Daniel Wendel Imhof (born 22 November 1977) is a former professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. Born in Switzerland, he made 37 appearances for the Canada national team.

Club career

Early life

Imhof was born in Wil, Switzerland, but his parents, Wendel and Edith Imhof, immigrated to Canada when he was four. Imhof grew up in

Smithers Smithers is a surname of English origin. It derives from the Middle English term "smyther", referring to a metalsmith, and is thus related to the common occupational surname Smith. The name Smither is related. People * Alan Smithers (born 1938) ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

and started a study to become a sport teacher at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

. In this period he was key player of the university's soccer team. His two brothers play in the lower leagues in Switzerland; Dominic Imhof plays for

FC Tuggen FC Tuggen is a Switzerland, Swiss football club from the town of Tuggen in Canton Schwyz, the Linguistic geography of Switzerland, German-speaking region of Switzerland. The club was founded in 1966 and currently plays in 1. Liga Classic, the fou ...

and Christoph Imhof played for

FC Gossau FC Gossau is a Switzerland, Swiss football (soccer), football club from the city of Gossau SG, Gossau in the canton of St. Gallen (canton), St. Gallen. It currently plays in the Swiss Challenge League, Challenge League, the second-highest level o ...

. He also has a younger sister, Angela Imhof.

Switzerland

During the spring of 1998 Imhof went to Europe in order to secure a place in a European football club. Relatives had arranged for him to take part in a training session at their local Swiss

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

club

FC Wil FC Wil (''Fussball Club Wil 1900'') is a Association football, football club based in Wil, Switzerland. They play in the ''Sportpark Bergholz'', which has a total capacity of 6,048. The club has consistently played in the Swiss Challenge League, ...

, after which

Marcel Koller Marcel Martin Koller (born 11 November 1960) is a Swiss professional football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of Al Ahly in the Egyptian Premier League. Playing career Born in Zürich, Koller played his entire car ...

, the head coach, offered him his first professional contract. Two years later Imhof followed Koller to his next club,

FC St. Gallen Fussballclub St. Gallen 1879, commonly known as St. Gallen, is a Swiss professional football club based in the city of St. Gallen, Canton of St. Gallen. It is the oldest football club in continental Europe after Kjøbenhavns Boldklub. The tea ...

with whom he would win the

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

VfL Bochum

During the summer of 2005 Imhof followed coach Koller to a new club for the second time by joining German 2. Bundesliga club

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German professional association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. They currently play ...

. In 2006, after Imhof's first season with Bochum, the club was promoted to the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

. When Imhof's contract expired in 2007, Bochum was at first reluctant to offer him a new contract as Imhof had not seen consistent playing time during the previous season due to injury. However, as Bochum were unable to find an adequate replacement for Imhof, he was offered a new one-year contract. Ironically, Imhof appeared in the majority of matches for Bochum during the 2007–08 season, and following the season it was rumoured that clubs such as

Middlesbrough F.C. Middlesbrough Football Club ( ) is a professional association football club based in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Nicknamed the Boro, they were fo ...

of the

English Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, and

Celtic F.C. The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a professional Association football, football club in Glasgow, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football league system, Scottish ...

of the

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

were interested in him.

Return to St. Gallen

On 14 January 2010, he announced his return to FC St. Gallen, leaving VfL Bochum and the Bundesliga after four and half years.

International career

He made his debut for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in an October 2000 World Cup qualification match against

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. As of November 2009, he has earned a total of 36 caps, scoring no goals. He has represented Canada in 13

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

matches. He has also played at the

2001 Confederations Cup The 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup was the fifth FIFA Confederations Cup and the third to be organized by FIFA. It was also the first in which the original hosts, Saudi Arabia, did not participate (they were the nation who founded the tournament, pr ...

Honours

St. Gallen *

: 1999–2000 *

Swiss Challenge League The Challenge League (known as the Dieci Challenge League for sponsorship reasons) is the second-highest tier of the Swiss football league system and lower of two professional leagues in the country. Ten teams play in the Challenge League; the wi ...

: 2011–12 VfL Bochum * 2. Bundesliga: 2005–06 Canada *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

: 3rd place,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

References

External links

Daniel Imhof Online Soccer Coaching Academy
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Imhof, Daniel 1977 births Living people People from Wil People from Smithers, British Columbia Swiss emigrants to Canada Canadian people of Swiss-German descent Naturalized citizens of Canada Canadian men's soccer players Soccer people from British Columbia Footballers from the canton of St. Gallen Men's association football midfielders Canada men's international soccer players Swiss men's footballers 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Swiss Super League players Swiss Challenge League players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players FC Wil players FC St. Gallen players VfL Bochum players Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Swiss expatriate men's footballers Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Germany Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany