32: Brad Friedel, USA, USA ’94 World Cup, UK and Eire Edition

Today Mat Jolin-Beech takes a look at a Premier League legend from across the pond who didn’t have the easiest of journeys to these shores. As we are all finding out in these post-Brexit days of British fish and blue passports sometimes paperwork leaves you tearing your hair out. At least that’s why I reckon the young man you see in the image below turned up on Merseyside looking very different once the correct boxes were ticked. Over to Mat. 

We here at A Sticker’s Worth 500 Words love a keeper whether it is a plucky under study like Van Der Gouw or Frode Grodas, or those cult heroes who got to wear some wonderful late 80s/early 90s goalie shirts. They often have the joy of a much longer career than most other players. Whether this is down to being deemed to mature later into their position, or the relative lack of physical exertion, they often play on into their fifth decade. Edwin van der Sar; Dino Zoff and Gianluigi Buffon among that elite group.

As is the subject of this blog. One Brad “The Human Wall” Friedel. The all-American hero and Premier League stalwart. He scored for Blackburn Rovers becoming only the second keeper to score from open play behind one Peter Schmeichel. Amusingly Rovers then lost to Charlton as Claus Jensen scored almost immediately after to condemn big bad Brad to a 3-2 defeat. He has a number of league records too. They are:

- The most number of consecutive league appearances with 310.

- He is officially the oldest player to play for Aston Villa, aged 40 years and four days.

- He also holds that accolade for Tottenham Hotspur.

- Finally, he holds the record for the highest number of Premier League appearances for any North or South American with 450.

And yet, the story was very nearly so very different. For Friedel, the dream to keep net for an English soccer team very nearly failed. Not due to a lack of talent or ability but because of bureaucracy. Starting way back in the days before HD TV, Friedel got into soccer during his college days in the late 80s.  As his early career progressed, he amassed titles and accolades. His 66 games for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) were capped off when Soccer America magazine named Friedel in its College Team of the Century. His first call up to the national team also came at this time. Now was the time for Friedel to make it big and move to England. 

He wanted to play for Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest (who wouldn’t?). But he was denied a work permit. A trial with Celtic failed to result in anything, so he signed centrally for the US Soccer Federation ahead of USA ‘94. Shortly afterwards Kevin Keegan made it clear he would have loved to have signed Friedel for his Newcastle United side but again work permit issues prevented a move. A move to Europe did happen, with Brondby snapping him up, but they then didn’t play him at all in 1995. Following the US Cup and Copa America, Friedel, obviously desperate to get to England, wanted to join Sunderland. And once again failed. Graeme Souness, at this time leading an ex-pat army with Galatasaray in Turkey, signed him and actually played him.

This was to prove pivotal, as these minutes were enough, on appeal following another rejected work permit, for Friedel to sign for Liverpool in 1997.  Three years on Merseyside saw Friedel relegated to the bench behind David ‘Calamity’ James, and Sander ‘The Bomb’ Westerveld. In 2000, he was reunited with his ally from Turkey, with Souness bringing him to Blackburn Rovers. The rest they say, is history.