The 28-year-old's international strike rate is nothing short of spectacular, with 32 goals in 57 games, and a good performance in the competition could see him return home as Switzerland's all-time top scorer.

But Frei has more reason than most to want to do well in Euro 2008.

The Borussia Dortmund striker will be looking at this year's tournament to expunge the memories of Euro 2004, when he was sent home for spitting at England midfielder Steven Gerrard - an action which saw him hit with a three-match ban by UEFA after studying television evidence.

He was quickly followed home by his team-mates, who only managed one point from their three matches and whose hopes of progressing beyond the group stages were damaged irreparably by the absence of their most potent attacking weapon.

The Swiss star redeemed himself somewhat the following season as he was crowned top scorer in France's Ligue 1 for his then side Rennes for whom he was a consistently key performer.

His 20 goals in that campaign were rewarded by the Swiss Footballer of the year trophy in 2005.

Frei's next season for Rennes was hampered by injury and he only scored seven goals, but that did not put off Borussia Dortmund who - to the dismay of the Rennes faithful - snapped him up for around £3.3million.

And the scoring sensation immediately started hitting the back of the net in the Bundesliga, finishing the season as the club's top scorer and second most potent finisher in the league - his 16 goals ensuring Dortmund avoided being sucked into a tense relegation battle.

This season has been an injury nightmare for Frei as a complicated recovery from hip surgery in the summer saw him sidelined for nine months.

But he finally made his comeback for Dortmund at the beginning of February and stepped out in his national team's colours a month later.

Much earlier in his career, Frei's arrival onto the football scene was less of a splash and more like a steady drip.

He was born in 1979 in Basle, a city which borders both France and Germany and is also the home town of world tennis number one Roger Federer, who is acquainted with Frei.

Frei started out as a professional in 1997 with his hometown club but took some time to find his feet.

He moved on to FC Thun, Lucerne and finally to Geneva-based outfit Servette as the goals slowly started to come.

In January of 2003 he was lured to Rennes by then coach Vahid Halilhodzic and since then has never looked back.

Frei might have only managed one goal in his 13 games under Halilhodzic but the following season he started to blossom under the Bosnian's Romanian successor, Laszlo Boloni, firing in 19 goals in 28 appearances - including a memorable four goals in one match in a 4-3 win over Marseille.

So close is his relationship with Boloni that Frei was the only Rennes player allowed to "tutoye" him - using the familiar "tu" form of address rather than the more respectful "vous".

Frei said: "During Euro 2004 he (Boloni) phoned me and told me that from now on we would "tutoye" each other. I appreciated the gesture - even if the other players take the mickey and say I am the son of the coach."

His form in 2003/04 led some pundits to tip him as a potential top scorer for Euro 2004 and he arrived in Portugal with the weight of expectation on his shoulders.

However, after a 0-0 draw with Croatia it was Frei's spit at Gerrard which provided the only impact he made on the tournament.

Frei, to his credit, admitted he felt ashamed at his moment of petulance during the match which saw Wayne Rooney emerge onto the international stage.

"I have learned a lot," he says. "This period has not been easy for me - I have needed help. I spat and I must apologise."

However, he found a novel way of trying to make amends for his moment of madness, adopting a llama at Basle zoo.

It was a strange choice of animal as the llama also has a tendency to spit at inopportune moments.

But Frei admits he has learnt from the experience and has grown up as a result.

"I have not fundamentally changed," he said. "I think I am the same person - I have just simply learned to keep my fist in my pocket."

Now he is eyeing the chance to redeem himself with the national side.

And this time round he will be hoping that, unlike at Euro 2004, he can make an impact on the major stage for all the right reasons.

"I am not the best person to judge my performances - nothing has really changed," he said.

"I always try my best and hard work ends up paying off."