Arne Friedrich is quite the accomplished player. Getting to know him today, I asked about some of his greatest soccer achievements as well as his view on other American sports… Here’s what I found in Questions with Arne!
Jeff Crandall: First, I feel a lot of people will probably mispronounce your name… Could you tell me the proper way…?
Arne Friedrich: In German its “ARE-na” but I’ve heard the Americans say its “ARE-knee”. It’s not a problem for me either way.
JC: Do you one or the other?
AF: No, not really.
JC: Well I find it important to try and pronounce in the native tongue so, Arna it is!
AF: Great!
JC: So, ARNA, what was your greatest moment as a player? Was it the goal you scored against Argentina in the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals?
AF: (Laughs) Of course! In the national team I just scored one time, I guess 14 times but yes that was the best goal, the best moment and most important goal of my career. Scoring the third goal against Argentina, was a special feeling and was a wonderful day for Germany and for me personally.
JC: Who is the best player you’ve played against?
AF: Has to be Lionel Messi. Cristiano Ronaldo is also not bad but Messi for me is number one.
JC: Best player you’ve played with?
AF: Bastian Schwiensteiger is pretty special.
JC: Favorite sport outside of soccer?
AF: I like the NFL and I’ve seen the Super Bowl in Germany but its always very late when it comes on in Germany with the seven hour difference. I also like basketball and I saw the final last year with Dirk Nowitzki winning with Dallas over Miami. I’ve never seen baseball, but I would like to see it at some point while I’m here. We don’t really have it in Germany.
JC: Did you ever go to any NFL Europe games, maybe a Rhein FIRE game?
AF: Yeah definitely. Obviously I lived in Berlin for a long time and we had the Berlin Thunder and I saw them play three or four times.
JC: Most recent movie you watched?
AF: I saw Moneyball when I came over on the plane last week.
JC: I’m a big fan of Aaron Sorkin’s writing so Moneyball is a personal favorite of mine… Is that responsible for your recent intrigue in baseball?
AF: Yeah a little bit (laughs). I still don’t know any rules but that doesn’t matter so much, I’d love to go to a Cubs or White Sox game while I’m here.
JC: Danke Arne!
AF: Gern geschehen!
