Hall of Fame
Forward
Three Time NSCAA All-American Honorable Mention (1969, 1970, 1971)
25 goals scored in 1969 - Second Most In USF Single Season History
Four NCAA Tournament Appearances
USF Career Years: 1969-72
Birthdate: September 10, 1949
Hometown: Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Hans Friessen was born on September 10, 1949 in Guadalajara, Mexico to parents of German descent. He had the nickname “El Güerito” due to his blond hair. He played for USF from 1969 to 1972, and attended USF by chance. “I had an amateur contract with a team in Guadalajara," Friessen said. "I had organized a tour to come to the United States and we played in five or six soccer games throughout California. At one of those games, I was playing in Oakland and Steve Negoesco was there. After the game, he asked me if I was interested in having a soccer scholarship at USF and I said yes. That's how it all began. It was my love for soccer that took me to that team."
In the history of the USF, there are only a handful of people who have earned All-American Honors three or more times. Hans Friessen, is one of them. As a versatile soccer player, Friessen started to attract attention from other sports as well. One day in his freshman year while Friessen was at practice, the football team happened to be on the field at the same time. Friessen was resting a pulled muscle in his leg and happened to notice the place-kicker having a hard time making a field goal. Friessen saw the kicker struggle to get the ball over the field goal post and stepped in to offer some help. With his good leg, Friessen demonstrated how to get the ball on top of the goal. "I guess someone was there watching because a couple of weeks later, Steve (Negoesco) told me the scouts from the San Francisco 49ers wanted to see if I would like to kick for them." Friessen said no. “I wanted to go out on the field to run and score a goal, not walk on the field twice a game to kick a ball and make a couple of points. I wanted to play for the Dons, not the 49ers (USF Athletics)." Friessen, at the time, knew very little about American football. Although he now finds American football exciting, it still isn't Friessen's thing and he is still happy with the decision he made many years ago.
From that point on, not only did Friessen earn his All-American Honors, he also earned All-Conference Honors during his years as a Don. Friessen recorded the second-best individual season tally of goals at 25, and helped his team advance to the NCAA Tournament every season that he was a member of the Dons. "I have nothing but appreciation for the way I was treated when I was at the University of San Francisco (USF Athletics)."
As his collegiate career neared its end, Friessen played two games with Atlas, and then signed a professional contract with Chivas de Guadalajara. However, he didn't have an agent to help negotiate his terms, and as a result, started at a very low salary. "Although my success story wasn't the one that I expected, I did become very well known," Friessen said. "It has been a very big satisfaction for me to see people in the streets that I know or don't know, and they know who I am because of my wonderful experience playing in the professional league." Additionally, Since Chivas generally contracted only Mexican players, the club's supporters questioned Friessen's inclusion in the club due to his German ancestry and surname. For the 1973-1974 season, Friessen was transferred to Tecos UAG, in the Second Division, and became league champions with them, earning a promotion to the First Division. Halfway through the 1970s, Friessen's parents decided that soccer was not their son's future and pressed him into early retirement. He had graduated from USF with a Bachelor's in Business, and joined his family's business.
