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Fabian Frei

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Fabian Frei
Frei with Basel in 2019
Personal information
Full name Fabian Frei[1]
Date of birth (1989-01-08) 8 January 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth Frauenfeld, Switzerland
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder, centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Winterthur
Number 11
Youth career
1998–2000 Frauenfeld
2000–2004 Winterthur
2004–2007 Basel
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2007 Basel II 31 (11)
2007–2015 Basel 172 (15)
2009–2011 → St. Gallen (loan) 64 (13)
2015–2018 Mainz 05 53 (1)
2018–2024 Basel 214 (25)
2024– Winterthur 10 (1)
International career‡
2004–2005 Switzerland U16 11 (4)
2005–2006 Switzerland U17 14 (10)
2006–2007 Switzerland U18 5 (2)
2007–2008 Switzerland U19 7 (5)
2008 Switzerland U20 3 (0)
2008–2011 Switzerland U21 18 (4)
2012 Switzerland Olympic 4 (0)
2011– Switzerland 23 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 September 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 November 2022

Fabian Frei (born 8 January 1989) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder and a centre-back for Swiss Super League club FC Winterthur and the Switzerland national team. Until June 2011, he played for the Swiss U-21 team. He made his international debut for Swiss senior team on 7 October 2011. He was selected to represent Switzerland at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is of no relation to former club and country teammate Alexander Frei.[3]

Club career

[edit]

Basel

[edit]

Born in Frauenfeld, Frei started his youth football with local amateur club FC Frauenfeld and then he moved to the youth of FC Winterthur in summer 2000. However, he came through the ranks with FC Basel, joining their youth department and playing in their U-16 team, winning the Swiss championship title for that age group in the 2004–05 season. He played in their U-18 team during the 2005–06 season, under coach Patrick Rahmen and his assistant Marco Walker and with them won both the Swiss U-18 championship and the U-19/18 national cup that season.[4] For the 2006–07 season, he advanced to their U-21 team, who played in the third tier, and was given a professional contract.[5] The team won their division and became Swiss champions at U-21 level, Frei, playing as attacking midfielder, made 30 appearances, scoring 11 goals.[6]

Ahead of their 2007–08 season Frei was called into the first team squad by head coach Christian Gross.[7] After having played in 13 test games, Frei played his domestic league debut for the club in the home game in the St. Jakob-Park on 22 July 2007 as Basel won 1–0 against Zürich.[8] He played his UEFA Cup debut with the team in the home game on 16 August, coming on as substitute, as Basel won 2–1 against SV Mattersburg.[9] Basel played in the 2007–08 UEFA Cup. Winning both matches in the qualification round and both matches in the play-off round, they team advanced to the group stage, which they ended undefeated in second position, after playing 1–0 at home against Stade Rennes, 0–0 away against Dinamo Zagreb, 1–0 at home against Brann and 1–1 away against Hamburger SV, to continue the knockout stage. But then they were eliminated here by Sporting CP. Frei had seven appearances during the teams 10 European games.[10] At the end of their 2007–08 season Frei won the Double with the club. They won the League Championship title with four points advantage over second placed Young Boys. Frei had 24 appearances.[11] In the Swiss Cup Basel advanced to the final, and winning this 4–1 against AC Bellinzona they won the competition.[12]

To the beginning of the 2008–09 season he was member of the Basel team that won the Uhrencup. They beat Legia Warsaw 6–1 and played a 2–2 draw with Borussia Dortmund to end the table on top slot above Dortmund and Luzern.[13] Frei played his UEFA Champions League debut for Basel on 26 November 2008 in the 5–0 away defeat against Shakhtar Donetsk.[14] He scored his first goal with the team in the home game on 4 December 2008. It was the last goal of the match as Basel won 3–1 against FC Aarau.[15]

In July 2009, due to the fact that Basel strengthened their squad for the beginning of the 2009–10 Swiss Super League season, Basel's new trainer Thorsten Fink loaned Fabian Frei to FC St. Gallen. During his two-year loan in St. Gallen, he played 64 league games in which he scored 13 goals.

For the start of the 2011–12 Swiss Super League season he was recalled to Basel, the reigning Swiss Champions, and he immediately won his place in the starting eleven. Frei scored his first Champions League goal for Basel on 14 September 2011 in the Group C 2–1 home win against Oțelul Galați,[16] his second on 27 September in the 3–3 draw at Old Trafford against Manchester United[17] and his third on 22 November in the Arena Națională, in Bucharest, as Basel won the away game against Oțelul Galați 3–2.[18] At the end of the 2011–12 season, Frei won the Double, the League Championship title[19] and the Swiss Cup[20] with Basel.

At the end of the Swiss Super League season 2012–13 Frei won the Championship title[21] and was Swiss Cup runner up with Basel.[22] In the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League Basel advanced as far as the semi-finals, there being matched against the reigning UEFA Champions League holders Chelsea, but they were knocked out, losing both home and away tie, beaten 2–5 on aggregate.[23]

At the end of the 2013–14 Super League season Frei won his fourth league championship with Basel.[24] They also reached the final of the 2013–14 Swiss Cup, but were beaten 2–0 by Zürich after extra time. During the 2013–14 Champions League season Basel reached the group stage and finished the group in third position. Thus they qualified for Europa League knockout phase and here they advanced as far as the quarter-finals. In their season 2013–14 Basel played a total of 68 matches (36 Swiss League fixtures, 6 Swiss Cup, 6 Champions League and 10 Europa League and 10 test matches). Frei totaled 66 appearances, 34 League, 6 Cup, 6 Champions League and 10 Europa League as well all 10 in the test games.[25]

The season 2014–15 was a very successful one for Basel and for Frei. The championship was won for the sixth time in a row that season[26] and in the 2014–15 Swiss Cup they reached the final. But for the third season in a row, they finished as runners-up, losing 0–3 to FC Sion in the final. Basel entered the Champions League in the group stage and reached the knockout phase as on 9 December 2014 they managed a 1–1 draw at Anfield against Liverpool.[27] Frei scored the goal for FC Basel against Liverpool to help Basel to the next round of the UEFA Champions League. But then Basel then lost to FC Porto in the Round of 16. Basel played a total of 65 matches (36 Swiss League fixtures, 6 Swiss Cup, 8 Champions League and 15 test matches). Under trainer Paulo Sousa Frei totaled 56 appearances, 31 in the Super League, 5 Cup, 8 Champions League, as well 12 in test games. He scored a total of 4 goals in these matches.[28]

Mainz 05

[edit]

On 23 June 2015, Frei joined German Bundesliga club 1. FSV Mainz 05.[29]

Return to Basel

[edit]

On 23 December 2017, FC Basel announced that Frei would return to the club, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract dated up until June 2022.[30]

Under trainer Marcel Koller Basel won the Swiss Cup in the 2018–19 season. In the first round Basel beat Montlingen 3–0, in the second round Echallens Région 7–2 and in the round of 16 Winterthur 1–0. In the quarter-finals Sion were defeated 4–2 after extra time and in the semi-finals Zürich were defeated 3–1. All these games were played away from home. The final was held on 19 May 2019 in the Stade de Suisse Wankdorf Bern against Thun. Striker Albian Ajeti scored the first goal, Fabian Frei the second for Basel, then Dejan Sorgić netted a goal for Thun, but the result was 2–1 for Basel.[31] Frei played in five cup games and scored not only in the final but also a goal in the match against Echallens.

On the final day of the summer 2024 transfer window, FCB announced that their captain Fabian Frei had decided to rejoin his youth club Winterthur. On 9 September, his contract with Basel was terminated by mutual consent, so that he can take on a new challenge.[32] Between the years 2007 to 2015 and again from 2018 to 2024 Frei played a total of 679 games for Basel scoring a total of 94 goals. 386 of these games were in the Swiss Super League, 46 in the Swiss Cup, 111 in the UEFA competitions (Champions League, Europa League and Conference League) and 136 were friendly games. He scored 41 goals in the domestic league, 10 in the cup, 13 in the European games and the other 30 were scored during the test games. Fabian Frei is the clubs record holder for the number of competition matches played with the club. He played 543 games in league, cup and UEFA.[33]

FC Winterthur

[edit]

On the day of his departure from Basel, he joined fellow Super League side FC Winterthur.[34]

International career

[edit]

Frei represented Switzerland at various age levels. He played his Swiss Under-16s debut on 12 October 2004 in the 3–1 away win against the Belgium Under-16s. In 14 games for the Switzerland U-17 team he scored ten goals.

Between 2008 and 2011 Fabian Frei played 18 games for the Switzerland U-21 team. His Under-21s debut was on 19 November 2008 in the 1–1 away draw against the Greece Under-21 team. His last game was the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final on 25 June 2011.

Following this he was called into the Swiss national football team by trainer Ottmar Hitzfeld. Frei gave his international debut for Switzerland on 7 October 2011 in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying game in the Liberty Stadium against Wales.

Frei was selected to represent Switzerland in the men's football tournament at the 2012 Summer Olympics as part of the Swiss under-23 team.[35] He played over 90 minutes in all three games in the tournament, but the team were knocked out, finishing in fourth position of their Group.

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
As of 1 June 2017[36]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Basel 2007–08 Swiss Super League 24 0 2 0 7[a] 0 33 0
2008–09 25 2 4 0 2[b] 0 31 2
2011–12 31 4 4 2 8[b] 3 43 9
2012–13 27 4 5 2 16[c] 1 48 7
2013–14 34 5 6 1 16[d] 1 56 7
2014–15 31 1 5 1 8[b] 1 44 3
Total 172 16 26 6 57 6 255 28
St. Gallen (loan) 2009–10 Swiss Super League 30 6 5 1 — 35 7
2010–11 34 7 3 4 — 37 11
Total 64 13 8 5 0 0 72 18
Mainz 05 2015–16 Bundesliga 18 0 1 1 — 19 1
2016–17 24 0 1 1 4[a] 0 29 1
2017–18 11 1 3 0 — 14 1
Total 53 1 5 2 4 0 62 3
Basel 2017–18 Swiss Super League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career total 289 30 39 13 61 6 389 49
  1. ^ a b Appearances in the Europa League
  2. ^ a b c Appearances in the Champions League
  3. ^ Three appearances in the Champions League, thirteen appearances and a goal in the Europa League
  4. ^ Ten appearances and a goal in the Champions League, six appearances in the Europa League

International

[edit]
Scores and results list Switzerland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Frei goal.[37]
List of international goals scored by Fabian Frei
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 18 November 2014 Municipal Stadium, Wrocław, Poland  Poland 2–2 2–2 Friendly
2 7 October 2017 St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland  Hungary 2–0 5–2 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
3 27 March 2018 Swissporarena, Lucerne, Switzerland  Panama 6–0 6–0 Friendly

Honours

[edit]

Basel youth

  • Swiss champion at U-16 level: 2004–05
  • Swiss champion at U-18 level: 2005–06[4]
  • Swiss Cup at U-19/U-18 level: 2005–06[4]
  • Swiss champion at U-21 level: 2006–07

Basel

Switzerland U21

Individual

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: Switzerland (SUI)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 28. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Fabian Frei". FC Basel. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Fabian and Alexander Frei Unrelated". Socqer.com. 14 September 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  4. ^ a b c FC Basel 1893 (2006). "Zwei weitere Titel für FCB-Nachwuchs" [Two more titles for FCB youngsters] (in Swiss High German). FC Basel 1893. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "Fabian Frei: Profivertrag bis 2009" (in German). FC Basel 1893. 24 November 2006. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  6. ^ Giusti, Giacomo (2007). "Switzerland Third Level 2006/07". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  7. ^ Weber, Dominik (25 June 2007). "FCB-Transfers im Sommer 2007" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  8. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (22 July 2007). "FC Basel - FC Zürich 1:0 (0:0)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv". Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  9. ^ uefa.com (16 August 2007). "FC Basel 2-1 SV Mattersburg". uefa.com. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  10. ^ uefa.com (21 February 2008). "FC Basel - Sporting CP 0:3 (0:2)". uefa.com. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  11. ^ Garin, Erik; Stokkermans, Karel (2018). "Switzerland 2007/08". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  12. ^ Swiss Football Verband (SFV) (6 April 2008). "AC Bellinzona - FC Basel 1:4 (0:1)". Swiss Football Verband (SFV) internet site. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  13. ^ Garin, Erik (2011). "Coupe Horlogère - Uhren Cup (Switzerland)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  14. ^ "Vereinsspiele" (in German). weltfussball.ch. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  15. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (4 December 2008). "FC Basel - FC Aarau 3:1 (1:1)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv". Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  16. ^ Rogers, Steven (14 September 2011). "Freis double up as Basel beat Oţelul". uefa.com. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  17. ^ Hart, Simon (27 September 2010). "United strike late to deny Basel famous win". uefa.com. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  18. ^ Haylett, Trevor (22 November 2011). "Basel hang on to set up United showdown". uefa.com. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  19. ^ Meister, Remo (29 April 2012). "Jetzt hat Basel den Titel auf sicher" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  20. ^ "Matchtelegram FC Basel 1893 5:3 FC Luzern" (in German). football.ch. 16 May 2012. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012.
  21. ^ Schifferle, Michael (10 June 2013). "Season review: Switzerland". uefa.com. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  22. ^ "Telegramm Schweizer Cup Final" (in German). Schweizerischer Fussballverband. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  23. ^ Haylett, Trevor (3 May 2013). "Basel take heart after Chelsea defeat". uefa.com. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  24. ^ Grossenbacher, Sacha (2014). "Fotos vom Spiel gegen Lausanne sowie den anschliessenden Feierlichkeiten" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  25. ^ Zindel, Josef (2014). Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2014/2015. FC Basel Marketing AG. ISBN 978-3-7245-2027-6.
  26. ^ Marti, Caspar (2015). "Der Meisterfreitag im bunten Zeitraffer" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  27. ^ "Liverpool 1 Basel 1". BBC Sport. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  28. ^ Zindel, Josef (2015). Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2015/2016. FC Basel Marketing AG. ISBN 978-3-7245-2050-4.
  29. ^ "Frei kommt für vier Jahre". 1. FSV Mainz 05. 23 June 2015. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  30. ^ FC Basel 1893 (2017). "Fabian Frei kehrt zum FCB zurück". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 23 December 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  31. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv". "FC Basel - FC Thun 2:1 (1:0)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv". Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  32. ^ FC Basel 1893 (9 September 2024). "Fabian Frei wechselt per sofort zum FC Winterthur" [Fabian Frei is moving with immediate effect to FC Winterthur] (in Swiss High German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 9 September 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  33. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (2024). "Fabian Frei - FCB statistic". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  34. ^ "Fabian Frei zum FCW!". FC Winterthur. 9 September 2024. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  35. ^ "Schweiz mit Behrami, Benaglio und Klose an die Olympischen Spiele". Schweizerischer Fussballverband (in German). 3 July 2012. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  36. ^ "Fabian Frei Profile". Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  37. ^ "Frei, Fabian". National Football Teams. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  38. ^ "UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.

Sources

[edit]
  • Josef Zindel (2018). FC Basel 1893. Die ersten 125 Jahre (in German). Basel: Friedrich Reinhardt Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7245-2305-5.
[edit]
  • Profile at FC Basel Archive
  • Profile at FC Basel (in German)
  • Profile at Swiss Football League website (in German)
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