We need a tall striker, we are signing a 32 year-old defender with back problems. He brings physical baggage with a crap load of club and international experience. Could be a great signing. But back problems? those rarely seem to go away.... Is it just me or does Klopas have a blind spot at striker? Like Wenger with goalkeepers and central defenders, Klopas really has trouble finding strikers and lets face it we got lucky with Oduro. http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2012/03/fire-sign-german-centerback-friedrich.html
Hey... remember Lubos Kubik? I think the key in this league is still quality defense and if a cat like this can anchor us with his ability to distribute out of the back then we just became a contender..
Friedrich and Gibbs, most fragile center back tandem in the world? This guy is (was?) good but it concerns me that Wolfsburg were willing to cut ties so quickly.
So we have all these young centerbacks and they are just gonna sit? Can Friedrich play RB? If not, I am not sure how much this move makes sense as we have 3 promising centerbacks on the roster.
Well, he played RB in the Euro Championship 2008 against Portugal (and i think other matches too). He made Ronaldo look like a poor child. Most time played in Berlin as RB. Though i think hes too slow now...
Well at 32, I think this kid still has legs and maybe our less taxing season relative to what he is used to gives his back some rest. Creating a Solid spine.. of Andre, Grazzini and Oduro could be a hell of a nucleus to build around.
We are probably going to need him at RB. Capped 82 times by Germany.........do you know how good you have to be to be capped 82 times by a country like Germany? Very, very good. Wonder if he has taken a physical yet, wonder if he is truly healthy or just looking for 1 last paycheck........dude has not played in a long time, could take months and months to get match fit.
Spending a lot of money on defenders in MLS is flat out stupid. Good defenders are a dime a dozen. If we are paying this guy anything more than 250 and if he's going to be playing defense, then this is money that should be spent on a striker.
Congrats on signing Arne. If you can keep him fit I think he's still good enough for MLS. He's got experience but is not the fastest guy out there anymore. That's why Löw switched him from RB to CB before WC 2010. And I dont think he's still fast enough to play RB even in MLS.
Even in MLS? Either he can or can't play RB. If he's not good enough for the Bundesliga, he won't be good enough for MLS, has beens have never performed well in MLS. See Lothar Matthaus.
http://www.chicago-fire.com/news/2012/03/klopas-talks-new-fire-defender-arne-friedrich http://www.chicago-fire.com/news/2012/03/fire-acquire-german-world-cup-veteran-arne-friedrich klopas is taking a chance on a guy with back problems but I hope they had him checked out. Now find us a consistent big time striker. This defense better get a lot of shutouts because I'm not sure how many goals we will be scoring.
Pros: We really got nothing to lose, other than cap space we probably weren't going to use anyway. Like last year. Cons: I thought our aging veteran injury prone quota was full, guess not. The question will be, is having Friedrich better than having Wilman Conde? That will determine if this move is a success in my eyes, if he has a better season than Conde.
Yes, even in MLS. There is a difference. Especially in the speed of the game. Compared to others who went to MLS Arne never has been a "has been". And Henry did perform well, didnt he? Arne largely played those 82 caps cause at the beginning of his career the German team had no other Vollpfosten for RB and someone like him was seen as a "talent". Then later Löw picked him for his experience -not for his performances at Wolfsburg- that others in the young German team of 2010 didnt have. If he was 10 years younger, he wouldnt have that much caps in the German team of today. Anyway, I think he's a good CB pick for a MLS team and for you.
Hey folks, I read earlier in the pre-season that Anibaba was moving to central defense. How has looked so far this year? Do you see him moving back to right back?
No shit their is a difference, the Bundesliga is much better. You're missing my point. Henry went back to Arsenal this winter, on loan, and performed, he can still play in the EPL if he wanted to. Same with Robbie Keane. If Friedrich cannot play at the Bundesliga level he will be a huge disappointment here, since we're not expecting an average defender.
Anibaba was playing CB at the end of last year. He looked FAR better there than at RB where he looked poor.
After reading Frank's comments it looks like he is in shape and went through a battery of tests, he is Bocanegra's age. If he is healthy, then a HELL of a pickup.
Wow, way for people to crap all over the guy, while most admit to having never seen him play. I also have not seen him play for a while, but I will give him the benefit of the doubt. Radmonkey, you nailed it with your comments. My only problem. http://www.chicago-fire.com/news/201...arne-friedrich "Hailing from Bad Oeynhausen, Germany" Couldn't the Fire sign a guy from "Good Oeynhausen"?!?. P.S. Yes, I know "Bad" means "Bath" in German and that Bad Oeynhausen is a famous spa area in Germany. It was a joke.