Sports: Alex Frei gets married and leaves the Nati for good

The new face in all the daily newspapers and celebrity webzines: yesterday, after marrying his partner Nina, with whom he has shared his life for four years, Alexander Frei, the Swiss national team's top scorer, officially announced his decision to retire from football. The ceremony took place discreetly at the registry office in Binningen, in the canton of Basel-Landschaft. The religious wedding is planned for next June, and this time, his teammates will be there.

This is surprising to many, especially considering that Alex Frei stated in 2009 that he was "really not ready for marriage".

The former captain of the Swiss team had, however, already unofficially announced his retirement on April 7, but his fans were hoping for a change of decision.

A champion's journey:
2001: Winner of the Swiss Cup with Servette FC
2002: Semi-finalist at UEFA European Under-21 Championship
2004: Second-highest scorer in the French Championship (20 goals)
Credit Suisse Player of the Year (best Swiss player abroad)
2005: Top scorer in the French Championship with 20 goals.
2007: Second-highest scorer in the Bundesliga, behind Theofanis Ghekas
2008: German Cup finalist with Borussia Dortmund
2008: Winner of the German Super Cup with Borussia Dortmund
2010: Winner of the Swiss Cup with FC Basel
2010: Swiss Champion with FC Basel.

Source: www.tsr.info.ch