Aston Villa: Brad Friedel on his future

Jul 30 2010

Brad Friedel may have had his tongue firmly in his cheek when he said he had no intention of hanging up his boots "until I can't walk basically".

But there is no doubting the determination of the Aston Villa keeper to continue playing for the foreseeable future despite being in his 40th year for the start of the new Barclays Premier League campaign.

Friedel has shown few signs of his powers diminishing since making the switch from Blackburn to Villa Park two summers ago.

He played a major part in Villa enjoying their most successful season for many years under Martin O'Neill during 2009-2010.

The midlands club qualified for Europe for a third successive year by finishing sixth in the Barclays Premier League and they also tasted some success on the cup front.

Villa reached the final of the Carling Cup and the semi-finals of the FA Cup and could argue Lady Luck was against them in both Wembley matches with Manchester United and Chelsea respectively.

Friedel held off the challenge of fellow American Brad Guzan to remain firmly established as first choice keeper at Villa Park.

Now he has the double target of wanting to continue playing but also aiding Villa to take the next step and secure a place in the Champions League.

Friedel said: "Every time you get a year older, people want to talk about you being in this form or that form and think it has to do with age.

"I feel fantastic physically. Age is no issue at the moment at all and the experience helps. I feel physically the same way as I did when I was 25.

"There are many goalkeepers around the league who would say the same, like David James, Edwin van der Sar and Mark Schwarzer.