Torsten Klaus Frings (born 22 November 1976) is a German former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

er and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

, who last managed

SV Meppen SV Meppen is a German association football club playing in Meppen, Lower Saxony. The club was founded on 29 November 1912 as ''Amisia Meppen'' and joined ''Männer-Turnverein Meppen'' on 8 February 1920 to form ''TuS Meppen 1912''. The football ...

. A former

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, throughout his career he played for several German clubs, namely

Alemannia Aachen Aachener Turn- und Sportverein Alemannia 1900 e. V., short Alemannia Aachen (), is a German football club from the western city of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. A long-term fixture of the country's second division, Alemannia enjoyed a three- ...

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

, and

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

, before ending his career with Canadian

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

side

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

. At international level, he played 79 matches for the Germany national team since his debut in 2001, and represented his nation at two

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

s and two

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

Club career

Early career

His professional career began at third division

before a move to

in 1996–97, helping the

Weserstadion Weserstadion () is a football stadium in Bremen, Germany. The Weserstadion is scenically situated on the north bank of the Weser River and is surrounded by lush green parks (the name 'Werder' is a regional German word for "river peninsula"). The ...

outfit to a German Cup final defeat of

in 1999 and tallying more than 160 Bundesliga appearances and 15 goals over five and a half seasons. He also helped them win the

1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup The 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup finals were won by Valencia, Werder Bremen, and Bologna. All three teams advanced to the UEFA Cup. The 1998 tournament saw Spanish clubs debut in the competition and also the return of English clubs, since the controver ...

, scoring the decisive goal in the final against

FK Vojvodina Fudbalski klub Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Војводина), commonly known as Vojvodina and colloquially as Voša ( sr-Cyrl, Воша), is a Serbian professional football club based in Novi Sad, Serbia, the second large ...

Borussia Dortmund

In 2002, a number of Europe's leading clubs were on Frings's trail prior to the

World The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...

Cup but he opted for a four-year deal with

for a reported fee of €10 million, penning the contract two games into the competition. A regular in his first term at the

Westfalenstadion Westfalenstadion (, ) is a football stadium in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, which is the home stadium of Borussia Dortmund. Officially called Signal Iduna Park for sponsorship reasons and BVB Stadion Dortmund in UEFA competitions, ...

, Frings also played 12 times in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

, scoring home and away against

Lokomotiv Moscow FC Lokomotiv Moscow (, ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three occasions; the Soviet Cup twice; and the Russian Cup (football), Russian Cup a record ...

. Frings's 2003–04 season only began on 30 January when he played against

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, w ...

, his first game since damaging his knee against

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German professional association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. They currently play ...

in July. He took over from

Tomáš Rosický Tomáš Rosický (; born 4 October 1980) is a Czech former professional association football, footballer who was the Captain (association football), captain of the Czech Republic national football team, Czech Republic national team for a ten-y ...

in the playmaking role and scored four times in 16 games before signing a three-year contract with Dortmund's rivals,

Bayern Munich

Despite winning the domestic double with Bayern and making 29 Bundesliga and ten Champions League appearances, Frings never really enjoyed his football in Munich, and was played out of position by coach

Felix Magath Wolfgang Felix Magath (; born 26 July 1953) is a German football manager and former player. The most notable spell of his playing career was with Hamburger SV, with whom he won three Bundesliga titles, the 1977 European Cup Winners' Cup Final a ...

Werder Bremen

In June 2005, he rejoined Bremen for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal, helping them past

FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Basel, in the Basel-Stadt, Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been List of Swiss footba ...

into the Champions League group stage.

Toronto FC and retirement

On 29 June 2011, it was announced that Frings had reached an agreement to join

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

team

as a designated player. During the press conference in which Frings was presented to the Toronto media, the club also announced the signing of

Danny Koevermans Danny Koevermans (born 1 November 1978) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a forward. Club career Early career Born in Schiedam, Koevermans began his career with the amateurs of Excelsior'20, then went to Sparta Rotterdam ...

. Frings made his debut for Toronto on 20 July 2011 in a 1–0 home defeat to

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

. On 29 July 2011, Frings made his

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

debut against

Real Estelí Real may refer to: Currencies * Argentine real * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Nature and science * Reality, the state of things as they exist, rath ...

in which he was given the honour of wearing the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

's armband for Toronto. Frings became the permanent captain of the club following

Maicon Santos Maicon dos Santos Corrêa (born 18 April 1984) is a retired Brazilian footballer who last played as a forward for Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the North American Soccer League. Career Maicon started his career at Madureira, where he was award ...

's transfer to Dallas. On 27 June 2012, Frings scored his first MLS goal in a 3–0 away victory over Montreal Impact, blasting a free kick in the 52nd minute from 22 yards out. Frings missed the latter portion of the 2012 season after sustaining a hip injury which required arthroscopic surgery. Frings’ subsequent recovery progressed slower than expected, ultimately leading to his decision to retire from football in February 2013. Club president, Kevin Payne indicated that the team wanted to maintain a relationship with Frings "not just for next season, but for seasons to come." Frings himself said he wanted to return to the game as a coach.

International career

Frings represented Germany at the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

in Japan and South Korea, where the German team reached the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, only to be defeated 2–0 by

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. During the tournament, he was part of a controversial call when he prevented a goal with his hand on the goal line in the quarter-final match against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

; the referee deemed the handball involuntary, however. Frings also took part at

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...

and at the

2005 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup association football, football tournament was the seventh FIFA Confederations Cup. It was held in Germany between 15 June and 29 June 2005, as a prelude to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The tournament was won by 2002 FI ...

on home soil, winning a bronze medal in the latter tournament. Frings was later also called up to Germany's squad for the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

on home soil. On 9 June 2006, Frings scored Germany's fourth goal in a 4–2 win against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

in the opening match of the World Cup, with a powerful drive from more than 30 yards. Following Germany's penalty shootout victory over

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

on 30 June 2006, Frings was fined and suspended by

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

for two games (one of which is subject to a six-month probationary period) for his role in the brawl that broke out between the Argentine and German teams after the match. After reviewing video footage of the brawl, FIFA's Disciplinary Committee determined that Frings had punched Argentine forward Julio Cruz and levelled punishment accordingly, even though Cruz himself had denied that Frings punched him; the second game of the suspension was made probationary due to the Committee's determination that Frings had been provoked into fighting. This suspension decision, announced by FIFA only the day before Germany's semi-final versus

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

on 4 July 2006, rendered Frings unavailable for the important match – which Germany subsequently lost; Germany finished the tournament in third place after defeating

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in the bronze medal match. The controversy of the decision was also sparked by the fact that Frings' role in the brawl had been widely accentuated in the Italian media after FIFA had already announced it closed its investigations against German players. Frings answered to the accusations in an interview: "This is all politics. The Argentinians attack us, I defend myself and the Italians get worked up. With this suspension, FIFA just wanted to show that Germany doesn't get special treatment as the World Cup hosts." Frings was also called up to Germany's

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

squad, which reached the

of the tournament only to be defeated by

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, but was later not included in the team for the

2010 World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

by German coach

Joachim Löw Joachim "Jogi" Löw (; born 3 February 1960) is a German football coach and former player. He was the manager of the Germany national team from 2006 until 2021. During his tenure as manager, he led Germany to victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup i ...

. He played his last international match on 11 February 2009 in a 0–1 home defeat against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. In total, he earned 79 caps for Germany.

Style of play

Frings was an all-action, well-rounded and versatile

. He was capable of playing anywhere across the midfield, although he was most comfortable in the

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

, running deep from his own team's box to the opposition's box, due to his work-rate, vision, solid first touch and passing with either foot, despite his lack of notable pace. He was usually deployed as

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, however, where he excelled due to his tough tackling playing style. A large, tenacious and physically strong player, and a vocal presence on the pitch, he also excelled in the air and was capable of playing as a defender, as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

sweeper Sweepers are small, tropical marine (occasionally brackish) ray-finned fish of the family (biology), family Pempheridae. Found in the western Atlantic Ocean and Indo-Pacific region, the family contains about 80 species in two genus, genera. One ...

, due to his organisational abilities, knowledge of the game, and fighting spirit on the pitch. In addition to his defensive attributes, Frings was also known for his leadership on the pitch, as well as his explosive, powerful shot from distance.

Coaching career

Werder Bremen

After ending his playing career, Frings became a youth coach at Werder Bremen. Werder Bremen Ex-CEO

Klaus Allofs Klaus Allofs (born 5 December 1956) is a German former professional football player, manager, and executive. A striker, Allofs was a prolific goalscorer for club and country. He amassed Bundesliga totals of 424 games and 177 goals over the cou ...

stated that "''he can learn the coaching profession for us from the bottom up.''" On 25 October 2014, after Werder Bremen fired head coach Robin Dutt, Bremen youth coach

Viktor Skrypnyk Viktor Anatoliyovych Skrypnyk (; born 19 November 1969) is a Ukrainian professional football manager and former player who has been the manager of Ukrainian Premier League club Zorya Luhansk since 2025. As a player, he played as a left-back and h ...

was appointed as the head coach with Florian Kohfeldt, Christian Vander, and Frings all amongst Skripnik's coaching staff. He received a coaching license from the German FA after a 10-month coaching course in March 2015.

Darmstadt 98

On 27 December 2016, Frings was appointed as the head coach of

Darmstadt 98 Sportverein Darmstadt 1898 e.V., commonly known as Darmstadt 98 (), is a German professional association football club based in Darmstadt, Hesse. The club was founded on 22 May 1898 as FC Olympia Darmstadt. Early in 1919, the association was bri ...

. Frings took over a team in last place and five points below the relegation playoff spot. His first match was a 0–0 draw against

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...

. Darmstadt 98 finished the 2016–17 season on the last place and was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga. On 9 December 2017, Frings was relieved of his duties as Darmstadt's head coach. His final match was a 1–0 loss to

Erzgebirge Aue Fußball Club Erzgebirge Aue e.V., commonly known as simply FC Erzgebirge Aue or Erzgebirge Aue (), is a German football club based in Aue-Bad Schlema, Saxony. The former East German side was a founding member of the 3. Liga in 2008–09, ...

on 8 December 2017. He finished with a record of nine wins, eight draws, and 19 losses.

SV Meppen

He was appointed as the new head coach of

on 14 July 2020. He was sacked on 14 April 2021.

Personal life

Frings is married to Petra and they have two children, Lisa-Katharina and Lena Alina. His hobbies include spending time with his family and riding his motorcycle.

Legacy

Gustavo Fring, a fictional character from the television series ''

Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan for AMC (TV channel), AMC. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Breaking Bad), Walter White (Bryan Cran ...

'' and its spinoff ''

Better Call Saul ''Better Call Saul'' is an American legal crime drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould for AMC. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–201 ...

'', was named after Frings.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Frings goal.''

Managerial statistics

Honours

Werder Bremen *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

: 1998–99, 2008–09 *

DFB-Ligapokal The DFL-Ligapokal (, officially Premiere Ligapokal , previously DFB-Ligapokal ) or the ''German League Cup'' was a German association football, football competition that took place before the start of the Bundesliga season, featuring the top five t ...

: 2006 *

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

Bayern Munich *

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

: 2004–05 *

: 2004 Toronto FC *

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship () is an annual soccer tournament contested by Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. It is contested by Major League Soccer sides Toronto FC, Va ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Germany *

runner-up:

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

; third place:

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

third place:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

runner-up:

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Individual *''

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (magazine), sports magazine in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the wor ...

Team of the Season: 2001–02, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Frings, Torsten 1976 births Living people Footballers from Würselen German men's footballers Alemannia Aachen players SV Werder Bremen players SV Werder Bremen II players Borussia Dortmund players FC Bayern Munich footballers Toronto FC players Germany men's international footballers Germany men's B international footballers Germany men's under-21 international footballers German expatriate men's footballers German expatriate sportspeople in Canada 2002 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2004 players 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2008 players Bundesliga players Major League Soccer players Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Designated Players (MLS) Men's association football midfielders SV Darmstadt 98 managers Bundesliga managers 2. Bundesliga managers SV Meppen managers 3. Liga managers German football managers Regionalliga players SV Werder Bremen non-playing staff West German men's footballers