage should be rewarded and gave me the five games in which I was able to convince, ”says Frei with a smile. He also owed this success to the endless additional layers with the then unknown goalkeeper Petr Cech. “We both trained almost every day. You already saw the potential at the time. At the age of 21 he already had the skills that a 33-year-old goalkeeper had. I knew when I met Petr in training, then I meet against every goalkeeper in the league. Petr was also outstanding on the human side. After won, we were happy to go out in the evening and only five in the evening Returned, ”laughs.
The coldness in front of the gate was responsible for the fact that he scored the top scorer in the Ligue 1 in the 2004/05 season. In today’s world, he would have been a highly doped contract and a high market value. “It would be very decadent and very miserable if I said that we did not make any money at the time. We also earned very good money at the time. What I see today is the fact that you can quickly achieve a high market value without having done. In the past, you had to bring services in the past. from ”, criticizes the ex-striker. While Cech moved to Chelsea for 13 million euros in 2004, the Swiss decided in 2006 for the step to Borussia Dortmund. Retiefs at that time: 4.1 million euros. The career could have gone differently.
Alex Frei: This is how Watzke prepared me for BVB
“I was always able to assess myself well. I knew what I was missing to get to the whole great top football. Unfortunately I was too slow and I was missing the physical robustness. My game intelligence and my anticipation were my solutions. At that time, however, the club decided on other players, ”recalls the Swiss. At BVB he quickly played into the heart of the fans because of his passionate way of playing. They had at least one bright spot at that time, because in terms of sport, little to nothing went together in the 2006/07 season. The BVB was in the relegation battle for longer. However, with 16 goals, Frei had a large part in the fact that the relegation could be fixed early. “You cannot describe the force and the dimension that the BVB represents in words. You can only feel that when you play the south or the south in the back. In my contract signature, ‘Aki’ Watzke put a book about BVB history and explains: If I have internalized the book, I will be successful in Dortmund. Does the city of Dortmund have the people in the Ruhr area?
His goals in the derbies against Schalke made him a hero. “From day one I was made clear: there are two important games in the season-and we have damn it to win. The 2-0 victory in the 2006/07 season was incredibly important for the fans. I am convinced: It would have been worse than a defeat in the derby if the blue in our stadium had been master. Fortunately, it was different,” looks back freely. He might have lost the status that he still has at BVB fans today if he had switched to Bayern in 2008. “Jürgen Klinsmann really wanted to sign me, and I would also have been ready to move to Munich, but due to my injury at the time, which I contracted at the European Championship, everything was invalid,” said Frei, who returned to Switzerland in 2009, joined FC Basel and subsequently became a double winner.
Alex Frei. (right), here around Duel with Bielefeld’s Heiko Westermann, ran a total of 83 times for BVB between 2006 and 2009 and scored 37 goals
When Basel recently won the 21st championship, it did not miss the opportunity to personally congratulate Xherdan Shaqiri. With 18 goals and 21 templates, the 33-year-old was one of the guarantors of success. At that moment, the earlier cooperation had to think freely when Shaqiri was at the beginning of his career and he was the established striker himself. “Xherdan was still a Lausbub at the time and had many flows in his head. He was the best customer for the team fund. He didn’t have it with punctuality at the time. Only when I told him that the punishment doubles every time that he understood the seriousness of the situation and came on time. 45-year-old, whose play of emotionality and passion lived.
It is precisely these two components that are the reason why sport is so popular all over the world. In this context, he likes to remember heated duels with numerous defenders. “Lucio and Daniel van Buyten were disgusting and uncomfortable as an opponent in the Bundesliga. There were defenders who used all sorts of things to stop, for example with their elbows on their face. A defender even used heat cream on my fingers and came near my eyes. I didn’t hit that day,” recalls freely laughing.
Thumbs up for BVB: Beckenbauer estimated center forward free
His leadership qualities and danger of scoring was particularly valued and demanded in the Nati. The three -time Swiss footballer of the year has developed reliably towards Mister for years and to the record goal hunter in his country. “Every goal was important for me, but I scored the most beautiful goal in the World Cup game against Togo. There I experienced the mood in the Westphalia stadium for the first time. Afterwards I was also told that Aki Watzke was sitting next to Franz Beckenbauer in the stands and told him that I would soon play for BVB. Beckenbauer then said: ‘ So my time at BVB was also under the positive blessing of the football emperor, ”says Frei, who has already had several coaching episodes.
By Henrik Stadnischenko