U.S. Soccer hires Brad Friedel to coach new Under-19 men's team

Retired American goalkeeper Brad Friedel has been hired as coach of the new U.S. Under-19 national team.

CHICAGO (AP) — Retired American goalkeeper Brad Friedel has been hired as coach of the new U.S. Under-19 national team.

The 44-year-old made 82 appearances for the U.S. from 1992-05 and started at the 2002 World Cup, where the Americans reached the quarterfinals in their best showing at the tournament since the initial World Cup in 1930.

At the club level, the Lakewood, Ohio, native played for Galatasaray (1995-96), Columbus (1996-97), Liverpool (1997-00), Blackburn (2000-08), Aston Villa (2008-11) and Tottenham (2011-14). He appeared in a Premier League-record 310 consecutive games.

Friedel has a Union of European Football Associations "A'' coaching license, has assisted at U.S. national team camps and also has worked in recent years as an analyst on Fox telecasts.

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The first event for the U-19 team will be the Copa del Atlantico tournament at Las Palmas in Spain's Canary Islands from Jan. 27-Feb. 6. The roster will include players from last year's American U-17 team.

Former Iran assistant coach Omid Namazi has been hired to coach the American U-18 team, the U.S. Soccer Federation also said Monday. Namazi has played and coached in the U.S. for much of the past three decades.