Benjamin Huggel
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| Benjamin Huggel | ||
 |
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Benjamin Huggel | |
| Date of birth | July 7, 1977 (age 29) | |
| Place of birth | Dornach, Switzerland | |
| Height | 190 cm | |
| Playing position | Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Eintracht Frankfurt | |
| Number | 30 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1987-1996 | FC Münchenstein | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1996-1998 1998-2005 2005- |
FC Arlesheim FC Basel Eintracht Frankfurt |
46 (0) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2003- | Switzerland | 18 (1) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Benjamin Huggel (born July 7, 1977 in Dornach, Switzerland) is a defensive midfielder for German soccer team Eintracht Frankfurt. He is also a regular and experienced member of the Swiss national squad.
Born in July 1977, Huggel began his career with FC Münchenstein and FC Arlesheim, before completing his move to FC Basel in 1998. He first rose to prominence with his displays for FC Basel during their Champions League run in the 2002/2003 season.
Joining FC Basel in the 1998/99 season, Huggel enjoyed his best campaign in 2000/01 when he scored eight times in 29 league games from the centre of midfield. A series of injuries, however, badly hampered his progress and the midfielder struggled in the face of stiff competition to win his way back into the side, however he did play as Basel knocked Liverpool F.C. out of the Champions League in 2002. In 2003/2004, he had another successful season, scoring eight times in 32 games as Basel won the Swiss title back from Grasshopper-Club.
He had a tough introduction to international football in August 2003 as the Swiss lost 2-0 against France, however he increased his cap count by appearing in Switzerland's final two matches in the qualification campaign for Euro 2004 - a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Russia and 2-0 victory against the Republic of Ireland.
He appeared in all three of Switzerland's Euro 2004 matches. However he was unable to prevent the Swiss having a disappointing tournament - they were eliminated at the group stage following defeats to France and England and a draw with Croatia.
In 2005, Huggel moved to German strugglers Eintracht Frankfurt. Tall, strong and a fearless fighter in the centre of the pitch, Benjamin Huggel's will to win marks him out as a true fans' favourite.
However, he has not had the best of times recently. He did not start even one of Switzerland's qualifying games for the World Cup and will now miss the tournament after receiving a six-game ban for kicking a Turkish trainer after his nation's play-off victory over Turkey. He also recently clashed with Turkish defender Alpay Özalan during a Bundesliga game, receiving a four game domestic ban.
| Eintracht Frankfurt - Current Squad |
|---|
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1 Nikolov | 2 Ochs | 4 Preuß | 5 Vasoski | 6 Fink | 7 Köhler | 8 Streit | 9 Heller | 10 Weissenberger | 11 Thurk | 13 Jones | 14 Meier | 16 Spycher | 18 Amanatidis | 19 Takahara | 21 Pröll | 22 Reinhard | 23 Russ | 27 Kyrgiakos | 28 Zimmermann | 29 Chris | 30 Huggel | 31 Chaftar | 32 Toski | 33 Rehmer |
