Twice denied work permits to play in England, U.S. goalkeeper Brad Friedel has finally landed a club — Broendby in the Danish Super League.
The championship portion of the season, in which the top eight teams in the first phase play each other twice to decide the title, kicked off March 19 with regular Mogens Krogh in goal and Friedel on the bench. But the American keeper believes head coach Ebbe Skovdahl may give him a start soon.
“[Krogh] made it pretty clear he wants to leave at the end of the season,” said Friedel, who has been in Denmark since mid-January. “We shared time in the preseason, and I really think I’ll get a chance.”
The team is well-stocked with Danish internationals, including captain Kim Vilfort and Mark Strudal, and started the championship phase with a slim one-point lead at the top. The Danish soccer federation is gradually implementing full-time professionalism, and hopes to have a Super League of 12 full-time teams within five years, although the collapse of two teams last year alarmed federation officials.
Broendby is one of four clubs currently fielding a full-time roster, but Friedel says the part-time status of some teams can’t be discerned from the action.
“They play with a ton of passion, and the same can be said of the fans,” he says. “It’s a lot like the English games, which are very popular here.”
Friedel languished for months last fall while attempting to get a British work permit. Newcastle eventually gave up its attempt to secure a work permit and worked a loan deal for him that runs until June 30.
According to Friedel, U.S. Soccer retained his rights even though he was being paid only per-diem while training with the national team. Technically, U.S. Soccer has loaned him to Broendby, since no deal could be consummated with Newcastle without a work permit.
“Newcastle is a very, very good place for a player,” he says. “They let me train and play in closed-door games while they tried to get the work permit, and when that fell through, they still tried to help me. And Broendby is a good club.”
He’s living in a flat that once housed Danish international keeper Peter Schmeichel, fully furnished with all the amenities a soccer player needs — including a satellite dish, on which he can watch domestic and international games and highlights from across Europe.
“Like I said, this is a good club,” says Friedel. “All I had to do was ask for the satellite dish, and I got it.”
by Soccer America Senior Editor Ridge Mahoney