Alexander Frei

Alexander Frei (born 15 July 1979 in Basel) is a Switzerland football (soccer) who currently plays for Switzerland Axpo Super League club FC Basel and the Switzerland national football team, of which Alexander Frei is captain.

Club career

Alexander Frei started Alexander Frei professional career with Alexander Frei hometown club of FC Basel, where Alexander Frei later was transferred to FC Thun, FC Lucerne, and Servette FC, all in Alexander Frei native Switzerland. After a transfer to French club Stade Rennais F.C., Alexander Frei finished as the highest goalscorer in Ligue 1 for the Ligue 1 season 2004/2005 with 20 goals and was named Swiss Footballer of the Year the same season. Alexander Frei was also named Swiss Footballer of the Year in 2004 and 2007.

Frei then signed a 4-year contract with Borussia Dortmund on 29 June 2006. Dortmund paid a transfer fee of approximately €5 million for him. From the end of the 2006–07 season, Alexander Frei has regularly been linked with Celtic F.C. and S.S.C. Napoli, whether either of these moves will materialise, however, is in doubt after Borussia Dortmund issued a press release insisting that Frei would go nowhere, even if a club offered €25 million. In the 2006-2007 season, Frei was the highest goal scorer for Borussia Dortmund with 16 goals in 32 matches.

Alexander Frei has recovered from a long-term injury in the 2007–08 season to score six times in Alexander Frei last eight appearances at Borussia Dortmund.

After speculation regarding Alexander Frei future, Alexander Frei came back to action against FC Schalke 04 in the fourth fixture of the Fußball-Bundesliga 2008–09. Alexander Frei scored two goals, equalising in an incredible game On 17 July 2009 left Borussia Dortmund and, after six years, returned to Switzerland to sign with FC Basel Alexander Frei made Alexander Frei debut in a 2-1 win over FC Sion on July 26 2009. Alexander Frei made an assist and also scored the last minute winner in the match at the Stade Tourbillon.

International career

Frei played for Switzerland national football team at UEFA Euro 2004 and at the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany. Alexander Frei scored two goals in the 2006 World Cup, one in the match against Togo national football team and a controversial goal against Korea Republic national football team. Frei currently has 67 caps for Switzerland.

Frei is also Switzerland's all time top scorer with 39 goals.
During Euro 2004, in a group match against England national football team, Frei was caught on camera appearing to spit at Steven Gerrard. Although no action was taken at the time, Frei was later charged and given a provisional 15 day suspension by UEFA. Despite this, Alexander Frei was subsequently cleared of the charge on appeal and atoned by agreeing to take care of a llama.

Within the first half of the opening match of UEFA Euro 2008, Frei was injured while captaining the Swiss team and missed the rest of the tournament due to a torn knee ligament in Alexander Frei left knee after a challenge from Czech Republic defender Zdeněk Grygera. However, Alexander Frei dutifully sat on the bench with the rest of Alexander Frei team for inspiration. Alexander Frei later underwent surgery.

Honours

- 2001: Winner of Schweizer Cup with Servette FC
- 2002: Semi-finalist of the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
- 2003: Second highest scorer in Ligue 1 (20 goals) after Djibril Cissé
- 2003: Credit Suisse Player of the Year
- 2005: Top goalscorers in Ligue 1 (20 goals)
- 2007: Swiss Player of the Year