Stefan Frei is a
SwissSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
footballer who currently plays for
Toronto FCToronto FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada....
in
Major League SoccerMajor League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
.
Youth and college
Frei moved from Switzerland to the United States in the late 1990s, attended
De La Salle High SchoolDe La Salle High School is a Roman Catholic Private school for boys in Concord, California, United States. Located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland, the school was founded in 1965 as a Lasallian institution. De La Salle currently enrolls just over 1,000 students, and roughly 99% of each...
in
Concord, CaliforniaConcord is the largest city in Contra Costa County, California, USA. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 122,067. Originally founded in 1869 as the community of Todos Santos by Salvio Pacheco, the name was changed to Concord within months...
, and played
college soccerCollege soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...
at the
University of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. In 2008, he was named to the All-Pac-10 first team and the NSCAA Far West All-Region team, and was also named to Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Season. During his college years, Frei also played with both San Francisco Seals and
San Jose FrogsSan Jose Frogs was an American soccer team based in San Jose, California, United States. Founded in 2005, the team played in the USL Premier Development League , the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2008, when the franchise folded and the team left the league.The team played its...
in the
USL Premier Development LeagueThe USL Premier Development League is the amateur league of the United Soccer Leagues in the United States, Canada, and Bermuda, forming part of the American Soccer Pyramid...
.
Professional
Frei was named MVP at the 2009 MLS Player Combine in
Fort Lauderdale, FloridaFort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
, signed a
Generation AdidasGeneration adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by adidas, encourages early entry of American players into MLS...
contract, and was drafted in the first round (13th overall) of the
2009 MLS SuperDraftThe 2009 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 15, 2009 in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the tenth annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection was owned by the expansion Seattle Sounders FC...
by
Toronto FCToronto FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada....
.
He made his professional debut on 21 March 2009, in Toronto's first game of the 2009 MLS season against
Kansas City WizardsSporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in Kansas City, Kansas that competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...
, and soon established himself as the team's first choice goalkeeper. Shortly after Frei was named Toronto FC
EsquireEsquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
Player of the Month for April 2009. Frei also won
MLSMajor League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
's Save of the Week for week 15 and then three times consecutively for week 24, 25 and 26 of the
2009 seasonThe 2009 Major League Soccer season was the 14th season of Major League Soccer. The season began on March 19 and ended with Real Salt Lake winning the MLS Cup 2009, on November 22 at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington-Changes from the 2008 season:...
.
He played in 3 games of the
2009 Canadian ChampionshipThe 2009 Canadian Championship was a soccer tournament hosted and organized by the Canadian Soccer Association that took place in the cities of Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver in 2009...
going 3-0 and ultimately making key saves in the deciding game that ensured
Toronto FCToronto FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada....
would win by at least 4 goals on goal differential and their first trophy.
On 25 April 2010, Frei picked up his first clean sheet of the
2010 seasonThe 2010 MLS season was the fourth season in Toronto FC's existence. The club was looking to make the playoffs for the first time in their history and ultimately fell short...
in a 2-0 home win versus the
Seattle Sounders FCSeattle Sounders FC is an American professional soccer club based in Seattle, Washington. The club competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Sounders FC was established in November 2007 as a MLS expansion team, making it the 15th team in...
. Frei had another standout season as Toronto's first choice keeper. He finished the season with a 1.32 goals against average and a 70% save percentage, he improved all statistics from his rookie season. It was announced on 18 November 2010 that Frei would graduate from the MLS
Generation AdidasGeneration adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by adidas, encourages early entry of American players into MLS...
program at the end of the 2010 season.
January 2011 after the hire of
Aron WinterAron Mohamed Winter [VIN-ter] is a retired Dutch football midfielder and current head coach of Toronto FC...
as the clubs new coach stated in an interview that
Julian De GuzmanJulian de Guzman is a Canadian soccer player who currently plays for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer.Previously, he played for Deportivo de La Coruña, and was the first Canadian to play in the Spanish La Liga...
,
Dwayne De RosarioDwayne Anthony De Rosario is a Canadian soccer player who currently plays for D.C. United in Major League Soccer. He also plays for the Canadian national team.-Early career:...
and Stefan would be the key players of the upcoming season and was impressed with Frei's abilities. Frei recorded his first clean sheet of the 2011 season in the second game of the year in a 2-0 home victory over
Portland TimbersPortland Timbers may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams:*Portland Timbers, a Major League Soccer expansion team that began playing in 2011....
on March 26. Frei also earned his third assist since playing with Toronto setting up the second goal for
Javier MartinaJavier Sylvester Martina is a Curaçaoan-Dutch footballer who last played for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer. He also plays for the Curaçao national soccer team.-Netherlands:...
, it was later awarded the Goal of the Week in MLS. Following the departure of Toronto captain Dwayne De Rosario in early April, Coach Winter named Maicon Santos as the replacement captain while Frei would be come vice captain. On April 13 against
Los Angeles GalaxyThe Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second...
Frei wore the captain's armband for the first time with Toronto due to an injury to Santos, the game ended in a 0-0 home draw.
International
Frei was a member of the Swiss U-15 National team. Despite interest from the
U.S. national teamThe United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
program, Frei has said he is committed to the
Swiss national teamThe Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...
if called up in the future.
Personal life
Stefan is second-cousin to the recently retired captain of, and all-time leading scorer for, the Swiss national football team,
Alexander Frei, an accomplished striker twice voted Swiss player of the year, who currently plays for Axpo Super League club
FC BaselFussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel is a Swiss football club based in Basel. They are one of the most successful clubs in Swiss football, having won the Swiss Super League 14 times, the third most for any Swiss club. They were most successful in the late 1960s and 1970s, winning the...
.
Toronto FC
- Canadian Championship
The Canadian Championship—known as the Nutrilite Canadian Championship for sponsorship reasons—is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams...
(3): 2009The 2009 Canadian Championship was a soccer tournament hosted and organized by the Canadian Soccer Association that took place in the cities of Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver in 2009...
, 2010The 2010 Canadian Championship was a soccer tournament hosted and organized by the Canadian Soccer Association that took place in the cities of Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver in 2010...
, 2011The 2011 Canadian Championship was a soccer tournament hosted and organized by the Canadian Soccer Association that took place in the cities of Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver in 2011. As in previous tournaments, participating teams included the Montreal Impact, Toronto FC and Vancouver...
Club Statistics
| Club |
Nat |
Season |
League |
League |
Playoff |
Domestic Cup |
Continental |
Total |
| Apps |
Goals |
Apps |
Goals |
Apps |
Goals |
Apps |
Goals |
Apps |
Goals |
Toronto FCToronto FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada....
|
 Canada |
2009 The 2009 Major League Soccer season was the 14th season of Major League Soccer. The season began on March 19 and ended with Real Salt Lake winning the MLS Cup 2009, on November 22 at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington-Changes from the 2008 season:...
|
MLS Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
|
26 |
0 |
- |
3 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
31 |
0 |
| 2010 The 2010 Major League Soccer season was the 98th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer, the 32nd with a national first-division league, in the United States and Canada, and the 15th in MLS history. It began on March 25 at Seattle's Qwest Field with Seattle Sounders FC defeating the expansion...
|
28 |
0 |
- |
2 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
33 |
0 |
| 2011 The 2011 Major League Soccer season was the 99th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer, the 33rd with a national first-division league, in the United States and Canada, and the 16th season of Major League Soccer. The season marked the arrival of two new league clubs, Portland Timbers and Vancouver...
|
27 |
0 |
- |
4 |
0 |
- |
31 |
0 |
| Career total |
81 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
95 |
0 |
Last updated on September 24, 2011
External links