5 Americans who had successful stints in the Premier League

#2: Brad Friedel

Brad Friedel somehow played 310 consecutive Premier League games

When goalkeeper Brad Friedel signed with Liverpool as a backup to first-choice keeper David James in late 1997, few people would’ve predicted that he would end up breaking records at his future clubs and end up spending well over a decade playing in the Premier League.

Friedel found first-team opportunities hard going at Anfield and ended up moving to Division 1 side Blackburn Rovers in 2000, where he helped them to gain promotion to the Premier League with consistently solid performances.

In his first season back in the top flight he helped Blackburn win the League Cup in a Man of the Match performance, and he was even compared to Superman by then-Southampton boss Gordon Strachan after a particularly stunning game.

In the summer of 2008, Friedel moved to Aston Villa for around £2.5m, where he was equally successful, saving a penalty on his debut against Reading.

By 2011, he had become the oldest player to ever play for Villa, and when he moved to Tottenham that summer he later became their oldest ever player too.

His biggest impact, though? Somehow Friedel managed to play in 310 consecutive Premier League games, across nine separate seasons, for three different clubs (Blackburn, Villa, and Tottenham).

It’s a record that stands to this day and the likelihood of it ever being broken appears to be slim. Friedel eventually retired at the end of 2014/15 – at the ripe old age of 44.