Brad Friedel

Born in Lakewood, Ohio, Friedel grew up in Bay Village, where he attended Westerly Elementary School, Bay Middle School and Bay High School. Growing up, Friedel played several sports, including soccer, basketball and tennis, and excelled at all three. He earned Bay High's Outstanding Athlete of the Year award in 1989. As an All-State basketball player in Ohio, he was invited to try out as a walk-on for UCLA's basketball team in 1990. He began as a forward on his youth soccer team before moving into goalkeeping. Friedel graduated from Bay High in 1989. In 2007, he was inducted into the Bay High Hall of Fame. Friedel played college soccer at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In 1990, he kept goal for the Bruins to the NCAA championship. He was selected as the first team All-American goalkeeper in 1991 and 1992, and won the Hermann Trophy in 1993 as the top collegiate soccer player. He played 66 games for the UCLA, all of which he started. Soccer America magazine named Friedel to its College Team of the Century.

Early career

Friedel left UCLA early to pursue a professional career. He began by attempting to sign with Nottingham Forest under Brian Clough, but was denied a work permit, the first in several such failed attempts to move to England. Following a brief trial in Scotland with Celtic, Friedel instead registered with the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) and played exclusively with the United States national team as it prepared for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Following the end of the World Cup, Friedel began searching for a professional club. Friedel was signed by manager Kevin Keegan of Newcastle United, but again was denied a work permit. While awaiting approval from the British authorities, he practiced with Newcastle as an on-loan player from the USSF. Friedel joined Danish Superliga club Brøndby IF in the spring of 1995. He stayed with that club for several months in 1995, as back-up to Mogens Krogh. Friedel remained with Brøndby until he returned to the U.S. to rejoin the national team, then preparing for the 1995 U.S. Cup and Copa America. After the two tournaments, Friedel attempted a third time to join an English club, this time Sunderland. While awaiting a decision regarding his latest application for a work permit, Friedel spent time training with League of Ireland side St. Patrick's Athletic, who were managed at the time by Brian Kerr, a friend of Sunderland manager Peter Reid's. When Friedel again failed to receive a British work permit, his agent…

Friedel is the fourth-most capped goalkeeper in U.S. national team history, and gained his first international cap against Canada in 1992, a game in which he managed to keep a clean sheet. He was the first-choice goalkeeper for the U.S. 1992 Olympic team; however, he was unable to beat out Tony Meola as first-choice keeper for the U.S. team at the 1994 World Cup. His chance came, and Friedel made his World Cup debut, in the 1998 World Cup, where he conceded one goal as the U.S. lost to Yugoslavia. He lived up to his growing reputation in the 2002 World Cup as the U.S. went on a surprising run to the quarter-finals, which included a 3–2 victory over Portugal in group play, and a 2–0 second-round win over arch-rival Mexico before a loss to Germany (the eventual runner-up). He also became the second keeper (after Jan Tomaszewski) to save two penalty kicks during regular play (as opposed to penalty shootouts) in a World Cup finals tournament. He was dubbed "The Human Wall" by fans during the spectacular 2002 World Cup run. Friedel announced his retirement from international soccer on February 7, 2005.

Friedel was a studio pundit for the BBC's 2014 World Cup coverage in Brazil on both television and BBC Radio 5 Live, later appearing on RTÉ's coverage in Ireland after returning home. For the 2014–15 season, he appeared on the BBC's Match of the Day and Ireland's Setanta Sports.