Diego Orlando Benaglio (born 8 September 1983) is a Swiss former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

. He spent most of his professional career with

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...

and

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's he ...

in Germany's top flight, the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footb ...

, winning the 2009 league championship and appearing in almost 300 competitive matches with the latter club. He also played three years in Portugal earlier in his career, with Nacional. Benaglio earned 61

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, representing the nation in three World Cups and

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of Europea ...

Club career

Early years and Nacional

Born in

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Z ...

, Benaglio finished his development at hometown club

Grasshopper Club Zürich Grasshopper Club Zürich, commonly referred to as simply GC, GCZ, or Grasshoppers, is a multisports club based in Zürich, Switzerland. The oldest and best known department of the club is its football team. With 27 titles, Grasshopper holds t ...

. Still in his teens he moved to Germany and joined

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB S ...

, but appeared exclusively for the reserves during his three-year spell. Benaglio joined Portugal's C.D. Nacional for the 2005–06 season, soon gaining favour over

Henrique Hilário Henrique () may refer to: * Henry, Count of Portugal (1066–1112) * Henry I, King of Portugal (1512–1580) * Henry the Navigator (1394–1460), a royal prince and important figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire * Infante Henry, 4th D ...

and becoming the

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

ns's undisputed first choice after the veteran left for

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. It was also during his first year that the team qualified for the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

Wolfsburg

On 22 January 2008, Benaglio returned to Germany, signing for

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...

. He made his debut eight days later, helping his side advance to the quarter-finals of the

German Cup The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is consider ...

after a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

win over

FC Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhi ...

. Benaglio only missed three matches in the 2008–09 campaign as the Wolves were crowned

champions for the first time in their 64-year history. The following year he appeared significantly less, due to injury. On 23 January 2013, Benaglio signed a contract extension to keep him at the

Volkswagen Arena Volkswagen Arena (; also known as the VfL Wolfsburg Arena due to UEFA sponsorship regulations) is a football stadium in the German city of Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. It was opened in 2002 and named after the automotive group Volkswagen AG. The V ...

until 2016. When the club won its first domestic cup on 30 May 2015, against

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...

, he made late saves from

Shinji Kagawa Shinji Kagawa ( ja, 香川真司 ''Kagawa Shinji'' ; born 17 March 1989) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Belgian First Division A club Sint-Truiden and the Japan national team. He is widely regarded as one o ...

and

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Pierre-Emerick Emiliano François Aubameyang (born 18 June 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Chelsea. He is renowned for his pace, finishing, and off-ball movement. Born in France, he is a former ...

to ensure the 3–1 victory. Benaglio played once for

VfL Wolfsburg II VfL Wolfsburg II was a German association football team from the city of Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. It is the reserve team of VfL Wolfsburg. The team's greatest success has been two league championships in the tier four Regionalliga Nord in 2013 ...

in the amateur

Regionalliga Nord The Regionalliga Nord ( en, Regional League North) is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Hamburg. It is one of five leagues at this level, together with the Regional ...

while recovering from injury on 5 September 2015, in a 6–1 home defeat of

TSV Havelse TSV Havelse is a German association football club based in Garbsen, Lower Saxony, near Hanover. History The club was founded in 1912 as ''FC Pelikan-Havelse'' by a group of thirteen young men from the small village of Havelse. They took their n ...

Monaco

On 16 June 2017, 33-year-old Benaglio joined

AS Monaco FC Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Frenc ...

on a three-year deal. He debuted on 13 September in a 1–1 draw away to

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig, and colloquially referred to as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company Red Bul ...

in the group phase of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

, and made his

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...

bow three days later in a 3–0 home win against

RC Strasbourg Alsace Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace (commonly known as RC Strasbourg, Racing Straßburg, RCSA, RCS, or simply Strasbourg; Alsatian: ''Füeßbàllmànnschàft Vu Stroßburri'') is a French association football club founded in 1906, based in the c ...

. 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. On 18 August 2020, Benaglio announced his retirement from professional football.

International career

A Swiss international since 2006, Benaglio was called up for the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

as third choice behind

Pascal Zuberbühler Pascal Zuberbühler (born 8 January 1971) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played in the Swiss Super League for Grasshopper, Basel and Neuchâtel Xamax. He also had a season on loan to Bayer Leverkusen of ...

and Fabio Coltorti, making his debut in a pre-tournament friendly against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

on 3 June. With consistently good club performances the following years, he was promoted to the starting line-up for

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of Europea ...

played on home soil, and became the starter subsequently. As the national team qualified to the

2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

in South Africa, Benaglio played all three group stage matches in an eventual group stage exit, conceding only one goal. This included a 1–0 victory over

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, who later won the tournament. Benaglio captained the Swiss team at the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, 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 Ottmar Hitzfeld (; born 12 January 1949) is a German former professional football player ( striker) and manager. He accumulated a total of 18 major titles, mostly in his tenures with Grasshopper Club Zürich, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. ...

, saving a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

from

Karim Benzema Karim Mostafa Benzema (born 19 December 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for and captains La Liga club Real Madrid. A creative and prolific forward, Benzema is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time. ...

in the second match but in a 2–5 defeat by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

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

Career statistics

Club

¹ Includes DFB Pokal matches.
² Includes Europa League and Champions League matches.
³ Includes DFL-Supercup and relegation play-off matches.
⁴ Although still a second-team regular, Benaglio made his first-team debut that season in the

International

Honours

Wolfsburg *

: 2008–09 *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

: 2014–15

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benaglio, Diego 1983 births Living people Footballers from Zürich Swiss footballers Association football goalkeepers Swiss Super League players FC Baden players Grasshopper Club Zürich players Primeira Liga players C.D. Nacional players Bundesliga players Regionalliga players VfB Stuttgart II players VfB Stuttgart players VfL Wolfsburg players VfL Wolfsburg II players Ligue 1 players AS Monaco FC players Switzerland youth international footballers Switzerland under-21 international footballers Switzerland international footballers 2006 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2008 players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players Olympic footballers of Switzerland Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swiss expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Monaco Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Germany Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Monaco