Two days after U.S. keeper Brad Friedel ripped former French national team keeper Fabien Barthez as “ignorant and disrespectful” for sayingHugo Lloris, the Bleus’ current No. 1 in goal, should be starting for Tottenham instead of him, Spurs manager AndreVillas-Boas backed Friedel, saying he has no intention of changing keepers.
Lloris, one of the top keepers at Euro 2012, joined Tottenham on the final day of the summer transferwindow from Lyon and was expected to replace Friedel in goal, but Villas-Boas immediately said Friedel, in his second season at Spurs, was the No. 1 choice.
Friedel, who has made a record309 consecutive Premier League appearances since 2004, started in Spurs’ 2-1 win over QPR on Sunday.
Barthez, who won the World Cup with France in 1998 and has worked with Lloris as a goalkeeping coach, told Le Parisiennewspaper: “Lloris is one of the five best goalkeepers in the world. He is faster than Friedel, he jumps higher and he is very strong mentally. What is happening now is incomprehensible, but I’m notconcerned. He will become the centerpiece of the club. Hugo is a calm guy, a good worker. Tottenham will not let him stay on the bench for a long time.”
Friedel