CHICAGO (AP) Retired American goalkeeper Brad Friedel has been hired as coach of the new U.S. under-19 national team.
The 44-year-old made 82 appearances for the U.S. from 1992-05 and started at the 2002 World Cup, where the Americans reached the quarterfinals in their best showing at the tournament since the initial World Cup in 1930.
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At the club level, the Lakewood, Ohio, native played for Galatasaray (1995-96), Columbus (1996-97), Liverpool (1997-00), Blackburn (2000-08), Aston Villa (2008-11) and Tottenham (2011-14). He appeared in a Premier League-record 310 consecutive games.
Friedel has a Union of European Football Associations “A” coaching license, has assisted at U.S. national team camps and also has worked in recent years as an analyst on Fox telecasts.
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The first event for the under-19 team will be the Copa del Atlantico tournament at Las Palmas in Spain’s Canary Islands from Jan. 27-Feb. 6. The roster will include players from last year’s American under-17 team.
Former Iran assistant coach Omid Namazi has been hired to coach the American under-18 team, the U.S. Soccer Federation also said Monday. Namazi has played and coached in the U.S. for much of the past three decades.
