Special praise from the coach
Fitter than ever: FCB-Frei wants to know again
As difficult as the first half of the season at FCB was, the end of the year was just as fantastic for Fabian Frei: The 34-year-old celebrated his World Cup debut in Qatar. The captain wants to use the tailwind from the desert World Cup to restart at red-blue.
Published: 23 minutes ago
1/11
Feels fitter than in previous years: Fabian Frei from FC Basel.
Sebastian WendellReporter football
Does Fabian play freely? What was a hypothetical question at FCB for a long time became a political issue this season. Trainer and namesake Alex Frei largely did without the services of his captain in the second part of the preliminary round. In addition: President David Degen denigrated Frei during a game by running attested a “beer mat radius” to the FCB record player, whose contract he extended until 2024 a year ago.
In an interview with the “Basler Zeitung”, Frei reveals his hard work with the reservist role: “Of course I didn’t agree with every decision made by Alex Frei. I would have liked certain things to be different. But I respected it.” And to the Degen criticism: “I was mad at him at first, but I know how David is. He also approached me directly at the time and apologized.”
Internally, there were doubts about Frei’s physical condition in the autumn, one of the reasons for the loss of the regular place. The 34-year-old: “If you hear or read that all the time, you think to yourself: maybe the coach thinks that way and just doesn’t tell me. And if my wife also hears a silly comment when she fetches the little ones from kindergarten, you start thinking again.”
Erich Vogel about Fabian Frei: “His career is going in the wrong direction”(06:22)
Frei changed certain things during the winter break, ate less chocolate than in previous years and also kept an eye on nutrition. “I was one of the most diligent players: I did additional units and not just the given program.”
“Fabian Frei, who was on the mat at the start of training on January 2nd, had little to do with Fabian Frei in the fall.”FCB coach Alex Frei on his player
With success: Frei’s training values show that he runs more and faster than before. Trainer Alex Frei gives special praise for this: “Fabian Frei, who was on the mat at the start of training on January 2nd, had little to do with Fabian Frei in the fall. He has done everything to change his position for the better. Other players can take a lesson from his attitude: if a 34-year-old goes the extra mile, an 18-year-old should do it even more.”
Return to a regular place?
By the way: Frei’s reserve role at FCB didn’t change anything about Murat Yakin’s confidence, the national coach called him up for the World Cup as if it were the most normal thing in the world. With the World Cup premiere behind him (two substitutions against Cameroon and Brazil), Frei wants to attack again at FCB.
Fabian Frei proved his good shape with a confident performance in the final rehearsal of the second half of the season against BVB. In the 4-4-2 system, he played in central defense – as a substitute for the injured defender Arnau Comas. That should also be the case on Sunday in St. Gallen. Will there still be a place for Frei in the FCB ensemble after the Spaniard’s return? That is one of the many explosive questions that will accompany Red-Blue in the second half of the season.
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