Former US Men’s National Team and English Premiership goalkeeper, Brad Friedel, was named the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Century.
Before Friedel embarked on a professional career he represented the UCLA Bruins in the Pac-12 Conference. During his time at UCLA he helped the Bruins win the National Championship in 1990, and that same year was awarded the Soccer America Freshman of the Year. He also received the Hermann Trophy for National Player in 1992, and was twice named NSCAA first team All-American. Friedel still holds the UCLA record for the lowest career goals against average: .60 over 61 games.
Other notable selections for the Pac-12 All-Cenury Men’s Soccer Team include fellow Bruins, Carlos Bocanegra, Frankie Hejduk, Cobi Jones, Ante Razov, Ryan Nelsen (Stanford), and Robbie Findley (Oregon State).
In addition to Friedel’s selection, UCLA Bruin coach, Sigi Schmid, was named Pac-12 Men’s Soccer Coach of the Century. Schmid coached at UCLA from 1980-1998 and was Friedel’s coach.
Friedel said,”This is a fantastic honor and I am both surprised and humbled to receive this recognition. I had an incredible time as a student athlete at UCLA. My favorite moments included signing for the University, and of course winning the National Championship. In those days it was a huge deal for a young kid from Cleveland, Ohio to be recognized for soccer, let alone be recognized by the leading program in the country at UCLA. When you consider that for many years there was no professional US league, most leading US players started their careers at college level. There were some great players who have represented the Pac-12, so I am especially proud.”
Following his UCLA Bruin career, Friedel represented the US National Team at the 1994, 1998, and 2002 World Cups and also went on to play for Galatasary, Columbus Crew, Liverpool, Blackburn, Aston Villa, and Tottenham Hotspur. He holds the distinguished record of most consecutive number of games in the English Premier League, 310. Brad now lives with his wife and three children in California. He is a leading soccer analyst for FOX Soccer and a US Ambassador for Tottenham Hotspur.
See additional media releases at www.pac-12.com and www.uclabruins.com
