Good for Frankie, sounds like he deserves it for being a true professional, especially for being in such a tough situation. How many times have we heard Landon Donovan talk about how much he hates it there?
Permit to stay in Switzerland is quite easy: show your bank account. If you've got enough you're allowed to stay, otherwise they'll send you to Austria.
St. Gallen seems to be quite a CONCACAF fiendly club, as Canadian nat'l team midfielder Daniel Imhof also plays there.
So far as I know, only Britain has the "work permit" requirement. The WP has NOTHING to do with UEFA or, specifically, soccer. It is a British law/rule to protect British workers.
Just spotted this information on Bayer Leverkusen's site while looking up information on Oliver Neuville. Wild. I hope Frankie does well at St. Gallen. I almost went there on study abroad (ended up going to Berlin instead but oh well). However, I don't know how well the green uniforms will go with his skin tone and hair color... (trust a chick to think of that)
Well most countries have limits on Non-EU's or non-nationals. Most of Scandanavia allow players to enter freely, and I think Switzerland is probably the same.
Great anecdote. Last year, when Bayer L. played a friendly match in Pittsburgh, a good number of the fans thought that Argentine international Diego Placente was Frankie. So did I, during the warm-ups, so I was surprised when this short-haired guy stepped forward and waved during the player introductions. I wouldn't be surprised if fans made a similar mistake at Bayer's matches in Washington and Columbus.
Time to add a new country to the European wish list. Hope Frankie stays for a couple of years until I can save up enough money to visit Switzerland.
Hahaha....good one. Btw, the Swiss league is currently better than the Austrian one. Now to the city of St.Gallen and FCSG: Some Tourist info I found: St. Gallen, metropolis of Eastern Switzerland is justly proud of its prestigious past. The city’s name and origins can be traced back to the founding of the monastery by the wandering Irish monk Gallus, about 612 AD. You’ll encounter the past with every step as you stroll through the attractive old town. Discover the world-famous oriel windows, narrow lanes and lively squares with inviting street cafés. The prestigious past has given way to a blossoming present. St. Gallen is a modern and cosmopolitan city, watched over by the imposing baroque Cathedral in the heart of the stunning "Stift” district. This beautiful district has been awarded World Cultural Heritage Status and is under the protection of UNESCO. St. Gallen has a population of about 70,000. Besides being known for its prestigious university, St. Gallen is also known for its annual Open Air concert festival and Bratwurst. That's right, St. Gallen is the Bratwurst capital in Switzerland. FC St.Gallen (FCSG) FCSG (www.fcsg.ch) has a rich history. Outside of Britain, it is the second oldest club in Europe. FCSG was founded in 1879. Despite its age, the club has only won 2 championships and 1 Cup. The first championship was won in 1904 and the second one in 2000. Following the 2000 title, St.Gallen narrowly failed to qualify for the CL against Galatasaray (3-4 agg.) FCSG still managed to beat Chelsea in the Uefa Cup that season tough. Since then many star players of the 2000 team have left to other leagues like the Bundesliga. FCSG is now in a rebuilding stage and hopes to return to the top. The fans are known as some of the best in all of Switzerland. The Espenmoos stadium with a capacity of 11,300 is regularly sold out. Speaking of stadium, FCSG will begin construction on a brand new stadium in the near future. The new stadium will have a capacity of 21,000 and will allow FCSG to have a much higher financial budget than currently possible. The annual budget right now is about 8 mio. CHF Hope this helps.
Someone earlier said that Switzerland was a Scandinavian country. IIRC it's not Scandinavian--that's Sweden, Denmark, Finland andn Norway. Switzerland is kind of in the middle of France, Germany, and Italy is it not? I mean, don't all those countries have borders that touch Switzerland?
That would have been me, but I didn't really mean they were "Scandanavian" in geography, but similar work permit rules and restrictions. Sorry about the confusion.
What's with this? Is Frankie mad? He may not be the best US player but Switzerland? Yikes. He may as well go play pro ball in Cyprus. At least if he went to a league like Scotland or Belguim he'd have a chance at getting noticed making one last move to a decent size club.
Well, about three five (not bad) German pro players play in Cyprus as they didn't find a club here. In the current UEFA ranking Switzerland is just one behind Belgium and three behind Scotland - there's hardly a quality difference to Belgium, and the one to Scotland isn't too big either (and just refers to the two Glasgow clubs).
Sure....players like Giovane Elber, Ivan Zamorano, Stephane Chapuisat, and Stephane Henchoz never got noticed by any big clubs. Even your great Peter Nowak played in Switzerland once. You obviously don't know your footie. I would say our league is on par with the Belgium and Scotish league. Yeah, Scotland has Celtic and Rangers - but what comes after them does not match up well internationally. But let's take a look at a direct head-to-head comparison. FC Basle is currently playing against Celtic in CL qualifying (2nd leg is today.) Despite losing the first leg in Glasgow 3-1, FC Basle completely dominated Celtic for most of the game (any Celtic fan who saw the game will agree.) Celtic will have to show a tremendous effort today if they want to win this match-up. And one more thing, our league has helped create some of the best young talent currently available in Europe. Our U-17 won the Euro Cup this summer, while our U-21 side made it to the semi-finals narrowly losing to France. Inter Milan has recognized this acomplishment and already signed Dugic from the U-17 side. But then again Inter Milan isn't a "decent sized Club", is it?
I stayed in Switzerland and Austria for two months. Except for the exhorbitant cost of living, it was a little bit of paradise. Frankie's going to be living and playing in a fairy tale. Only drawback... the people were STIFF. But I suppose that's a plus for a professional athlete... I strongly suspect they'll give Frankie a lot of space instead of hounding him for autographs and pictures.
Just think about this.... 1) Frankie has played a major role in two World Cups and has played very well. 2) F.C. Warehouse has given Frankie's bank account a very nice balance. 3) Frankie got to train with one of the best teams in the world for several years and play in the Champions League. 4) Now Frankie will go to beautiful, idyllic Switzerland with great skiing and great women and make even more money. Wow, life is truly tough.
I was in Lucerne for a couple of days, and wandered into the Swiss Army Knife store. The salesman was very friendly, but his co-worker wouldn't say hello, boo, or offer any assistance. So the first salesman says "Don't mind him, he's Swiss, they are all like that". When I asked him what nationality he was he replied" I'm Dutch, and most of my people are like him too!" I nearly died laughing, but was afraid if I fell I would land on a sharp object. In any case, Switzerland is as gorgeous as you would imagine, and I can't wait to get back.