Nicolas Sébastien Frey (born 6 March 1984) is a French former professional footballer who played as a right back.

Nicolas Frey
Personal information
Full name Nicolas Sébastien Frey
Date of birth (1984-03-06) 6 March 1984 (age 40)[1]
Place of birth Thonon-les-Bains, France[1]
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1990–1994 AS Vence
1994–2002 Cannes
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2004 Cannes B
2004–2005 Legnano 28 (1)
2005–2008 Modena 82 (0)
2008–2020 Chievo 226 (0)
2018Venezia (loan) 12 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Born in Thonon-les-Bains, Haute-Savoie, Frey played exclusively at amateur level in his country, joining AS Cannes' youth system at the age of 10 and spending two seasons with its reserves as a senior. In 2004, aged 20, he moved to Italy with A.C. Legnano, in Serie C.

After one year, Frey signed for Serie B club Modena FC, being an important first-team member during his spell and totalling 62 league games in his last two years. In the summer of 2008, he joined A.C. ChievoVerona in a co-ownership deal along with Angelo Antonazzo, in exchange for Salvatore Bruno and Michele Troiano.[2] He made his Serie A debut on 5 October 2008 in a 0–2 home loss against ACF Fiorentina,[3] and finished his debut campaign with 21 league matches as the Verona side retained their division status.

On 17 July 2009, Chievo signed Frey on a permanent basis. During his spell with the club, he often shared right-back duties with Gennaro Sardo.[4]

Frey returned to the second division on 31 January 2018, with the 33-year-old being loaned to Venezia FC.[5] After initially leaving Chievo at the end of 2018–19, he rejoined the team on a one-year contract on 6 September 2019.[6]

Personal life

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Frey's older brother, Sébastien, was also a footballer. A goalkeeper, he too was brought up at Cannes, and also played most of his career in Italy, mainly with Parma F.C. and Fiorentina.[7]

His father, Raymond, was a professional goalkeeper, while his grandfather André was a defender who played several years with Toulouse FC, reaching the France national team as Sébastien.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Nicolas Frey". Eurosport. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Comproprieta'. Il Modena riscatta Troiano e Bruno" [Co-ownership. Modena rebuy Troiano and Bruno] (in Italian). A.C. ChievoVerona. 25 June 2008. Archived from the original on 31 March 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  3. ^ "Mutu si ferma, Gilardino no – Fiorentina corsara con il Chievo" [Mutu halted, not Gilardino – A combative Fiorentina against Chievo]. La Repubblica (in Italian). 5 October 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Chievo, stop Frey: problemi alla spalla" [Chievo, halt Frey: shoulder problems]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 29 October 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  5. ^ Calfapietra, Alessio (31 January 2018). "UFFICIALE: Venezia, preso Frey dal Chievo" [OFFICIAL: Venezia, Frey signed from Chievo] (in Italian). Tutto Mercato Web. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Ancora una, Nick!" [One more, Nick!] (in Italian). A.C. ChievoVerona. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  7. ^ "Frère de Bleu: quelle vie!" [Brother of Blue: what a life!]. Le Parisien (in French). 29 December 2010. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  8. ^ Pauluzzi, Valentin (11 December 2015). "Frey: "En France, on ne m'a jamais rien pardonné"" [Frey: "In France, they have never forgiven me anything"] (in French). Sofoot. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
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