France have a great goalkeeper. That’s a given. The problem, for them at least, is that they seem unaware of him. While Sebastien Frey has won fans all over the peninsula for his performances between the sticks during his Serie A career so far, Raymond Domenech is just the latest Les Bleus boss who seems unwilling to gamble on a player who wouldn’t let himself or his country down.
“It is my personal objective to become first choice for the French national side,” admitted the Fiorentina custodian. “But people in my home country don’t really know me as I left France as a 17-year-old and they have a certain image of me which is false. I was portrayed negatively and considered as a hothead, perhaps because I liked to have highlights in my hair. I would have loved to exchange words with the critics who should have taken more into consideration than just my hairstyle. I admit to making mistakes in my youth, but I am much more mature these days.”
Frey has had to work hard to rebuild a reputation for himself. Now a family man with two children, gone are the days when he caused outrage at an Inter training camp by jumping into a swimming pool stark naked. Today he’s a man with responsibilities, both on and off the pitch, a custodian who is rightly classed in the Gigi Buffon bracket.
“I’m compared with him a lot and am obviously happy that people in Serie A have noticed that there isn’t a great deal of difference between us in terms of ability,” Frey, who replaced the World Cup winner at Parma, proudly noted. “Gigi is also a friend of mine. He was the first person to call me after I seriously injured myself on that damned January 10, 2006.”
Playing in a Coppa Italia clash at Juventus, Frey saw his career flash before his eyes. While attempting to keep the Bianconeri at bay, the Viola No 1 ruptured knee ligaments, keeping him sidelined for months. It was an injury that could have seriously affected the rest of his playing days, but Frey is now arguably an even better goalkeeper than he was before that setback. And that may also have something to do with Italian legend Roberto Baggio.
“I saw him after I suffered my knee problem and he suggested that I turn to Buddhism,” the 27-year-old revealed. “Baggio told me that it would change my life and he was right – it has definitely improved. I am the man and player who appears before you today because of this new faith of mine.”
With or without such divine inspiration, Frey was always destined to become a great. Unfortunately, he seemed to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time. His spell at Inter saw him become a victim of the club’s lack of patience, while his Parma stint coincided with the spectacular financial collapse of the Parmalat dairy group.
“I went to watch Frey at Cannes while I was an Inter scout,” noted former Nerazzurri and Italy goalkeeper Walter Zenga. “I told the club to buy him immediately because I was convinced that he would be a great custodian. I was proved right and Frey was just a little unfortunate during his spell at San Siro.”
Inter are just a distant memory now, though, for Frey. He’s been a massive success at the Franchi since his arrival in 2005 and it is no coincidence that, along with Adrian Mutu, he is the highest paid player under the Curva Fiesole. A fine shot-stopper who commands his box, he was part of the tightest defence in the top flight last term.
Although highly-rated up and down the peninsula, Frey is well aware of how hard it is to win widespread appeal while playing for a club who have been deprived of Champions League football over the last two seasons because of their Calciopoli penalties. “It is going to be difficult for people to rate me amongst the very best in the world if I’m not playing in Europe’s biggest club competition,” he conceded.
However, it may not be too long before he does get to test himself on that stage. Bayern Munich and Milan, who seem to have finally lost patience with Nelson Dida, have already been linked with him. Should Fiorentina not finish in the top four this term then there is the possibility that Frey may assess his options and the Rossoneri do seem to be his only possible destination in Italy. A return to Inter would be unlikely, Roma couldn’t afford him, while Juventus have Buffon. He wouldn’t look out of place in goal for any of those clubs, but for now he’ll remain as fourth choice for Domenech behind Grégory Coupet, Mickaël Landreau and Ulrich Ramé. France’s loss is definitely Serie A’s gain…
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