The tragic case of Alex Frei: “I won’t give up that easily”

There is hardly a player in Italian ice hockey who is as unfamiliar with Fortuna, the goddess of luck, as Alex Frei. After multiple concussions and persistent dizziness, his young career is hanging by a thread. What is certain is that he will no longer lace up ice skates this winter. What happens next is completely unclear.

Alex Frei, let's rewind the tape again. When did your suffering begin? “Last year, on November 24th, I suffered a serious blow in the game against Pustertal. After just a week's break, I set off with the national team for the U20 World Cup in Ukraine. Everything seemed fine until I suddenly noticed strange lighting effects in the championship game against Valpe on January 9th. Everything took its course from there.”

They returned to the ice in the summer. But only for a short time... “Exactly, at the tournament in Klobenstein I had to take another tough check. Then the whole story started again: first came the headaches, then dizzy spells. Every time I gave even a little gas during training, these problems resurfaced. About a month ago I had to realize that there was no prospect of improvement for the time being.”

Have you recently undergone tests? How did these turn out?

“The situation is very difficult, sometimes really unclear. I saw a neurologist who discovered that my brain works very slowly and to a limited extent under certain stress conditions. It's very devastating to know that I won't be able to return to the ice anytime soon. Luckily, I have my family, many friends, teammates and especially a caring club who are always there to support me. I would like to say a big thank you to you.”

Will you continue your career?

“I can't think about ice hockey at the moment. It is difficult to estimate whether the break will last until next summer or longer. The fact is that I won't give up anytime soon. This sport just means too much to me.”

How do you track the performance of your teammates?

“Of course I’m still very close to the action. Ritten has an extremely good team, with great cohesion and a goalkeeper who can really make the difference. I hope that it will be enough for a title this year. I will definitely be cheering on my teammates from the stands and will not give up the belief that I will be on the ice with them again soon.”

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The tragic case of Alex Frei: “I won’t give up that easily”

The 20-year-old ice hockey player from Ritten Sport had to end the current season early. Dizziness attacks bother him again. “I feel like I'm unlucky. Health comes first at the moment. But I hope to be able to skate again at some point,” said the Kalterer native.

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