Reto Ziegler

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Personal information
Reto Ziegler
Full name	Reto Ziegler
Date of birth	January 16, 1986
Place of birth	Geneva, Switzerland
Height	6'0" / 1.83m
Playing position	Left Midfielder/Defender
Club information
Current club	Sampdoria (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur)
Number	3
Youth clubs
	Servette FC, FC Lausanne-Sport, Terre Saint, FC Gland
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2002-2004 2004- 2005-2006 2006 2007	Grasshopper-Club Zürich Tottenham Hotspur → Hamburger SV (loan) → Wigan Athletic (loan) → Sampdoria (loan)	41 (0) 24 (1) 08 (0) 10 (0) 00 (0)
National team²
2003-05 2005-	Switzerland U-21 Switzerland	21 (1) 05 (0)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of November 18, 2006. ² National team caps and goals correct as of November 18, 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Reto Ziegler (born January 16, 1986 in Geneva) is a Swiss footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur. He is currently on loan to Sampdoria.

Ziegler began his football career on the Swiss Under-17, Under-19 and Under-21 national teams, playing his early career years with Servette FC and FC Lausanne-Sport, before signing with one of Switzerland's biggest clubs, Grasshopper-Club Zürich. After two years in Zürich, Ziegler was in the summer of 2004 signed by Tottenham Hotspur to a contract initially meant to begin on January 1, 2005, when his contract with Grasshoppers expired. But the two clubs, reportedly by initiative of then-Tottenham sporting director Frank Arnesen, were able to agree to an immediate transfer, and Reto joined Tottenham in late August of that year.

Despite being just 18 years old, he soon made his debut and became an important member of the team under both coach Jacques Santini, who left in October after just a few months in charge, and his successor, Martin Jol. He featured mostly at left midfield but also played a few games as left full-back, often switching position with Timothée Atouba, another versatile left-sided player with the team at the time.

He featured in 31 games in all competitions that season, including 23 in the Premier League. He showed great promise and improvement, and became popular with the fans for his attack-minded play on the left side and good passing ability. Some of his most memorable moments from that season came in the home loss to Arsenal, when near the end of the game he played a delicate chipped pass to Frédéric Kanouté, who scored to make it 4-5, and in the New Year's Day game against Everton, where he scored his first goal en route to a 5-2 Tottenham win. It has so far been the only goal of his professional career. At the end of the season, he was named the "JSM Young Player Of The Year", an award given to a young Tottenham player by its junior fan club.

It also proved a successful year for him on the national team stage, as he made his full debut for Switzerland in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification game against France on March 26, 2005, helping his team secure a point through a 0-0 draw at the Stade de France. He gained 2 more caps before drifting out of the frame, and was not named to Switzerland's squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

In the summer of 2005, he was sent on loan to Hamburger SV of the German Bundesliga, where he featured in eleven games and three UEFA Cup games, but was criticised by manager Thomas Doll for a poor attitude and rarely played more than a few minutes per game. He was recalled from the loan by Tottenham in January 2006, only to be put back out on loan, this time at another Premiership team, Wigan Athletic. He played until the end of the 2005-06 season, getting 5 starts and 5 substitute appearances in the Premier League and one start in the FA Cup, performing well but not spectacularly.

Ziegler returned to Tottenham for the 2006-07 season and featured in four games, including starts in the Carling Cup and UEFA Cup. On 31 January 2007 he joined Sampdoria on loan until the end of the season.

On February 18, 2007 he played his first Serie A match for Sampdoria against Parma ^[1]