International star who spat at Steven Gerrard now unrecognisable as a cheesemonger

Switzerland’s record goalscorer has swapped his football boots for a smelly career change.

During his lengthy career, Alexander Frei scored plenty of goals for the likes of Rennes, Borussia Dortmund and Basel, as well as finding the back of the net 42 times in 84 appearances for Switzerland. He ended his international career in 2011 and then hung up his boots in 2013 all together.

And now it seems over 10-years on from his playing days, Frei, who has worked as a coach since retiring, now looks set for a different career, swapping goals for cheesemaking.

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The 45-year-old recently completed a four-mouth course which was run by the Switzerland Cheese Marketing organisation. The former Basel star has gained a diploma as a “cheese sommelier”, something which allows him to work in Switzerland’s cheese industry.

However, here in the UK, Frei is perhaps best known for the incident that happened during Euro 2004 which saw him handed a three game ban after he spat at then England star Steven Gerrard. Originally cleared due to a lack of evidence, Frei was later handed the ban by UEFA after TV footage showed him spitting on Gerrard’s neck. In the end, England won the game 3-0 thanks to a brace from Wayne Rooney and a goal from Gerrard.

The Swiss goalscorer now hopes to open up a cheese shop in the future. “The course was very interesting, and something completely new for me,” said Frei.

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“I learned everything about milk consistency, cheesemaking and consumption. I have always been a big cheese fan. It was very impressive to see everything that goes into it. The course took four months, and I had to take four exams at the end. The SCM invited me on it while I was still FC Aarau’s coach, and when I left the job in March I approached them as I had more time on my hands.

“I won’t open a cheese shop straight away, but I will definitely do something with cheese next year. It will be small-scale at first – but I will think big about the future.”