Frey not unhappy with supporting role

High spirits
With Grégory Coupet already penned in as France's first-choice goalkeeper, Frey and fellow custodian Steve Mandanda may not get on to the pitch in Austria and Switzerland. However, neither his status in the squad nor the cold, rainy conditions could dampen Frey's spirits. "Everyone dreams of experiencing a competition like this," the 28-year-old said. "You never know what will happen in football so it's important to make the most of this magical time and live the adventure fully."

Mutu threat
Les Bleus take on Romania in Group C on Monday, and Frey revealed he plans to give Coupet tips on combating the threat of his Fiorentina team-mate Adrian Mutu before the opening game in Zurich. "Mutu has so much talent, he'll definitely make an impact," he said. "He told me he wants to leave his mark on the tournament so I'm sure he'll be very motivated. He's very versatile and is always a threat on free-kicks but I'll have a word with Grég tomorrow to offer some pointers from what I know. If we stifle Mutu, we'll go a long way to stopping Romania."

Italian connection
Frey has already been playing in Italy for a decade, having left AS Cannes for FC Internazionale Milano as a teenager, and Mutu is not the only Romanian he has come across during his time in Serie A. "I know [Cristian] Chivu well too," he said of the FC Internazionale Milano player. "He's one of Romania's leaders. He's also very skilful and can put us in difficulty from set-pieces. The goalkeeper [Bogdan Lobont] is also a friend of mine. He was my understudy at Fiorentina a couple of years ago before he returned to Romania. I understand he's been in good form, which doesn't surprise me. I hope for him that he has a good tournament."

'Special bond'
Goalkeepers are renowned for sticking together and Frey insists one of his principal roles this summer consists of helping Coupet prepare for the matches. "There's a special bond between the three goalkeepers," he said. "We are together all the time and during the quiet moments we have a good laugh. That's the way it should be. There's no point sulking because you're not in the team. The role of Steve and myself, as well as being ready to play if necessary, is to support Grég and to make sure he's in the best possible condition for the matches."