Quick Facts
Biography
Raphael Simon Spiegel (born 19 December 1992) is a Swiss professional footballer, who plays as a goalkeeper for West Ham United.
Club career
Early career in Switzerland
Spiegel began his early career with hometown club FC Rüttenen before being snapped up by Swiss Super League-side Grasshopper Club of Zürich in August 2007. At Grasshopper he rose through the youth ranks at the club, soon playing regularly for the reserves. He was unable to establish himself in their first team and was sent out on a short loan to FC Wil early in the 2011–2012 season though he did not make an appearance for the team. Spiegel returned to Grasshopper only to be sent on loan again, this time to SC Brühl for the rest of the season. He made his debut for Brühl on 6 November 2011 against FC Locarno in a 2–1 away loss. After a successful run in the first team during his loan at Brühl, Spiegel returned to Grasshopper.
West Ham United and loans
On 23 July 2012, Spiegel signed for West Ham United after their return to the English Premier League, for an undisclosed fee. After joining West Ham United, Spiegel featured in games for the Under-21 squad and was a reserve goalkeeper, working as an understudy to Jussi Jääskeläinen and Adrián.
On 18 July 2014 he signed for Crawley Town on a one-month loan deal until 16 August 2014 before returning to West Ham without having played for Crawley. On 25 November 2014 he signed on a one-month loan for Barnet making his debut the same day in a 2–1 away defeat to Bristol Rovers. This was his only appearance before his loan spell was cut short due to injury.
On 20 February 2015 Spiegel signed for Carlisle United on an initial one-month loan deal. He made his debut the following day in a 3–2 home defeat by Wycombe Wanderers. He returned to West Ham on 23 March 2015 having made two appearances for Carlisle.
International career
Spiegel is currently a Switzerland youth international. In 2009 he was part of the Swiss under-17 team that won the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup beating the host nation Nigeria 1—0 in the final. He remained an unused substitute throughout the tournament though, unable to displace Swiss first choice Benjamin Siegrist who would go on to win the Golden Glove.
Honours
- FIFA U-17 World Cup: 2009