Brad Friedel facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Brad Friedel

Friedel with Tottenham Hotspur in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Bradley Howard Friedel
Date of birth	(1971-05-18) May 18, 1971 (age 54)
Place of birth	Lakewood, Ohio, United States
Height	6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1995	Brøndby	0	(0)
1995–1996	Galatasaray	30	(0)
1996–1997	Columbus Crew	38	(0)
1997–2000	Liverpool	25	(0)
2000–2008	Blackburn Rovers	288	(1)
2008–2011	Aston Villa	114	(0)
2011–2015	Tottenham Hotspur	50	(0)
Total		547	(1)
National team
2000	United States Olympic (O.P.)	84	(0)
1992–2004	United States	82	(0)
Teams managed
2016–2017	United States U19
2017–2019	New England Revolution
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Bradley Howard Friedel (born May 18, 1971) is an American soccer coach and former player. He played as a goalkeeper.

Friedel played 84 games for the United States national team between 1992 and 2005. He played for his country in three FIFA World Cup tournaments. He holds a Premier League record for playing the most games in a row, with 310 consecutive appearances. He achieved this while playing for Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa, and Tottenham Hotspur.

He is also Aston Villa's oldest-ever player. He set this record on February 1, 2011, when he played against Manchester United. Friedel was 39 years and 259 days old. His last game for Villa was on May 22, 2011, when he was 40 years and four days old.

On May 6, 2012, Friedel became the oldest player to play in a competitive match for Tottenham. He played a total of 450 Premier League games. This is a record for any player from North or South America.

Early Life and College Soccer

Brad Friedel was born in Lakewood, Ohio. He grew up in Bay Village. As a kid, he played many sports, including soccer, basketball, and tennis. He was very good at all of them. In 1989, he won an award for being Bay High's best athlete.

He started playing soccer as a forward. Later, he became a goalkeeper. Friedel went to UCLA for college. In 1990, he helped the UCLA Bruins win the national college soccer championship. He was named the best college goalkeeper in 1991 and 1992. In 1993, he won the Hermann Trophy as the top college soccer player. He played 66 games for UCLA.

Professional Soccer Career

Friedel left college early to become a professional player. He tried to join clubs in England, like Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. However, he could not get a special permit to work in England.

Playing in Europe and the USA

In 1995, Friedel joined Danish Superliga club Brøndby IF in Denmark. He stayed there for a few months. After that, he joined Turkish team Galatasaray. He played for Galatasaray for one season.

In 1996, Friedel moved back to the U.S. to play for the Columbus Crew in Major League Soccer (MLS). In 1997, he became the team's main goalkeeper. That year, he was named the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.

Time at Liverpool

In 1997, Friedel moved to Liverpool in England. It took some time for him to get the work permit. He made his first appearance for Liverpool in February 1998. He played just over 30 games in almost three years for the team.

Playing for Blackburn Rovers

Friedel warming up for Blackburn Rovers

Friedel joined Blackburn Rovers in November 2000. He joined them for free. His strong performances helped Blackburn get promoted to the Premier League. They then stayed in the top division.

Friedel had many great games for Blackburn. He was named "Man of the Match" in the League Cup Final in 2002. He helped Rovers win the cup. In a game against Arsenal, he made many amazing saves. Another time, a coach said he was like Superman because of his saves.

In the 2002–03 season, Friedel kept 15 "clean sheets" (meaning he didn't let the other team score). He won Blackburn's Player of the Year award. On February 21, 2004, Friedel scored a goal himself! It was from a corner kick in the last minute of the game. He became only the second goalkeeper in Premier League history to score a goal.

Friedel loved Blackburn Rovers. He signed new contracts in 2006 and 2008. He left the club in 2008. In 2019, he was one of the first players to be added to the club's Hall of Fame.

Time at Aston Villa

Friedel playing for Aston Villa

Friedel joined Aston Villa in July 2008. He signed a three-year contract. He made his first league appearance for Villa on August 17, 2008. In that game, Villa beat Manchester City 4–2.

On November 30, 2008, he broke the record for playing the most continuous games in the Premier League. He played his 167th straight game. His streak of consecutive games was almost broken when he got a red card. But the red card was later canceled, so he could keep playing. On January 16, 2011, he reached 250 consecutive league games.

Playing for Tottenham Hotspur

Friedel's contract with Aston Villa ended in 2011. On June 3, 2011, Tottenham Hotspur signed him for two years. He continued his streak of consecutive Premier League games. During the 2011–12 season, Friedel also became the oldest player to play in the Premier League.

In 2012, Tottenham signed another great goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris. This made some people wonder if Friedel would still be the main goalkeeper. But the manager said Friedel would remain number one. However, Friedel's amazing streak of 310 consecutive Premier League games ended on October 7, 2012. He was on the bench for that game.

In December 2012, Friedel signed a new contract with Tottenham until 2014. He signed another one-year contract in June 2014. He also became a club ambassador, helping Tottenham in the United States. On May 14, 2015, Friedel announced he would stop playing soccer at the end of the season.

Playing for His Country

Friedel is the fourth-most capped (played the most games) goalkeeper for the U.S. national team. He played his first international game in 1992 against Canada. He didn't let Canada score any goals in that game.

He was the main goalkeeper for the U.S. team at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He played in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the U.S. team made a surprising run to the quarter-finals. Friedel was a big reason for their success. He saved two penalty kicks during the tournament. Fans called him "The Human Wall" because of his great saves.

Friedel announced he was retiring from international soccer on February 7, 2005.

After Playing: Media and Coaching

After retiring from playing, Friedel worked as a soccer expert for the BBC during the 2014 World Cup. He also appeared on other sports shows.

Coaching the United States U19 Team

On January 5, 2016, Friedel became the head coach for the United States under-19 national team. He also helped coach the U.S. team that won the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.

Coaching New England Revolution

On November 9, 2017, Friedel was named the head coach of the New England Revolution, a team in Major League Soccer. He coached the team until May 9, 2019.

Personal Life

Even though Brad Friedel grew up in Ohio, he developed a slight English accent after living in England for over ten years. He says that Americans think he sounds English, and English people think he sounds American.

Friedel is a fan of the NFL team, the Cleveland Browns. He also looks up to former American goalkeeper Tim Harris, who he says "started my journey."

In 2007, Friedel started a non-profit soccer academy in Ohio. It cost about $10 million. The academy gave free coaching to young players. However, after the 2008 financial crisis, the academy had trouble getting money and closed in 2011.

Career Statistics

Friedel during his time at Blackburn Rovers, outside Loftus Road, following a match with Queens Park Rangers April 2001

Club

Managerial career

Awards and Achievements

Brad Friedel has won many awards and honors throughout his career:

• Galatasaray
  • Turkish Cup: 1995–96
• Blackburn Rovers
  • Football League Cup: 2001–02
• Aston Villa
  • Football League Cup runner-up: 2009–10
• United States
  • FIFA Confederations Cup third place: 1999

Individual Awards

• Hermann Trophy: 1992 (Best college soccer player)
• MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award: 1997
• U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year: 2002
• Alan Hardaker Trophy: 2002 (Best player in the League Cup Final)
• Most clean sheets in the Premier League: 2002–03
• PFA Premier League Team of the Year: 2002–03
• National Soccer Hall of Fame: 2018

See also

In Spanish: Brad Friedel para niños