Diego Benaglio facts for kids
.jpg)
Benaglio in 2021
|
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Diego Orlando Benaglio | ||
| Date of birth | 8 September 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Zürich, Switzerland | ||
| Height | 1.94 m | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1993–1997 | Spreitenbach | ||
| 1997–1999 | FC Baden | ||
| 1999–2002 | Grasshoppers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2002–2005 | VfB Stuttgart | 0 | (0) |
| 2003–2005 | VfB Stuttgart II | 54 | (0) |
| 2005–2008 | Nacional | 69 | (0) |
| 2008–2017 | VfL Wolfsburg | 259 | (0) |
| 2015 | VfL Wolfsburg II | 1 | (0) |
| 2017–2020 | Monaco | 26 | (0) |
| Total | 409 | (0) | |
| National team | |||
| 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) |
|
|||
Diego Orlando Benaglio (born 8 September 1983) is a former professional football player from Switzerland. He was a talented goalkeeper.
He spent most of his career playing for Stuttgart and Wolfsburg in Germany. He even helped Wolfsburg win the Bundesliga championship in 2009. He played nearly 300 games for Wolfsburg. Before that, he also played for three years in Portugal with Nacional.
Benaglio played 61 games for the Swiss national team. He represented his country in three World Cups and the Euro 2008 tournament.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting Out and Playing in Portugal
Diego Benaglio was born in Zürich, Switzerland. He started playing football at a young age. He finished his youth training at Grasshopper Club Zürich, a team in his hometown.
When he was still a teenager, he moved to Germany. He joined VfB Stuttgart, but mostly played for their reserve team. This means he played for the second team, not the main professional team.
In 2005, Benaglio moved to Portugal to play for C.D. Nacional. He quickly became the team's main goalkeeper. He helped his team qualify for the UEFA Cup, which is a big European football competition.
Success with Wolfsburg
In January 2008, Benaglio returned to Germany. He signed with VfL Wolfsburg. He made his first appearance just eight days later. He helped Wolfsburg win a penalty shootout in the German Cup. This helped his team move forward in the competition.
Benaglio was a key player when Wolfsburg won the Bundesliga championship in 2009. This was the first time in the club's history they won the league! He played in almost every game that season. He did miss some games the next year because of an injury.
In 2013, he signed a new contract to stay with Wolfsburg until 2016. In 2015, he helped Wolfsburg win their first ever German Cup. He made some important saves in the final game, which they won 3–1 against Borussia Dortmund.
Time with Monaco and Retirement
In 2017, when he was 33 years old, Benaglio joined AS Monaco FC in France. He played for them for three years. He made his debut in a UEFA Champions League game. He also played in Ligue 1, which is the top football league in France.
Benaglio played 39 games for Monaco in total. In June 2020, he left the club. On August 18, 2020, Diego Benaglio announced that he was retiring from professional football.
International Career
Diego Benaglio started playing for the Swiss national team in 2006. He was first a backup goalkeeper for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He played his first game for Switzerland in a friendly match against China in June 2006.
Because he played so well for his clubs, he became the main goalkeeper for Switzerland. He was the starting goalkeeper for UEFA Euro 2008, which was played in Switzerland.
Benaglio also played in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He played in all three group games. Switzerland only let in one goal during these matches. They even beat Spain 1–0, and Spain went on to win the whole tournament!
He was the captain of the Swiss Olympic team at the 2012 Olympics. He also played a big part in Switzerland qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In that World Cup, he even saved a penalty kick from Karim Benzema in a game against France.
On August 20, 2014, Benaglio announced that he was retiring from playing for the national team.
Honours and Achievements
Wolfsburg
- Bundesliga: 2008–09 (League Champions)
- DFB-Pokal: 2014–15 (German Cup Winners)
- DFL-Supercup: 2015 (German Supercup Winners)
See also
In Spanish: Diego Benaglio para niños
