BRAD Friedel is a giant of a man and the Rovers keeper is making a very big reputation for himself in the World Cup.

But his manager at Ewood Park is probably the least surprised person the planet.

Graeme Souness said: "Basically what has happened is that the secret of Brad Friedel is now out. He has done very well but everyone in Blackburn knew that he would.

"I said all last season that I would not swap him for any other keeper in the Premiership and nothing has changed.

"He has only confirmed what we already knew and I think at last everyone else is realising how good he is."

The United States star has been arguably the best stopper in the World Cup and he is ready to give his all for his country in the quarter-final against Germany tomorrow.

"We are going to pour our blood on the field against Germany," he said, insisting there is great belief flowing through the side.

"A lot of the veteran players, the players who play over in Europe, know that we can play with all of these players that are here in the World Cup. A few of the players that play in the Major League Soccer, and maybe the younger players, have to go onto the field and play against a couple of them to prove it to themselves.

"Now everyone knows that they can, and from here on out whoever makes less mistakes is going to win."

Like Rovers team-mate Damien Duff, Friedel has exploded onto the world stage, a fact proved as one Italian radio reporter said: "You are the best goalkeeper in the World Cup, I think."

But Friedel is no big time Charlie, his quiet and modest demeanour off the field a contrast to his presence on it, and he simply flashed an uncomfortable grin and replied: "Thank you, that's very kind for you to say that.

"The last couple of years, I have been very, very happy with how the on-field performances have gone."

One of his best days came in the Worthington Cup final against Spurs with a match winning display.

In the World Cup he has already saved two penalties, against South Korea and again against Poland and he has more than justified his selection ahead of Tottenham's Kasey Keller as the States' number one.

Having shone so far will mean nothing to Friedel as he prepares to take on the might of Germany in the biggest match in his country's history, unconcerned about his rave reviews.

"I don't really sit down and think in terms like that, I am a realist," he said. "Every day is different in soccer, it's a very humbling game at times, and you have to keep your head screwed on straight.

"If you get carried away about some things, in a positive way or a negative way, it can really have a negative effect on your performances."

So far the World Cup has been an incredibly positive experience for Friedel and Rovers fans will be hoping he will be able to maintain his stunning form when the Premier League season starts again on August 17

Friedel's USA team mate Jeff Agoos, whose leg injury means he'll almost certainly miss out on the big match, rates Friedel as crucial if the States are going to confound football worldwide with another shock in this tournament.

Defender Agoos said: "When you want someone behind you to depend on and count on, it's Brad. You want to know that when the shots start coming in, he can be relied on.

"He's been absolutely outstanding here and one of the main reasons we have reached the last eight.

"He will make big, big saves in every match. But one of the strengths of our squad is goalkeeping because Kasey Keller can perform in the same way."

Friedel's family roots are in Germany before his ancestors emigrated to the States early in the last century.

He said: "I don't have any relatives left in Germany now. My family name used to be Freidman before it was changed when my relatives moved to the States."

Interestingly, when Friedel was having his five year problem of not being able to get a work permit to play in England, he looked into seeing whether he had close enough German ancestry to enable him to acquire a German passport.

Unfortunately for Friedel, those family roots were not recent enough.

Agoos, now 34 and clearly in his last World Cup Finals, now expects to sit out tomorrow's showdown, and said: "Germany are one of the best teams in the tournament, I know they are missing a few very good players, but they are still among the best.

"It will be physical and tough, but we have to go out and play them with everything we have. It could be our last game, but we don't want that. We want to continue on in the tournament even further.

"For a couple of years the Germans had some troubles, but their strength is that they are a cohesive team, there's not as many individuals as there used to be, so they are a very dangerous team and one of the best here.

"It still looks doubtful that my injury will have cleared up in time. People have to get me out on the pitch to work and that isn't happening and I haven't got much time left."

Friedel has won rave notices here, and says of the big clash: "We are thinking a lot about Germany already, we are not a group of players who suddenly going to stop playing because we have made the quarter finals. That's history as far as the US is concerned. We are not like that.

"We will only be satisfied by winning it or getting knocked out fair and square and know we have poured our blood out on the field.

"That's what all the boys are like, and as long as we have a team it will always be like that.

"We can handle the physical side, we are not a small bunch of lads, so we can handle the tough side."