Mario Frick (footballer)
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Frick captaining Liechtenstein in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mario Frick | ||
| Date of birth | 7 September 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Chur, Switzerland | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Utility player | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Balzers | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1982–1990 | Balzers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1990–1994 | Balzers | 97 | (49) |
| 1994–1996 | St. Gallen | 60 | (11) |
| 1996–1999 | Basel | 80 | (30) |
| 1999–2000 | Zürich | 41 | (7) |
| 2000–2001 | Arezzo | 23 | (16) |
| 2001–2002 | Verona | 24 | (7) |
| 2002–2006 | Ternana | 133 | (44) |
| 2006–2009 | Siena | 88 | (13) |
| 2009–2011 | St. Gallen | 41 | (5) |
| 2011 | Grasshopper | 8 | (1) |
| 2011– | Balzers | 29 | (6) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1993–2015 | Liechtenstein | 125 | (16) |
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* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 October 2015. | |||
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Mario Frick (born 7 September 1974) is a Swiss-born Liechtensteiner football striker, who plays for the Liechtensteiner side FC Balzers in the Swiss 1st League. He has 125 caps and 16 goals for his country since his international debut in 1993, both national records.
Club career
Liechtenstein
Born in Chur, Graubünden, Switzerland, Frick started his career with the youth team at Liechtensteiner club FC Balzers, in which he then played 4 seasons in the first team within the early 1990s.
Switzerland
In 1994, he played abroad for the first time in his career. The destination was the country where he has half-citizenship, Switzerland.
Each FC St. Gallen, FC Basel, and FC Zürich once experienced his services.
He played there until the turning of the millennium, which marked a giant leap in his career by moving to one of the best football leagues in the world, the Italian Serie A.
Italy
Arezzo
He began his Italian journey by holding the status of the first Liechtensteiner to play in Italy.
A.C. Arezzo signed him to play the 2000–01 season, where he scored an impressive 16 goals in just 23 matches.
Hellas Verona
Frick's adventure in the country's top flight began when he signed a contract with the then Serie A team Hellas Verona F.C.
It was under the management of Italian manager Alberto Malesani, who employed a 3–4–3 attacking formation, with Frick being one of the three forwards in the manager's tactics. His two partners in attack were the future big-names, Adrian Mutu (currently playing for ASA Tärgu Mureș), and Mauro Camoranesi (later signed by Juventus, now playing for Club Atlético Lanús).
However, after the club's three-year stay in Serie A since 1999, their last stint ended in 2002. Verona was relegated to Serie B.
Frick and other international talents such as Adrian Mutu, Mauro Camoranesi, Alberto Gilardino, Martin Laursen, Massimo Oddo, Marco Cassetti and coach Alberto Malesani failed to keep the club in the top flight.
At the end of the 2001–02 season, he signed with another Serie B team Ternana Calcio.
Ternana
With Ternana, Frick played a total of 133 games, with 44 goals scored, a personal record for Frick in terms of goals and appearances for a single club. He stayed for 4 seasons at the club, before Ternana's relegation from Serie B in 2006.
Siena
Frick moved to A.C. Siena in July 2006.
He wore the number 7 as one of the club's starting formation, playing in the Serie A once again.
In May 2009, he left Siena.
Return to Switzerland
St. Gallen
On 22 June 2009, FC St. Gallen signed the Liechtensteiner forward on a free transfer until June 2010.
Grasshopper Club Zürich
Following a year and a half long stint with St. Gallen, Frick moved onto Grasshopper Club Zürich in January 2011.
Return to Liechtenstein
FC Balzers
Frick decided to end his professional career and go part-time, returning to his first club FC Balzers in July 2011.
International career
Frick made his Liechtenstein debut in October 1993 in a friendly against Estonia, and established himself almost immediately as a key player for the Liechtenstein national football team.[1] Frick had a falling out with both the national coach, Ralf Loose, and the Liechtenstein Football Association near the end of the 2002 World Cup qualification stages, and he was left out of the team. This episode is chronicled in Charlie Connelly's book, Stamping Grounds: Liechtenstein's Quest for the World Cup. After changes concerning both the Liechtenstein Football Association and the coach, Frick returned to be part of the squad, which included playing in both games against England.
During a Euro 2008 qualifier against Latvia, Frick netted the only goal of the game which brought Liechtenstein their first win over a side that had qualified for a major tournament.
Frick announced his retirement from international football in October 2015, at the age of 41, after 125 appearances and 16 goals for the Liechtenstein national side, both of which are national team records.[1] He made his final international appearance for Liechtenstein in a 3–0 defeat to Austria in a European qualifying match on 12 October 2015.[2]
International goals
- Liechtenstein score first[3]
Honours
Individual
- Liechtensteiner Footballer of the Year: 1993–94, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2006–07[4]
References
- 1 2 Sabino Palermo (13 October 2015). "Frick, il "10" dei record si ritira: il Liechtenstein saluta il capitano" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- ↑ "Austria ease past Liechtenstein to finish unbeaten". UEFA.com. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- ↑ "Statistik:Liechtensteiner Fussballverband" (in German). Liechtensteiner Fussballverband. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
- ↑ "Die Bisherigen Fussballer des Jahres" (in German). Fussballer des Jahres. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
External links
- La Gazzetta dello Sport profile (Italian)
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