Torsten Frings

Torsten Frings

Personal information
Full name	Torsten Frings
Date of birth	22 November 1976 (1976-11-22)
Place of birth	Würselen, West Germany
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club	Toronto FC
Number	22
Youth career
1982–1988	Rot-Weiß Alsdorf
1988–1990	Rhenania Alsdorf
1990–1994	Alemannia Aachen
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1994–1997	Alemannia Aachen	56	(13)
1997	Werder Bremen (A)	1	(1)
1997–2002	Werder Bremen	162	(15)
2002–2004	Borussia Dortmund	47	(10)
2004–2005	Bayern Munich	29	(3)
2005–2011	Werder Bremen	164	(21)
2011–	Toronto FC	13	(0)
National team‡
1997–1998	Germany U21	6	(1)
1999–2000	Germany B	5	(0)
2001–2009	Germany	79	(10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 October 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:15, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

Torsten Frings (born 22 November 1976 in Würselen) is a German football midfielder who plays for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer and is known for his explosive, powerful shot.

Career

Early career

His professional career began at third division Alemannia Aachen before a move to Werder Bremen in 1996–97, helping the Weserstadion outfit to a German Cup final defeat of Bayern Munich in 1999 and tallying more than 160 Bundesliga appearances and 15 goals over six seasons.

Borussia Dortmund

In 2002, a number of Europe's leading clubs were on Frings's trail prior to the World Cup but he opted for a four-year deal with Borussia Dortmund for a reported fee of €10 million, penning the contract two games into the competition. A regular in his first term at the Westfalenstadion, Frings also played 12 times in the UEFA Champions League, scoring home and away against Lokomotiv Moscow.

Frings's 2003–04 season only began on 30 January when he played against Schalke 04, his first game since damaging his knee against VfL Bochum in July. He took over from Tomáš Rosický in the playmaking role and scored four times in 16 games before signing a three-year contract with Dortmund's rivals, Bayern Munich.

Bayern Munich

Despite winning the domestic double with Bayern and making 29 Bundesliga and ten Champions League appearances, Frings never really enjoyed his football in Munich, and was played out of position by coach Felix Magath.

Werder Bremen

In June he rejoined Bremen for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal, helping them past FC Basel into the Champions League group stage.

Toronto FC

On 29 June 2011, it was announced that Frings had reached an agreement to join Major League Soccer team Toronto FC as a designated player. Frings made his debut for Toronto on 20 July 2011 in a 1–0 home defeat to FC Dallas. On 29 July 2011, Frings made his CONCACAF Champions League debut against Real Esteli F.C. in which he was given the honour of wearing the captain's armband for Toronto. He scored his first goal as a member of Toronto FC against Orlando City on 25 February 2012 during the Disney Pro Soccer Classic 2012.

International career

Frings is an all-action, versatile midfielder. He can play anywhere across midfield, although he is most comfortable running deep from his own team's box to the opposition's box. He is however deployed as defensive midfielder where his tough tackling is useful. Frings scored Germany's fourth goal in a 4–2 win against Costa Rica in the opening match of the 2006 World Cup on 9 June 2006 with a powerful drive from more than 30 yards.

Following Germany's penalty shootout victory over Argentina on 30 June 2006, Frings was fined and suspended by FIFA for two games (one of which is subject to a six-month probationary period) for his role in the brawl that broke out between the Argentine and German teams after the match. After reviewing video footage of the brawl, FIFA's Disciplinary Committee determined that Frings had punched Argentine forward Julio Cruz and levelled punishment accordingly, even though Cruz himself had denied that Frings punched him; the second game of the suspension was made probationary due to the Committee's determination that Frings had been provoked into fighting. This suspension decision, announced by FIFA only the day before Germany's semi-final versus Italy on 4 July 2006, rendered Frings unavailable for the important match.

The controversy of the decision was also sparked by the fact that Frings' role in the brawl had been widely accentuated in the Italian media after FIFA had already announced it closed its investigations against German players. Frings answered to the accusations in an interview: "This is all politics. The Argentinians attack us, I defend myself and the Italians get worked up. With this suspension, FIFA just wanted to show that Germany doesn't get special treatment as the World Cup hosts."

Frings was also called up to Germany's Euro 2008 squad, but was not included in the team for the 2010 World Cup by German coach Joachim Löw. He played his last international match on 11 February 2009 against Norway.

Personal

Frings is married to Petra and they have two children, Lisa-Katharina and Lena Alina. His hobbies include spending time with his family and riding his motorbike.

Career statistics

As of 19 October 2011.

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Club	League	Season	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Germany			League		DFB-Pokal		DFB-Ligapokal		Europe		Total
Werder Bremen	Bundesliga	1996–97	15	0	-		-		-		15	0
		1997–98	28	2	-		-		-		28	2
		1998–99	23	3	1	0	-		8	3	32	6
		1999–00	33	3	3	0	2	0	-		38	3
		2000–01	30	1	-		-		-		30	1
		2001–02	33	6	1	0	-		2	0	36	6
Borussia Dortmund		2002–03	31	6	2	0	1	0	12	2	46	8
		2003–04	16	4	-		1	0	-		17	4
Bayern Munich		2004–05	29	3	6	0	2	1	8	1	45	5
Werder Bremen		2005–06	28	3	4	1	2	0	10	1	44	5
		2006–07	33	1	-		2	1	14	2	49	4
		2007–08	11	1	-		1	0	2	0	14	1
		2008–09	30	4	4	1	-		5	0	39	5
		2009–10	30	6	5	0			11	4	46	10
		2010–11	32	6	1	0			6	1	39	7
Canada			League		Canadian Championship		MLS Playoffs		North America		Total
Toronto FC	MLS	2011	13	0	0	0	-		6	0	19	-	Career totals	Germany		402	49	27	2	11	2	78	13	508	66
Canada		13	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	19	0
Career statistics		415	49	27	2	11	2	84	13	537	66

Honours

Club

• Werder Bremen
  • Bundesliga Runner-up: 2007–08
  • UEFA Cup Runner-up: 2008–09
  • DFB-Pokal: 1998–99, 2008–09
  • DFB-Ligapokal: 2006

• Bayern Munich
  • Bundesliga Champion: 2004–05
  • DFB-Pokal: 2004–05
  • DFB-Ligapokal: 2004

Minor Honours

• Toronto FC
  • Trillium Cup (1): 2011

National team

• FIFA Confederations Cup Third Place: 2005
• FIFA World Cup Runner up: 2002
• FIFA World Cup Third place: 2006
• UEFA European Football Championship Runner-up: 2008

External links

• MLS player profile
• Official website (German)
• Torsten Frings at Werder Bremen official site
• Torsten Frings at fussballdaten.de (German)
• Torsten Frings at National-Football-Teams.com