Diego Benaglio

Diego Orlando Benaglio (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdjɛːɡo beˈnaʎʎo, ˈdjeː-]; born 8 September 1983) is a Swiss footballer who plays as a goalkeeper.

Diego Benaglio
Benaglio in 2008
Personal information
Full name Diego Orlando Benaglio[1]
Date of birth (1983-09-08) 8 September 1983[1]
Place of birth Zürich, Switzerland
Height 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)[2]
Playing position(s) 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 37 (0)
2005–2008 Nacional 69 (0)
2008–2017 VfL Wolfsburg 259 (0)
2015 VfL Wolfsburg II 1 (0)
2017–2020 Monaco 26 (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)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 24 May 2019

He spent most of his professional career with Stuttgart and Wolfsburg in Germany, winning the 2009 league championship and appearing in almost 300 competitive matches with the latter club. He also spent three years in Portugal, with Nacional.

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

Club career

Early years / Nacional

Born in Zürich, Benaglio finished his development at hometown club 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[3] and becoming the Madeirans's undisputed first-choice after the veteran left for Chelsea. It was also during his first year that the team qualified for the UEFA Cup.

Wolfsburg

On 22 January 2008, Benaglio returned to Germany, signing for VfL Wolfsburg.[4] He made his debut eight days later, helping his side advance to the quarter-finals of the German Cup after a penalty shootout win over FC Schalke 04.[5]

In the 2008–09 campaign, Benaglio only missed three matches as the Wolves were crowned Bundesliga champions for the first time in their 64-year history.[6] The following year he appeared significantly less, due to injury.[7]

On 23 January 2013, Benaglio signed a contract extension to keep him at the Volkswagen Arena until 2016.[8] 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.[9]

Benaglio played once for VfL Wolfsburg II in the amateur Regionalliga Nord while recovering from injury on 5 September 2015, in a 6–1 home defeat of TSV Havelse.[10]

Monaco

On 16 June 2017, 33-year-old Benaglio joined AS Monaco FC on a three-year deal.[11] He debuted on 13 September in a 1–1 draw away to RB Leipzig in the group phase of the UEFA Champions League,[12] and made his Ligue 1 bow three days later in a 3–0 home win against RC Strasbourg Alsace.[13]

Benaglio made 39 appearances across all competitions for the team from the principality. He and fellow goalkeepers Danijel Subašić and Seydou Sy were all released in June 2020.[14]

International career
Benaglio (left) with Switzerland in 2012

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.[15] This included a 1–0 victory over Spain, who later won the tournament.[16]

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,[17] saving a penalty kick from Karim Benzema in the second match but in a 2–5 defeat by France.[18]

On 20 August 2014, Benaglio announced his retirement from international football.[19]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 28 April 2019[20]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League League Cup1 Continental2 Other3 Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Wolfsburg 2011–12 Bundesliga 32010——330
2012–13 Bundesliga 34040——380
2013–14 Bundesliga 29040——330
2014–15 Bundesliga 31050120—480
2015–16 Bundesliga 210108010310
2016–17 Bundesliga 14010——150
Monaco 2017–18 Ligue 1 3030—10100
2018–19 Ligue 1 20060——260
2019–20 Ligue 1 0000——00
Career total 2590450180204900

1 Includes DFB Pokal matches.
2 Includes Europa League and Champions League matches.
3 Includes DFL-Supercup and relegation play-off matches.

International

[21]

Switzerland
YearAppsGoals
200640
200740
2008100
200970
201080
201180
201270
201360
201470
Total610

Honours

Wolfsburg[20]

References
  1. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of players" (PDF). FIFA. p. 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  2. "Diego BENAGLIO". AS Monaco. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  3. "Diego Benaglio, guarda-redes por acidente" [Diego Benaglio, goalkeeper by accident] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 14 October 2005. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  4. "EURO aim brings Benaglio to Wolfsburg". UEFA. 22 January 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  5. "Wolfsburg bezwingt Schalke, Stuttgart schwächelt" [Wolfsburg down Schalke, Stuttgart fumble]. Der Spiegel (in German). 30 January 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  6. Catuogno, Claudio (25 May 2009). ""Höhere Gewalt!"" ["Higher power!"]. Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  7. "Benaglio vor wochenlanger Pause!" [Benaglio could be out for weeks!]. Wolfsburger Allgemeine (in German). 30 January 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  8. "Benaglio extends with Wolfsburg". Bundesliga. 23 January 2013. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  9. "Dortmund 1–3 Wolfsburg: DFB-Pokal won by De Bruyne and Dost". Goal. 30 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  10. "VfL-Torhüter Benaglio feiert Comeback im Regionalligateam" [VfL goalkeeper Benaglio celebrates comeback in Regionalliga team]. Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). 6 September 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  11. "Benaglio signs until 2020". AS Monaco. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  12. "RB Leipzig held at home by Monaco on European debut". Reuters. 13 September 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  13. "Falcao stars as Monaco sweep past Strasbourg". Ligue 1. 16 September 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  14. "L'AS Monaco annonce les départs des joueurs en fin de contrat" [AS Monaco announce the departures of several players at the end of their contracts]. Monaco Tribune (in French). 25 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  15. Diego Benaglio – FIFA competition record
  16. "Swiss happy to accept Spanish 'gift'". FIFA. 16 June 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  17. "Switzerland World Cup 2014 squad". The Daily Telegraph. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  18. Johnston, Neil (20 June 2014). "Switzerland 2–5 France". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  19. "Benaglio retires from Switzerland". ESPN FC. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  20. "D. Benaglio". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  21. "Diego Benaglio". European Football. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
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