Diego Benaglio

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Diego Benaglio
080603 benaglio01.jpg
Benaglio in 2008
Personal information
Full name Diego Orlando Benaglio[1]
Date of birth (1983-09-08) 8 September 1983 (age 41)
Place of birth Zürich, Switzerland
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Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 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 241 (0)
International career
2001 Switzerland U19 3 (0)
2002 Switzerland U20 1 (0)
2003–2005 Switzerland U21 15 (0)
2006–2014 Switzerland 61 (0)
2012 Switzerland Olympic 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:00, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Diego Orlando Benaglio (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdjɛgo beˈnaʎʎo]; born 8 September 1983) is a Swiss footballer who plays for German club VfL Wolfsburg as a goalkeeper.

He spent most of his professional career in Germany, with Stuttgart and Wolfsburg, appearing in more than 200 official games with the latter and winning the 2009 league championship. He also spent three years in Portugal with Nacional.

Benaglio gained 61 caps for Switzerland, representing the nation in three World Cups and Euro 2008.

Club career

Early years / Nacional

Born in Zürich, 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.

For the 2005–06 season Benaglio 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 year that the club qualified for the UEFA Cup.

Wolfsburg

On 22 January 2008, Benaglio returned to Germany, signing for VfL Wolfsburg.[2] 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 campaign, Benaglio only missed three matches as Wolfsburg were crowned Bundesliga champions for the first time in the club's history. In the following year he appeared significantly less, due to injury.

On 23 January 2013 Benaglio signed a contract extension with Wolfsburg, keeping him at the club until 2016.[3] When the club won its first domestic cup on 30 May 2015, against Borussia Dortmund, he made late saves from Shinji Kagawa and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to ensure the 3–1 victory.[4]

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, making his debut in a pre-tournament friendly against China on 3 June. 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, conceding only one goal.[5] This included a 1–0 win against Spain, who later won the tournament.[6]

Benaglio captained the Swiss team at the 2012 Olympics, and played nine times during the 2014 World Cup qualification campaign, keeping six clean sheets. On 2 June 2014, he was named in the full side's list for the World Cup finals by national coach Ottmar Hitzfeld,[7] saving a penalty kick from Karim Benzema in the second match but in a 2–5 defeat by France.[8]

On 20 August 2014, Benaglio announced his retirement from international football.[9]

Honours

Grasshopper
Wolfsburg[10]

References

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External links

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Sporting positions
Preceded by Wolfsburg captain
2012–present		 Incumbent
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  5. ↑ Diego Benaglio – FIFA competition record
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