Tranquillo Barnetta facts for kids
Barnetta with Switzerland in 2006
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tranquillo Barnetta | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 22 May 1985 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | St. Gallen, Switzerland | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1996 | FC Rotmonten St. Gallen | |||||||||||||||
| 1996–2002 | St. Gallen | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | St. Gallen | 60 | (15) | |||||||||||||
| 2004–2012 | Bayer Leverkusen | 187 | (23) | |||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | → Hannover 96 (loan) | 7 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2015 | Schalke 04 | 44 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | → Eintracht Frankfurt (loan) | 22 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Philadelphia Union | 41 | (6) | |||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | St. Gallen | 60 | (11) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 421 | (61) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | Switzerland U17 | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2004–2014 | Switzerland | 75 | (10) | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||
Tranquillo Barnetta (born on May 22, 1985) is a Swiss former professional footballer. He played as a midfielder.
Barnetta was known for being very fast, moving well, and being creative on the field. He usually played on the left side as a winger. He could also play in the middle as an attacking midfielder or even deeper as a central midfielder. Before playing in the MLS, Barnetta played for several teams in Switzerland and Germany. He also played for the Swiss national team 75 times. He represented his country in three FIFA World Cups and two UEFA European Football Championships.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Club Teams
Starting with St. Gallen
Barnetta began his career with his hometown team, St. Gallen. This was for the 2002–2003 season. In his first professional year, he played 30 games and scored 5 goals.
Time at Bayer Leverkusen
Barnetta's first season in Switzerland caught attention from other countries. He soon joined the German team Bayer Leverkusen in January 2004.
During his first season at Bayer, he was loaned to Hannover 96. He returned to Bayer in March 2005. After playing well at the World Cup in Germany, Barnetta became a regular player for Bayer. He played many games for them. He scored two goals in his second league game of the 2009–10 season. This helped Bayer stay unbeaten for the first half of the season.
Playing for Schalke 04 and Eintracht Frankfurt
On July 2, 2012, Barnetta signed a three-year contract with Schalke 04. This happened after his contract with Bayer Leverkusen ended. Schalke 04 was getting ready for the Champions League. Barnetta was given the number 27 shirt.
In the 2013–14 season, Barnetta was loaned to Eintracht Frankfurt for a year. He returned to Schalke 04 in June 2014. On September 23, 2014, Barnetta scored his first goal for Schalke. This was in his second league match of the 2014–15 season.
Joining Philadelphia Union
On July 29, 2015, Barnetta signed with the Philadelphia Union. He joined them in the middle of their season. Barnetta scored his first goal on September 20. This was in a home game against the Houston Dynamo.
After a full preseason, Barnetta became a key attacking player for the Union in the 2016 season. He scored 5 goals and made 4 assists. He helped Philadelphia reach the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2011. Before the 2016 season ended, the Union announced Barnetta would go back to Switzerland. He wanted to play for his hometown club, St. Gallen, while he was still fit. He played 45 games for Philadelphia and scored 6 goals.
Returning to St. Gallen
Barnetta signed a contract with St. Gallen on November 14, 2016. He started playing for them on January 1, 2017. At the end of the 2018–19 season, Barnetta decided to retire from football.
International Games
Barnetta played for Switzerland's youth teams. He was part of the Swiss U-17 team that won the 2002 U-17 European Championships. He played alongside future teammates Philippe Senderos and Reto Ziegler.
He later joined the senior national team. He was first called up for Euro 2004 but did not play. At the 2006 World Cup, he scored a goal in Switzerland's win against Togo. However, he missed a penalty kick in the shootout against Ukraine. Switzerland lost that game.
Barnetta played in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Switzerland finished first in their group. On June 4, 2011, Barnetta scored two free kicks quickly against England. This was during the Euro 2012 qualifiers. Barnetta was also part of the Swiss team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, but he did not play in any matches.
How He Played
FIFA's official website described Barnetta as a "creative footballer." He was known for his "extreme pace, mobility, and creativity" on the left side of the field. He also worked very hard, covering a lot of ground and chasing down opponents. He brought "drive, skill, and maturity" to the Swiss national team.
About His Life
Barnetta was born in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Both of his parents are from Italy. He has both Swiss and Italian citizenship. After retiring from football, Barnetta became a stay-at-home dad. He takes care of his two children while his wife works as a physician.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | App. | Goals | App. | Goals | App. | Goals | App. | Goals | App. | Goals | |||
| St. Gallen | Swiss Super League | 2002–03 | 30 | 10 | 30 | 10 | |||||||
| 2003–04 | 30 | 5 | 30 | 5 | |||||||||
| Total | 60 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 15 | |||
| Hannover 96 (loan) | Bundesliga | 2004–05 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | |
| Bayer Leverkusen | Bundesliga | 2005–06 | 31 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 6 | |
| 2006–07 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 2 | |||
| 2007–08 | 32 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 7 | |||
| 2008–09 | 31 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 5 | |||
| 2009–10 | 32 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 4 | |||
| 2010–11 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 2 | |||
| 2011–12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |||
| Total | 187 | 23 | 13 | 2 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 229 | 26 | |||
| Schalke 04 | Bundesliga | 2012–13 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0 | |
| 2013–14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 3 | |||
| Total | 44 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 3 | |||
| Eintracht Frankfurt (loan) | Bundesliga | 2013–14 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 1 | |
| Philadelphia Union | MLS | 2015 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 13 | 1 | |||
| 2016 | 30 | 5 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 32 | 5 | |||||
| Total | 41 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 6 | |||
| St. Gallen | Swiss Super League | 2016–17 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | |
| 2017–18 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 2 | |||
| 2018–19 | 25 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 9 | |||
| Total | 60 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 12 | |||
| Career total | 421 | 61 | 31 | 3 | 46 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 499 | 65 | |||
International
- Source:
| National team | Year | App. | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland national team | 2004 | 2 | 0 |
| 2005 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 10 | 3 | |
| 2007 | 10 | 3 | |
| 2008 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2012 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 75 | 10 | |
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 1 March 2006 | Hampden Park, Glasgow |  Scotland |
1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly | |
| 2. | 27 May 2006 | St. Jakob-Park, Basel |  Ivory Coast |
1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly | |
| 3. | 19 June 2006 | Westfalenstadion, Dortmund |  Togo |
2–0 | 2–0 | 2006 World Cup | |
| 4. | 22 August 2007 | Stade de Genève, Geneva |  Netherlands |
1–0 (penalty) | 2–1 | Friendly | |
| 5. | 2–0 | ||||||
| 6. | 7 September 2007 | Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna |  Chile |
1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly | |
| 7. | 4 June 2011 | Wembley Stadium, London |  England |
1–0 | 2–2 | ||
| 8. | 2–0 | ||||||
| 9. | 15 August 2012 | Stadion Poljud, Split |  Croatia |
2–1 | 4–2 | Friendly | |
| 10. | 16 October 2012 | Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík |  Iceland |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Awards and Achievements
Bayer Leverkusen
- DFB-Pokal runner-up: 2008–09 (They came in second place in this cup)
Switzerland U17
- UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2002 (They won this championship)
Individual Awards
- 2016 MLS Team of the Week: Week 8, Week 23 (He was recognized as one of the best players in these weeks)
See also
In Spanish: Tranquillo Barnetta para niños
