Reto Ziegler

Reto Pirmin Ziegler (born 16 January 1986) is a Swiss footballer who plays as a left defender for FC Sion.
He has played top-flight football in six different countries, and earned 32 international caps for Switzerland, playing at both the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Early career

Ziegler was in the summer of 2004 signed by Tottenham Hotspur to a contract initially meant to begin on 1 January 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.

Tottenham

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 had 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.

In the summer of 2005, he was sent on loan to Hamburger SV of the German Bundesliga, where he featured in 11 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 five starts and five substitute appearances in the Premier League and one start in the FA Cup, performing well but not spectacularly. He also appeared as a substitute for Wigan in the 2006 Football League Cup Final.

Ziegler returned to Tottenham for the 2006–07 season and featured in four games, including starts in the Carling Cup against MK Dons and UEFA Cup against Slavia Prague and a substitute appearance against Manchester United in the league. On 31 January 2007 he joined Sampdoria on loan until the end of the season.

Sampdoria

Ziegler with Sampdoria after the training

On 18 February 2007, Ziegler played his first Serie A match for Sampdoria against Parma and scored his first goal in his 10th Serie A appearance for the club against Messina on 21 April 2007. In May, Spurs brought in young left back Gareth Bale and Ziegler opted to sign for Sampdoria permanently on 3 July 2007. During his first season, he was in and out of the starting line-up and most of his appearances were substitutions.

Ziegler finally managed to retain his place more regularly during the first half of the 2009–10 season. After a string of substitute appearances, he became first-choice left back. During the winter transfer window, he was linked with a move to Juventus. Having just secured his place in the starting eleven, he refuted the transfer rumours saying that he wanted to continue his run in the starting line-up in hopes of being selected for the upcoming World Cup.

Since his contract would expired on 30 June 2011, in January 2011 he was linked to A.C. Milan, as Sampdoria opted gain some cash. However Ziegler did not leave. Instead, Sampdoria sold its striker Giampaolo Pazzini and let Antonio Cassano leave as a free agent. The team performed badly and was relegated.

Ziegler with Fenerbahçe

Juventus

Ziegler joined Juventus on a free transfer on 26 May 2011, having signed a 4-year contract. He passed a medical on 25 May.

Fenerbahçe

On 2 September 2011, Fenerbahçe announced they are holding discussions with Juventus and Ziegler to loan him for the 2011-2012 season. On 3 September 2011, it was announced that agreement has been reached on every side.

On 22 April 2012 Reto scored the first goal of the derby match Galatasaray-Fenerbahce which ended 1-2.

FC Lokomotiv Moscow

After his spell with Fenerbahçe has ended, he was loaned to FC Lokomotiv Moscow.

Fenerbahçe (Second Spell)

Ziegler returned to Fenerbahçe again on loan on 31 January 2013.

Sassuolo

U.S. Sassuolo Calcio confirmed on 20 August 2013 its acquisition of Ziegler on loan from Juventus for an undisclosed period and fee.

FC Sion

On 2 February 2015, Ziegler transferred to FC Sion, signing a six-month contract until the end of the season.

Ziegler is a former youth international and was in the Swiss U-17 squad that won the 2002 U-17 European Championships. He made his full debut for Switzerland in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification game against France on 26 March 2005, helping his team secure a point through a 0–0 draw at the Stade de France. He gained two more caps before drifting out of the frame, and was not named to Switzerland's squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He scored a late free kick against the Netherlands in September 2008 to send Switzerland through to the play-off round of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. On 19 November 2008, Ziegler scored his first senior goal for Switzerland, a powerful left-footed strike against Finland which won the match.

International goals

Correct as of 15 September 2011

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	19 November 2008	AFG Arena, St. Gallen, Switzerland	Finland	1–0	1–0	Friendly

Ziegler's brother Ronald is also a footballer and plays for Swiss side ES FC Malley.

Club

Grasshopper

• Nationalliga A: 2003
• Swiss Cup finalist: 2003–04

Wigan Athletic

• Football League Cup finalist: 2006

Fenerbahçe

• Turkish Cup: 2011–12. 2012–13
• Süper Lig runner-up: 2011–12, 2012–13

FC Sion

• Swiss Cup: 2014–15

International

Switzerland U17

• UEFA U-17 European Champion: 2002