11 Freunde Interview with Chicago's Arne Friedrich

Discussion in 'MLS: News & Analysis' started by ami-berliner, Aug 1, 2012.

  1. ami-berliner

    ami-berliner Member

    Mar 21, 2004
    Berlin
    Club:
    Hertha BSC Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Article just came out today. Will only summarize the relevant MLS related bits:

    Arne Friedrich talks about Chicago and the near end of his career.
    "I had already tossed out my cleats."

    Despite stars like David Beckham, Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez, soccer is still a fringe sport in the US?
    Absolutely. An example of this is a promotional clip for the largest local sports station. They use four logos: the Chicago Bulls (basketball), Cubs (baseball), the White Sox (baseball) and the Bears (American football) - the Chicago Fire Logo does not show up. But one must remember that MLS has only existed since 1996. There is still a lot of building going on.

    The Chicago Fire has, for U.S. standards, a large fan and ultra-movement.
    That's exactly right. There is even Polish and Hispanic groups. They are all united in the supporters' association, "Section 8". They really let it rip and are at every away match. This sometimes requires a lot of effort, as the distance here between venues is in no way compare with Germany.

    How big are the differences in the game?
    Physically, the guys are sometimes better than in Europe. The good old American philosophy of fitness first. Tactically and technically there is still room for improvement.

    How can this be observed?

    Here's an example: If a ball is won in your own half, it's not circulated along the defensive line, but is promptly played back to the front. So it's kick and rush all the time. But I do think that the players here have learned a bit in recent years. Also, because many Europeans play in the MLS, one can only hope that the league will become interesting for European trainers in the near future.

    You play together with former Stuttgarter Pavel Pardo. How important was it to have a familiar face on the team?

    Pavel is a good guy and it's nice that he's here too. But that didn't play a role in my move. I am someone who is open to meeting new people.

    Before your move, did you have any contact with the other Germans in MLS? Frank Rost or Torsten Frings?

    I talked to Frank a few times, and he only had postive things to say about the League, soccer and customs.

    Did you speak about the weather?
    No.

    Then you must have been shocked during your debut against the Houston Dynamo.

    I had never actually experienced anything like that. All during the day, a huge storm hung over Chicago. We had warm-ups three times. Finally, the referee blew the start whistle. He had to pause the game twice because of lightning strikes. In the 66th minute he had enough, and called off the game for good. It was not replayed, but ended 1:1.

    The weather is better now, you live in your dream country and have good chances to make playoffs with the Chicago Fire . Why did you really sign just a one-year contract?

    The club offered me another year, but I wanted to first see how it goes. Right now I can easily imagine it continuing. I will wait until the fall, when the season is over, to say for sure. I can also imagine, to then return to my beloved Berlin.

    So you don't blame anyone that you career in Germany ended? Felix Magath, for example?

    All forgotten a long time ago, and not really worth talking about. I wanted to take the U.S. adventure - and now I am.
     
  2. SixKick

    SixKick Moderator
    Staff Member

    Nov 13, 2000
    Club:
    Club América
    Nat'l Team:
    Mexico
    Thanks for the link and translation.
     
  3. Shopping Cart Man

    Sep 21, 2006
    Jacksonville, FL
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Very good read. Agree with what Google Translate says he had to say about baseball. :laugh:
     

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