Diego Benaglio

Diego Benaglio

Personal information
Full name	Diego Orlando Benaglio
Date of birth	8 September 1983 (1983-09-08) (age 28)
Place of birth	Zürich, Switzerland
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	VfL Wolfsburg
Number	1
Youth career
1993–1997	Spreitenbach
1997–1999	FC Baden
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1999–2002	Grasshopper	23	(0)
2002–2005	VfB Stuttgart	0	(0)
2003–2005	VfB Stuttgart II	37	(0)
2005–2008	Nacional	69	(0)
2008–	VfL Wolfsburg	98	(0)
National team‡
2006–	Switzerland	37	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 4 June 2011

Diego Orlando Benaglio (born 8 September 1983 in Zürich) is a Swiss footballer who plays for VfL Wolfsburg in the German Bundesliga, as a goalkeeper.

Club career

Benaglio started his career with hometown side Grasshopper-Club Zürich. Still in his teens, he moved to Germany and joined VfB Stuttgart, but appeared exclusively for the reserves during his three-year spell.

In 2005–06, he moved to Portugal's C.D. Nacional, soon gaining favour over Henrique Hilário, and becoming the Madeira side's undisputed first-choice after the veteran left for Chelsea. It was also during his first season that the club qualified for the UEFA Cup.

On 22 January 2008, Benaglio returned to Germany, moving to VfL Wolfsburg.^[1] He made his club debut eight days later, helping his team advance to the quarter-finals of the German Cup after a penalty shootout win over FC Schalke 04.

In the 2008–09 season, Benaglio only missed three matches as Wolfsburg were crowned league champions for the first time in the club's history. In the following year, he appeared significantly less, due to injury.

International career

A Swiss international since 2006, Benaglio was called-up for the 2006 FIFA World Cup as third-choice, behind Pascal Zuberbühler and Fabio Coltorti. With consistently good club performances in the following years, he was promoted to the starting line-up for UEFA Euro 2008, played on home soil, and became first-choice onwards.

As the national team qualified to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Benaglio played in all three group stage matches in an eventual group stage exit (one goal conceded),^[2] including a 1–0 win against Spain, who later won the tournament.^[3]

Honours

Grasshopper

• Swiss Super League (1): 2000–01

Wolfsburg

• German Bundesliga (1): 2008–09

References

1. ^ "EURO aim brings Benaglio to Wolfsburg". UEFA.com. 22 January 2008. http://www.uefa.com/news/newsid=648674.html. Retrieved 15 May 2010. 
2. ^ Diego Benaglio – FIFA competition record
3. ^ "Swiss happy to accept Spanish 'gift'". FIFA.com. 16 June 2010. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=1247333/index.html#swiss+happy+accept+spanish+gift. Retrieved 6 October 2010. 

External links

• Official website (German)
• Wolfsburg official profile (German)
• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• Stats at ForaDeJogo (Portuguese)
• Diego Benaglio at fussballdaten.de (German)
• Diego Benaglio at National-Football-Teams.com

Persondata
Name	Benaglio, Diego
Alternative names
Short description	Footballer
Date of birth	8 September 1983
Place of birth	Zürich, Switzerland
Date of death
Place of death