‘Happy as I’ve ever been’
Brad Friedel has been the No. 2 U.S. goalkeeper since the buildup to the 1994 World Cup, making 57 appearance as the backup first to Tony Meola and, in recent years, Kasey Keller. He got his chance to star in the Americans’ Confederations Cup win over Germany.
SOCCER AMERICA: Bruce Arena gave you the captain’s armband for the match with the Germans. What did it mean to you? BRAD FRIEDEL: It’s the first time I’ve ever done so with the national team from the start of the game, and it was a special occasion for me. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t.
SA: You’re good enough to be the starting goalkeeper on 95 percent of the national teams around the world. Is it frustrating that you’ve always had to play second fiddle? BF: I don’t really want to comment on any of that. … I used to be more confrontational than I am now. There’s just no real need for that. I’m just going to keep working hard and keep a smile on my face.
SA: You seem happier than I’ve seen you in a long time. BF: For some odd reason, I’m about as happy as I’ve ever been. Obviously, I want to play week in and week out. But, honestly, my outlook on soccer in the States and in Europe right now is great. And I’m the type of person that I’ll keep working, and as long as I keep working hard, I’ll land on my feet somewhere.
SA: Where are you going to play this year? BF: Right now, I’m going back to Liverpool. I’ve got two more years on my contract. If I move, I move. I don’t want to move, but I would move if I wasn’t playing, [that] kind of thing. I’ve missed all the preseason, so it will be interesting when I get back. We’ll see what happens.
SA: Liverpool brought in another foreign goalkeeper, Dutchman Sander Westerveld … BF: I don’t know much about him. We’d only been a week in preseason, and then I came here.
SA: You want to be No. 1. Missing preseason means you probably won’t be. BF: Every big club has two, sometimes three or four top goalkeepers. Look at Chelsea. They have internationals not suiting up, which could happen to me because you’re only allowed to play three non-European Community players and we have four. If [Coach Gerard Houllier] wants to play the other three, then I couldn’t be in the squad. That would make a transfer [occur] that much quicker. Houllier told me he’s not wanted to sell me. We’ll just see what happens.
SA: How would you characterize your experience with Liverpool? BF: It’s been interesting. I was signed, told I was going to be No. 1 straightaway. I came in, waited two months, was learning the ropes, started the next season, played real well, had a bad 20 minutes [against Tottenham], was taken out, then I ended the season strong last year. It’s been kind of an emotional roller-coaster ride. However, you’re at Liverpool. It’s an experience you can’t explain. When all is said and done with, you’ll learn more by making moves to Galatasaray and Liverpool than making moves elsewhere. That’s just a fact of football life.
SA: You’ve gone blond. What bet did you lose? BF: I was just walking by a salon [in Guadalajara] and was bored, so I decided to get it dyed. I wanted to do it while I still had hair left, you know?
by Soccer America senior editor Scott French in Guadalajara
