Nicolas Frey
French footballer (born 1984)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nicolas Sébastien Frey (born 6 March 1984) is a French former professional footballer who played as a right back.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nicolas Sébastien Frey | ||
| Date of birth | 6 March 1984[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Thonon-les-Bains, France[1] | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position | 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) |
| 2018 | → Venezia (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
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
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]