 Frei withBorussia Dortmund in 2007 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alexander Frei[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1979-07-15)15 July 1979 (age 46)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Basel, Switzerland | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1987–1988 | FC Begnins | ||
| 1988–1995 | FC Aesch | ||
| 1995–1997 | Basel | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–1998 | Basel | 11 | (1) |
| 1998–1999 | Thun | 32 | (6) |
| 1999–2000 | FC Luzern | 53 | (17) |
| 2001–2003 | Servette | 64 | (36) |
| 2003–2006 | Rennes | 100 | (47) |
| 2006–2009 | Borussia Dortmund | 74 | (34) |
| 2009–2013 | Basel | 103 | (72) |
| Total | 437 | (213) | |
| International career | |||
| 1995–1996 | Switzerland U-18 | 5 | (1) |
| 1996–1997 | Switzerland U-19 | 4 | (3) |
| 1999–2000 | Switzerland U-21 | 19 | (9) |
| 2001–2011 | Switzerland | 84 | (42) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2013–2014 | FC Luzern (sporting director) | ||
| 2015–2020 | Basel (youth) | ||
| 2018 | Basel (interim) | ||
| 2020–2021 | Wil | ||
| 2021–2022 | Winterthur | ||
| 2022–2023 | Basel | ||
| 2023–2024 | Aarau | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Alexander Frei orAlex Frei (born 15 July 1979) is a Swiss professionalfootball coach and a former player who played as aforward. He was most recently head coach ofFC Aarau in theSwiss Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football.
Frei began his career atBasel, going on to various other clubs in Switzerland, France and Germany before returning to his home club, where he won theSwiss Super League title in all four of his seasons, includingdoubles with theSwiss Cup in 2010 and 2012.
Frei is the all-time leading scorer of theSwitzerland national team with 42 goals in 84 games. He represented the country at twoUEFA European Championships and as manyWorld Cups.
Frei started his professional career with his hometown club ofFC Basel, where he later was transferred toFC Thun,FC Luzern, andServette FC, all in his native Switzerland. After a transfer to French clubRennes, he finished as the highest goal-scorer inLigue 1 for the2004–05 season with 20 goals. He was named Swiss Footballer of the Year the same season. He was also named Swiss Footballer of the Year in 2004 and 2007.
Frei then signed a four-year contract withBorussia Dortmund on 29 June 2006. Dortmund paid a transfer fee of approximately €5 million for him. In the 2006–07 season, Frei was the highest goal scorer for Borussia Dortmund with 16 goals in 32 matches.
He recovered from a long-term injury in the 2007–08 season to score six times in his last eight appearances for Borussia Dortmund. After speculation regarding his future, he came back to action againstSchalke 04 in the fourth fixture of theBundesliga. He scored two goals, equalising in an incredible game.[3]
On 17 July 2009, he left Borussia Dortmund after 74 league matches[4] and, after six years, returned to Switzerland to sign with FC Basel.[5] He made his debut in a 2–1 win overFC Sion on 26 July 2009. He made an assist and also scored the last minute winner in the match at theStade Tourbillon.[6] During the2009–10 season he scored 15 goals in 19 league games and FC Basel won theDouble. During the2010–11 season he scored 27 goals in 35 league games, becoming theSwiss League Top goalscorer.
At the end of the 2011–12 season, Frei won his second Double with Basel, theLeague Championship title[7] and theSwiss Cup.[8]
In the2012–13 UEFA Europa League, Basel advanced as far as thesemi-finals, there being matched against the reigningUEFA Champions League holdersChelsea, but were knocked out being beaten 2–5 on aggregate.[9] Frei's last game in this competition was as Basel qualified for thequarter-finals in the home game againstTottenham Hotspur, whom they beat 4–1 onpenalties after a 4–4 aggregate draw to progress. Frei played his last professional match on 14 April 2013 in the home game atSt. Jakob-Park as Basel beatZürich 3–1. He led the team as captain for this game. He also scored his last goal, a free kick from about 25 meters in the 55th minute. He was substituted some ten minutes later to a standing ovation.[10][11] At the end of theSwiss Super League season 2012–13, Frei was awarded his fourth championship medal[12] and was awarded aSwiss Cup silver medal.[13]
Between the years from 1997 to 1998 and again from 2009 to 2013 Frei played a total of 217 games for Basel scoring a total of 148 goals. 114 of these games were in theSwiss Super League, 15 in theSwiss Cup, 38 in the European competitions (Champions League andEuropa League) and 50 were friendly games. He scored 74 goals in the domestic league, 13 in the cup, 22 in the European matches and the other 39 were scored during the test games. With the club he won four league championships and two cup titles.[14]
Frei representedSwitzerland at Under-18s,Under-19s andUnder-21s levels. He played his Swiss U-18s debut on 25 October 1995 in the 5-1 away defeat against theFrench Under-18s. His Under-21 debut was on 3 September 1999 in the 3-1 away win againstDenmark.
Frei played his debut asfull international on 24 March 2001,[15] being substituted in, during the 1–1 away draw against theRepublic of Yugoslavia during theWorld Cup qualification Group 1 match.[16] In the following match, four days later, Frei scored his first three goals for the national team in the 5–0 home win againstLuxembourg.[17]
Frei played forSwitzerland atEuro 2004. In a group match againstEngland, he was caught on camera appearing to spit atSteven Gerrard. Although no action was taken at the time, Frei was later charged and given a provisional 15-day suspension byUEFA.[18]
He scored six times in2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, including a second-minute penalty in the second leg of the play-off againstTurkey which his team won on away goals.[19] At thefinals in Germany, Frei wasMan of the match in the 2–0 group stage win overTogo inDortmund, opening the scoring fromTranquillo Barnetta's 17th-minute cross.[20] He concluded a win by the same score againstSouth Korea in the next game to send Switzerland through as group winners. This goal was controversial as refereeHoracio Elizondo overruled a judgement of offside by his assistant.[21]
On 30 May 2008, in Switzerland's final preparation match before co-hostingUEFA Euro 2008, Frei scored twice in a 3–0 friendly win overLiechtenstein. This moved him to 35 goals for the Switzerland national team, surpassing the record ofKubilay Türkyilmaz.[22] However, within the first half of the opening match of the tournament, Frei was injured while captaining the Swiss team and missed the rest of the tournament due to a torn knee ligament in his left knee after a challenge fromCzech defenderZdeněk Grygera. He decided to remain with the team to show his support. He later underwent surgery.[23]
In a Euro 2012 qualifier at home againstWales, he was booed by his own fans throughout the match, even though Switzerland won the match 4–1. When he was finally substituted the fans in the home sector booed him repeatedly.[24] On 5 April 2011, he decided to quit from the national squad after being criticised again following a 0–0 draw withBulgaria on 26 March for theEuro 2012 qualifying match.[25]
After Frei ended his career, he became new sports director ofFC Luzern. This was announced by both FC Basel[26] and Luzern[27] on 19 March 2013.
He was interim manager ofFC Basel in 2018.[28] In September 2020, he became head coach ofFC Wil 1900.[29] He stepped down from this position in November 2021 and in December signed on as head coach ofFC Winterthur.[30][31] After successfully leading Winterthur to promotion to theSuper League, he was signed by his former clubFC Basel to be their new head coach.[32] Frei and Basel parted ways on 7 February 2023, with the team sitting in seventh place in the table.[33] According to FC Basel sporting directorHeiko Vogel the 0–1 loss away toGrasshopper Club Zürich, following five league games without a win, on 4 February 2023, three days before, "was one defeat too many". On 1 February 2023, Basel had defeated Grasshoppers 5–3 in Zurich in their round of 16 match of the2022–23 Swiss Cup. On 12 June 2023, he was announced as the new head coach ofFC Aarau,[34][35] thus returning to theSwiss Challenge League. On 25 March 2024, he departed his position by mutual consent with the club to take a step back from coaching.[36] At the time of his departure, Aarau were in 3rd place, however with a significant gap to a promotion spot. In his last game, his team managed a late 2–0 win against cantonal rivalsFC Baden.
Alexander is of no relation to club and country team mateFabian Frei.[37] However, he is the second-cousin ofSeattle Sounders FC goalkeeper and former Swiss youth internationalStefan Frei.[38] His younger sister Andrea plays football for the Basel ladies team. He is married to Nina and they have a daughter born in 2012.[39]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 2001 | 8 | 5 |
| 2002 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2003 | 8 | 7 | |
| 2004 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 11 | 7 | |
| 2006 | 11 | 8 | |
| 2007 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 8 | 5 | |
| 2009 | 9 | 3 | |
| 2010 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 84 | 42 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 March 2001 | Hardturm,Zürich, Switzerland |  Luxembourg | 1–0 | 5–0 | 2002 World Cup qualifier |
| 2 | 2–0 | |||||
| 3 | 5–0 | |||||
| 4 | 2 June 2001 | Svangaskarð,Toftir, Faroe |  Faroe Islands | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2002 World Cup qualifier |
| 5 | 5 September 2001 | Stade Josy Barthel,Luxembourg, Luxembourg | Luxembourg | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2002 World Cup qualifier |
| 6 | 21 August 2002 | St. Jakob-Park,Basel, Switzerland |  Austria | 2–1 | 3–2 | Friendly |
| 7 | 8 September 2002 | St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland |  Georgia | 1–0 | 4–1 | Euro 2004 qualifier |
| 8 | 12 February 2003 | Športni Park,Nova Gorica, Slovenia |  Slovenia | 3–0 | 5–1 | Friendly |
| 9 | 5–0 | |||||
| 10 | 30 April 2003 | Stade de Genève,Geneva, Switzerland |  Italy | 1–0 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 11 | 7 June 2003 | St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland |  Russia | 1–0 | 2–2 | Euro 2004 qualifier |
| 12 | 2–0 | |||||
| 13 | 11 June 2003 | Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland |  Albania | 2–1 | 3–2 | Euro 2004 qualifier |
| 14 | 11 October 2003 | St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland |  Republic of Ireland | 2–0 | 2–0 | Euro 2004 qualifier |
| 15 | 18 February 2004 | Stade Moulay Abdellah,Rabat, Morocco |  Morocco | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 16 | 9 October 2004 | Ramat Gan Stadium,Ramat Gan, Israel |  Israel | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2006 World Cup qualifier |
| 17 | 30 March 2005 | Hardturm, Zürich, Switzerland |  Cyprus | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2006 World Cup qualifier |
| 18 | 4 June 2005 | Svangaskarð, Toftir, Faroe | Faroe Islands | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2006 World Cup qualifier |
| 19 | 3–1 | |||||
| 20 | 17 August 2005 | Ullevaal Stadion,Oslo, Norway |  Norway | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 21 | 3 September 2005 | St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland | Israel | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2006 World Cup qualifier |
| 22 | 7 September 2005 | GSP Stadium,Nicosia, Cyprus | Cyprus | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2006 World Cup qualifier |
| 23 | 16 November 2005 | Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium,Istanbul, Turkey |  Turkey | 1–0 | 2–4 | 2006 World Cup play-offs |
| 24 | 3 June 2006 | Hardturm, Zürich, Switzerland |  China | 1–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 25 | 3–0 | |||||
| 26 | 19 June 2006 | FIFA WM Stadion Dortmund,Dortmund, Germany |  Togo | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2006 World Cup |
| 27 | 23 June 2006 | FIFA WM Stadion Hannover,Hanover, Germany |  South Korea | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2006 World Cup |
| 28 | 16 August 2006 | Rheinpark Stadion,Vaduz, Liechtenstein |  Liechtenstein | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 29 | 2–0 | |||||
| 30 | 2 September 2006 | St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland |  Venezuela | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 31 | 6 September 2006 | Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland |  Costa Rica | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 32 | 25 March 2007 | Miami Orange Bowl,Miami, United States |  Colombia | 1–1 | 1–3 | Friendly |
| 33 | 24 May 2008 | Cornaredo Stadium,Lugano, Switzerland |  Slovakia | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 34 | 30 May 2008 | AFG Arena,St. Gallen, Switzerland | Liechtenstein | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 35 | 2–0 | |||||
| 36 | 11 October 2008 | AFG Arena, St. Gallen, Switzerland |  Latvia | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2010 World Cup qualifier |
| 37 | 15 October 2008 | Karaiskakis Stadium,Piraeus, Greece |  Greece | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2010 World Cup qualifier |
| 38 | 28 March 2009 | Zimbru Stadium,Chişinău, Moldova |  Moldova | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2010 World Cup qualifier |
| 39 | 1 April 2009 | Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland | Moldova | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2010 World Cup qualifier |
| 40 | 9 September 2009 | Skonto Stadium,Riga, Latvia | Latvia | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2010 World Cup qualifier |
| 41 | 17 November 2010 | Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland |  Ukraine | 1–0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 42 | 2–1 |
| Team | Nat. | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||||||
| FC Wil |  | 7 September 2020 | 9 November 2021 | 52 | 16 | 11 | 25 | 030.77 | |||
| Winterthur | | 20 December 2021 | 30 June 2022 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 055.56 | |||
| Basel | | 1 July 2022 | 7 February 2023 | 34 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 041.18 | |||
| Aarau | | 12 June 2023 | 16 March 2024 | 28 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 039.29 | |||
| Total | 132 | 51 | 34 | 47 | 038.64 | ||||||
Servette
Basel
Individual
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