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Friedel reveals management ambitions and secret to long playing career as Sportsmail joins Tottenham's 42-year-old keeper for training... Premier League style!
By Dan Ripley
PUBLISHED: 18:21 GMT, 22 January 2014 | UPDATED: 19:17 GMT, 22 January 2014
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...il-visits-Spurs-keeper-training.html#comments
In Premier League history, May 14, 1995 has proved a significant date for a number of high profile reasons – not just for providing a frantic and unique last day of the 1994/95 season.
Blackburn won their first top flight title since 1914, Crystal Palace became the only team in the Premier League era to be relegated finishing fourth from bottom and it was the final time the English top flight featured 22 teams.
From a player perspective though, John Burridge made his final goalkeeping appearance for Manchester City at the age of 43 years and 163 days to set a still standing record as the oldest ever Premier League player.
In an age where the pace of the game has quickened and the call for young legs has increased, it looked like a very safe record for ‘Budgie’ – but a certain Tottenham goalkeeper is closing in on it.
Brad Friedel is 43 in May, and judging by his appearances for Spurs this season shows no sign of letting up, with the American featuring seven times as back-up to Hugo Lloris this term.
I arrived at Tottenham’s stunning new training ground on a relatively mild January afternoon to meet the former USA international who in addition would also put on a Premier League style training session to put me through my paces.
His team-mates have been given the day off so someone has to use the facilities recognised as one of the finest in Europe.
Coaching is not part of Friedel’s day job at Spurs, but the keeper admits that becoming a coach is something he is working towards, while he also reveals on whether he is interested in the idea of management once his playing days conclude
‘Yes it does, whether it’s coaching or it’s management ‘Friedel said. ‘From my standpoint, it’s a great area to watch a game from and to learn from. When I started doing my coaching you pick an area on the field that you see best from, and mine’s obviously – if you’re doing phases of play for example – you go and you stand behind the goalkeeper and you can see everything.
‘I think that comes more from the fact that, many moons ago, people thought goalkeepers were crazy and they were sort of just set aside. I’ll agree that some goalkeepers are eccentric, but you can’t be thick to be a goalkeeper. You have to make too many decisions at too short a notice to be thick. Eccentric, yes of course you can be, absolutely, but to be a top goalkeeper you can’t be thick.
‘Of course it’s something that I’m interested in [coaching], definitely. I’ll finish my A license sometime just after the summer. It’s been a long haul. I heard a player on one of the radio programmes the other day saying ‘I’ll start my badges, they can fast-track players through’.
‘There’s nothing fast-track about it if you do it properly. It’s an important part – not so much the knowledge, because the knowledge is in most of our heads, especially those of us who have been involved in the game a long time – but it’s ‘how do you get it out of them? Who do you get it out to?
‘The man management aspects – that’s why probably playing helps with that side, but the organisation of a training session… If you’re not organised it’s a tough thing and players will spot it. It doesn’t matter at what age. A 14-year-old will go out there and say ‘this isn’t organised, this is garbage’.
So, on to Friedel’s training session – and it takes approximately 30 seconds before the keeper’s fitness drills have many of us in attendance looking a little foolish.
This reporter is one of them. Short sprints backwards and forwards to play under pressure passes on the volley and head soon take their toll.
Passes soon go wayward, the legs get heavy, and the sprints turn into jaded jogs. The American doesn’t take long to release some light hearted banter by reminding us that he can still do this at a high level as a 42-year-old goalkeeper.
After a short drinks break, it’s time for a three-a-side passing game – with the aim to complete 10 consecutive passes without an interception. Each 10-move set gains you a goal… our session finishes 0-0.
Our performance improves after Friedel reminds us that we have more time on the ball than we think, but this is still tough. When I ask the Spurs stopper how many 10-move sets are completed among the first-team, he simply smiles and says ‘a lot!’ Point taken.
By the time our ‘four-a-side’ matches come round at the end, my legs have had it. Don’t be fooled by this reporter’s youthful looks, this training session has made me realise how ridiculously unfit I am – I almost take consolation from the American’s words saying how his session could have been more punishing.
‘You have to learn the right sizes of the field for the right types of players,’ Friedel said. ‘We’ll just take today, I didn’t know what you guys’ skill levels were going to be, so one of the reasons I did the ball work was so that I could see the skill levels, and if I needed to change the size of the three v threes [pitch size] then I would have done.
‘Those were probably the right size because if I’d made it any bigger you guys would have got really tired. It’s the little things you learn along the way. Five years ago when I started doing the coaching stuff, I wouldn’t have even thought of that. I would have said ‘well you adapt’, and that’s not how it works.’ I think you have to take your ego and put it to the side because you’ve started from the basement.’
Little appears to slow Friedel down. In matches he doesn’t make the crazy sweeper-keeper runs that Lloris does on a regular basis for Spurs, but the American never did.
The 42-year-old has always commanded a penalty area well, and has often been well positioned to make his key saves. But only a select few players have played in the Premier League beyond 40, and the American revealed the key factors behind his longevity.
Friedel added: ‘I’ve done the same for probably the last 10 years now. I do yoga quite often. Yoga for me has been a really important part of my training regime. It was actually a player I used to play with [at Galatasaray], Barry Venison. I visited him after I tore my quad.
‘I did some rehab and he said I should get into it. I came back here [England] and then some guys from Holland that I used to do some rehab work with, they started getting me involved and said ‘you know what you should really do? You’re 32 now, or whatever it was. Your core should be much more flexible than it is. It’s strong but it’s tight and you’re just going to continue to get these injuries if you don’t sort that out. We’ve got pilates, we’ve got yoga and so on.’ And that’s how it came to pass.’
‘I’m not a big drinker, I eat the right foods. Everybody’s body chemistry is different, so the right foods are… I can go to the sports science department and have my blood taken and they can see what I’m deficient in and what I’m not – and then the right foods are what you’re deficient in, you eat those foods.’
‘I’m not one for the protein-only diets and things of that nature. I’m well-balanced. If I have my blood-work done and I’m deficient in Vitamin D, well that’s because I live in England.’
Talk soon turns to how the season is going at Tottenham and despite not yet appearing under new boss Tim Sherwood, Friedel is happy with the direction the former Spurs midfielder is taking the club following the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas in December.
Friedel was keen to defend Villas-Boas’ playing style, but admits that Sherwood has injected new life into the team by introducing youngsters from Tottenham’s academy system which has propelled the club back into contention for a Champions League place.
This includes Nabil Bentaleb, who made an impressive debut at Southampton last month and has since become a key member of the match day squad.
Friedel said: ‘Tim being a Tottenham player as well knows exactly what the Tottenham supporters want to see, but that’s also indoctrined in his own philosophy. He likes players to go forward, he likes attacking football, he likes crosses into the box, he likes bodies in the box.
‘I like that, as a goalkeeper I think it’s exciting to play in, so that’s what Tim likes to do and we have the players here who can do that. AVB liked to attack as well, just in a different manner. In the Newcastle match we had something like 27 shots on goal. You can’t say that we weren’t attacking.
‘Sometimes in football it’s really fine margins. You can play awful and win 1-0 and everyone goes home happy, or you can lose 1-0 and everyone wants everyone sacked at the club. That’s how it goes.
‘I think AVB probably wouldn’t have known a lot of the younger players as well as Tim. It’s easier for Tim to know who he will trust playing the games, but Tim would never put someone in the game that he didn’t think could do the job.
‘Tim knew, going away to Southampton… I’m sure people were saying ‘who’s this coming on?’ And he [Bentaleb] came on and he was arguably the best player for the rest of the game. But I don’t think that fazed Tim at all. He knew that by putting him on he’d play well. His job here was to be the head of the development squad and that’s those players.’
It’s in with the new at Spurs, but is it out with the old? Friedel claims his situation is a monthly basis now rather than a yearly one, but admits he still has a desire to remain at the club, whether that will be in a coaching role, a playing role – or even both.
‘Yeah it would be great if I could,’ Friedel said. ‘We just have to wait and see. At my age it’s more of a month to month thing instead of year to year.
‘On that side of things [coaching], I think most people would love to be at a club like this. There would have to be jobs available and there would have to be conversations and they would have to want me. Again, there’s interest in doing something like that [being a player/coach], of course.
So with Friedel keen to continue his playing career into another season, there could be a date to mark on your Premier League calendars this year.
As long as the American can feature between Premier League sticks from Saturday, November 1 onwards, Burridge’s 19-year record could come to an end. Regardless of whether Friedel actually succeeds, a day under his coaching has me at the very least dusting off the yoga mat.
Under Armour athlete and Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Brad Friedel trains in ColdGear Infrared, the latest innovation in base layer technology that uses a thermo-conductive inner coating to keep you warmer for longer. For more details about the range, please visit www.UnderArmour.com
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...sits-Spurs-keeper-training.html#ixzz2rGeFEcAQ
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
By Dan Ripley
PUBLISHED: 18:21 GMT, 22 January 2014 | UPDATED: 19:17 GMT, 22 January 2014
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...il-visits-Spurs-keeper-training.html#comments
In Premier League history, May 14, 1995 has proved a significant date for a number of high profile reasons – not just for providing a frantic and unique last day of the 1994/95 season.
Blackburn won their first top flight title since 1914, Crystal Palace became the only team in the Premier League era to be relegated finishing fourth from bottom and it was the final time the English top flight featured 22 teams.
From a player perspective though, John Burridge made his final goalkeeping appearance for Manchester City at the age of 43 years and 163 days to set a still standing record as the oldest ever Premier League player.
In an age where the pace of the game has quickened and the call for young legs has increased, it looked like a very safe record for ‘Budgie’ – but a certain Tottenham goalkeeper is closing in on it.
Brad Friedel is 43 in May, and judging by his appearances for Spurs this season shows no sign of letting up, with the American featuring seven times as back-up to Hugo Lloris this term.
I arrived at Tottenham’s stunning new training ground on a relatively mild January afternoon to meet the former USA international who in addition would also put on a Premier League style training session to put me through my paces.
His team-mates have been given the day off so someone has to use the facilities recognised as one of the finest in Europe.
Coaching is not part of Friedel’s day job at Spurs, but the keeper admits that becoming a coach is something he is working towards, while he also reveals on whether he is interested in the idea of management once his playing days conclude
‘Yes it does, whether it’s coaching or it’s management ‘Friedel said. ‘From my standpoint, it’s a great area to watch a game from and to learn from. When I started doing my coaching you pick an area on the field that you see best from, and mine’s obviously – if you’re doing phases of play for example – you go and you stand behind the goalkeeper and you can see everything.
‘I think that comes more from the fact that, many moons ago, people thought goalkeepers were crazy and they were sort of just set aside. I’ll agree that some goalkeepers are eccentric, but you can’t be thick to be a goalkeeper. You have to make too many decisions at too short a notice to be thick. Eccentric, yes of course you can be, absolutely, but to be a top goalkeeper you can’t be thick.
‘Of course it’s something that I’m interested in [coaching], definitely. I’ll finish my A license sometime just after the summer. It’s been a long haul. I heard a player on one of the radio programmes the other day saying ‘I’ll start my badges, they can fast-track players through’.
‘There’s nothing fast-track about it if you do it properly. It’s an important part – not so much the knowledge, because the knowledge is in most of our heads, especially those of us who have been involved in the game a long time – but it’s ‘how do you get it out of them? Who do you get it out to?
‘The man management aspects – that’s why probably playing helps with that side, but the organisation of a training session… If you’re not organised it’s a tough thing and players will spot it. It doesn’t matter at what age. A 14-year-old will go out there and say ‘this isn’t organised, this is garbage’.
So, on to Friedel’s training session – and it takes approximately 30 seconds before the keeper’s fitness drills have many of us in attendance looking a little foolish.
This reporter is one of them. Short sprints backwards and forwards to play under pressure passes on the volley and head soon take their toll.
Passes soon go wayward, the legs get heavy, and the sprints turn into jaded jogs. The American doesn’t take long to release some light hearted banter by reminding us that he can still do this at a high level as a 42-year-old goalkeeper.
After a short drinks break, it’s time for a three-a-side passing game – with the aim to complete 10 consecutive passes without an interception. Each 10-move set gains you a goal… our session finishes 0-0.
Our performance improves after Friedel reminds us that we have more time on the ball than we think, but this is still tough. When I ask the Spurs stopper how many 10-move sets are completed among the first-team, he simply smiles and says ‘a lot!’ Point taken.
By the time our ‘four-a-side’ matches come round at the end, my legs have had it. Don’t be fooled by this reporter’s youthful looks, this training session has made me realise how ridiculously unfit I am – I almost take consolation from the American’s words saying how his session could have been more punishing.
‘You have to learn the right sizes of the field for the right types of players,’ Friedel said. ‘We’ll just take today, I didn’t know what you guys’ skill levels were going to be, so one of the reasons I did the ball work was so that I could see the skill levels, and if I needed to change the size of the three v threes [pitch size] then I would have done.
‘Those were probably the right size because if I’d made it any bigger you guys would have got really tired. It’s the little things you learn along the way. Five years ago when I started doing the coaching stuff, I wouldn’t have even thought of that. I would have said ‘well you adapt’, and that’s not how it works.’ I think you have to take your ego and put it to the side because you’ve started from the basement.’
Little appears to slow Friedel down. In matches he doesn’t make the crazy sweeper-keeper runs that Lloris does on a regular basis for Spurs, but the American never did.
The 42-year-old has always commanded a penalty area well, and has often been well positioned to make his key saves. But only a select few players have played in the Premier League beyond 40, and the American revealed the key factors behind his longevity.
Friedel added: ‘I’ve done the same for probably the last 10 years now. I do yoga quite often. Yoga for me has been a really important part of my training regime. It was actually a player I used to play with [at Galatasaray], Barry Venison. I visited him after I tore my quad.
‘I did some rehab and he said I should get into it. I came back here [England] and then some guys from Holland that I used to do some rehab work with, they started getting me involved and said ‘you know what you should really do? You’re 32 now, or whatever it was. Your core should be much more flexible than it is. It’s strong but it’s tight and you’re just going to continue to get these injuries if you don’t sort that out. We’ve got pilates, we’ve got yoga and so on.’ And that’s how it came to pass.’
‘I’m not a big drinker, I eat the right foods. Everybody’s body chemistry is different, so the right foods are… I can go to the sports science department and have my blood taken and they can see what I’m deficient in and what I’m not – and then the right foods are what you’re deficient in, you eat those foods.’
‘I’m not one for the protein-only diets and things of that nature. I’m well-balanced. If I have my blood-work done and I’m deficient in Vitamin D, well that’s because I live in England.’
Talk soon turns to how the season is going at Tottenham and despite not yet appearing under new boss Tim Sherwood, Friedel is happy with the direction the former Spurs midfielder is taking the club following the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas in December.
Friedel was keen to defend Villas-Boas’ playing style, but admits that Sherwood has injected new life into the team by introducing youngsters from Tottenham’s academy system which has propelled the club back into contention for a Champions League place.
This includes Nabil Bentaleb, who made an impressive debut at Southampton last month and has since become a key member of the match day squad.
Friedel said: ‘Tim being a Tottenham player as well knows exactly what the Tottenham supporters want to see, but that’s also indoctrined in his own philosophy. He likes players to go forward, he likes attacking football, he likes crosses into the box, he likes bodies in the box.
‘I like that, as a goalkeeper I think it’s exciting to play in, so that’s what Tim likes to do and we have the players here who can do that. AVB liked to attack as well, just in a different manner. In the Newcastle match we had something like 27 shots on goal. You can’t say that we weren’t attacking.
‘Sometimes in football it’s really fine margins. You can play awful and win 1-0 and everyone goes home happy, or you can lose 1-0 and everyone wants everyone sacked at the club. That’s how it goes.
‘I think AVB probably wouldn’t have known a lot of the younger players as well as Tim. It’s easier for Tim to know who he will trust playing the games, but Tim would never put someone in the game that he didn’t think could do the job.
‘Tim knew, going away to Southampton… I’m sure people were saying ‘who’s this coming on?’ And he [Bentaleb] came on and he was arguably the best player for the rest of the game. But I don’t think that fazed Tim at all. He knew that by putting him on he’d play well. His job here was to be the head of the development squad and that’s those players.’
It’s in with the new at Spurs, but is it out with the old? Friedel claims his situation is a monthly basis now rather than a yearly one, but admits he still has a desire to remain at the club, whether that will be in a coaching role, a playing role – or even both.
‘Yeah it would be great if I could,’ Friedel said. ‘We just have to wait and see. At my age it’s more of a month to month thing instead of year to year.
‘On that side of things [coaching], I think most people would love to be at a club like this. There would have to be jobs available and there would have to be conversations and they would have to want me. Again, there’s interest in doing something like that [being a player/coach], of course.
So with Friedel keen to continue his playing career into another season, there could be a date to mark on your Premier League calendars this year.
As long as the American can feature between Premier League sticks from Saturday, November 1 onwards, Burridge’s 19-year record could come to an end. Regardless of whether Friedel actually succeeds, a day under his coaching has me at the very least dusting off the yoga mat.
Under Armour athlete and Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Brad Friedel trains in ColdGear Infrared, the latest innovation in base layer technology that uses a thermo-conductive inner coating to keep you warmer for longer. For more details about the range, please visit www.UnderArmour.com
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...sits-Spurs-keeper-training.html#ixzz2rGeFEcAQ
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
