Torsten Frings

Torsten Frings (born November 22, 1976 in Würselen, Germany) is a Germany football (soccer) midfielder who currently plays for Werder Bremen of the German Bundesliga (football)

Frings has a rather rough football style and is known to cause many fouls. This, though, does not hold him back from his true strengths. Frings is known to have great pace and versatility. He is often compared to Bayern Munich player Bastian Schweinsteiger and Chelsea F.C. star Frank Lampard as he is known to make many long-range efforts.

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.

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 €10m, penning the contract two games into the competition. A regular in his first term at the Signal Iduna Park, 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 FC 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.

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. 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.

Player profile

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

Following Germany's penalty shootout victory over Argentina national football team 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 Ricardo 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 national football team 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."

Personal

- Torsten Frings is married to Petra and they have two children, Lisa-Katharina and Lena.
- He considers Muhammad Ali as the greatest sportsperson of all time and thinks of Brazil's Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima and Kaka as being two of the best players in the world at the moment.
- His hobbies include spending time with his family and riding his motorbike.
- His favourite food is pasta, and he enjoys listening to hip-hop
- Father: Dieter Frings

Trivia

- In his early years at Werder Bremen, Frings earned the nickname "Lutscher" (Lollipop, Sucker). After fouling Werder's Austrian star Andreas Herzog during a training session, Herzog barked on the young player Frings. Frings responded: "Was willst du denn - Lutscher?" (What do you want, sucker/lollipop?) Frings nickname is now roared by the crowd in Bremen.
- Frings is a natural center midfielder, but has played a multitude of positions before in his career:
- - As a young rookie in Aachen, he played as a striker alongside veteran Marcus Feinbier.
- - In his first Bremen stint under Felix Magath, he mostly played as a right Midfielder Winger.
- - In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, manager Rudi Völler played him as a right Defender (football) Fullback.
- His Ruhr derby comeback against Schalke in January 2004 was watched by a Bundesliga (football) record crowd of 83,000.
- In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Frings was suspended for 1 game (semi-final match against Italy) for his part in the skirmish between the Germans and the Argentinians after Germany defeated them 4-2 in penalty kicks.
- He has grown his hair and it is now shoulder length. He started it in the 04-05 season.

Honours

- Bundesliga (football): 2005
- DFB Pokal: 2005
- Confederations Cup Bronze medallist: 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup
- 2002 FIFA World Cup Runner Up
- 2006 FIFA World Cup 3rd Place