BERNE (Reuters) - Penpix of Switzerland's 23-man squad for the World Cup in South Africa: 1-Diego Benaglio (VfL Wolfsburg). Goalkeeper. Born Sept. 8 1983. Caps 26. Goals 0. The regular goalkeeper since just before Euro 2008. His career took off when he moved to Wolfsburg from unfashionable Portuguese outfit Nacional Madeira and helped his new club to win the Bundesliga in his first season. Agile, he commands his defence well despite being a quiet character off the pitch. 21-Johnny Leoni (FC Zurich). Goalkeeper. Born June 30 1984. Caps 0. Goals. 0. Winner of two Swiss titles with Zurich, Leoni has been called up by his country eight times but has yet to get a game. Has big-match experience having faced Real Madrid, AC Milan and Olympique Marseille in this season's Champions League but his performances were a mixture of good, bad and ugly. 12-Marco Woelfli (Young Boys Berne). Goalkeeper. Born Aug. 22 1982. Caps 4. Goals. 0. Captain and the longest-serving player at his club, Woelfli made his international debut two years ago at the age of 26. Played in the final qualifier against Israel which clinched Switzerland's place in South Africa. 22-Mario Eggimann (Hanover 96). Defender. Born 24.1.81. Caps 8. Goals: 0. Central defender who spent six seasons at Karlsruhe, captaining the team which won the German second division in 2006/07. Joined Hanover the following year. A surprise call-up as he played in only two World Cup qualifiers and his club spent the season fighting relegation. 13-Stephane Grichting (Auxerre). Defender. Born March 30 1979. Caps 34. Goals 1. In his eighth season at Auxerre, Grichting played in all but one of Switzerland's qualifiers. His goal against Greece, his only one at international level, was one of the most important of the campaign. 2-Stephan Lichtsteiner (Lazio). Defender. Born Jan. 16 1984.Caps 27 Goals 0. Nicknamed Forrest Gump thanks to his impressive running down the right flank, Lichtsteiner is a reliable right-back who completed an apprenticeship in banking when he was a young player at Grasshoppers Zurich. After three seasons at Lille, he moved to Serie A club Lazio for the 2008-09 season. 4-Philippe Senderos (Arsenal). Defender. Born Feb. 14 1985. Caps 38. Goals 5. Ever-present in the last World Cup and Euro 2008, Senderos's place has come under threat because of a lack of regular first-team football at club level. Having fallen out of favour with Arsenal, he joined Everton on loan in January only to suffer a hip injury. Strong in the air in defence and attack, the polyglot central defender captained the team which won the 2002 European under-17 championship. 3-Ludovic Magnin (FC Zurich). Defender. Born April 20 1979. Caps 61. Goals 3. A qualified primary school teacher and unusually excitable by Swiss standards, the first-choice left back enjoys joining the attack and has a decent free kick. Has won Bundesliga titles with Werder Bremen and VfB Stuttgart but left the latter in February after losing his grip on the left-back spot and joined FC Zurich in a move aimed at keeping his Switzerland place. 5-Steve von Bergen (Hertha Berlin). Defender. Born June 10 1983. Caps 11. Goals 0. The central defender missed Euro 2008 with a broken hand but made several appearances in the 2010 qualifying campaign. Likely to be battling Senderos for a place alongside Grichting. 17-Reto Ziegler (Sampdoria). Defender. Born Jan. 16 1986. Caps 11. Goals 1. Left-sided player equally happy at full back or midfield, he joined Tottenham Hotspur as a teenager but, after a promising first season, was sent to Wigan and Hamburg on loan. Eventually joined Sampdoria where, after struggling to get into the team, he has played more regularly this season. 7-Tranquillo Barnetta (Bayer Leverkusen). Midfielder. Born May 22 1985. Caps 51. Goals 6. The creative heart of the midfield, Barnetta performed impressively at the 2006 World Cup, although he missed during the penalty shootout defeat to Ukraine in the second round. Versatile, quick and with good ball control, he was central to Bayer Leverkusen's 24-match unbeaten run in the Bundesliga. 11-Valon Behrami (West Ham United). Midfielder. Born April 19 1985. Caps 26. Goals 2. Kosovo-born player who moved to Switzerland at the age of four, Behrami has raised a few eyebrows among the Swiss squad with his tattoos and ever-changing haircuts. Happy at right back or in midfield, Behrami was a regular during three seasons at Lazio. Joined West Ham in 2008 but suffered a serious knee injury the following year. Played in three qualifiers. 16-Gelson Fernandes (St Etienne). Midfielder. Born Sept. 2 1986. Caps 23. Goals 1. Cape Verde-born midfielder who moved to Switzerland at the age of five and was inspired to take up football when his father got a job as a groundsman at Sion. Became one of Switzerland's most expensive players when he moved to Manchester City in 2007 after catching the eye of Sven Goran Eriksson. Fell out of favour when Mark Hughes replaced Eriksson and joined St Etienne at the start of this season. Sometimes over-aggressive. 6-Benjamin Huggel (FC Basel). Midfielder. Born July 7 1977. Caps 37. Goals 2. Defensive midfielder popular for his determination, though somewhat lacking in finesse. He was banned from the 2006 World Cup for his part in the shocking brawl which followed the decisive qualifier in Turkey. Spent seven seasons at Basel and returned to the club in 2007 after an unhappy two-year spell at Eintracht Frankfurt. 14-Marco Padalino (Sampdoria). Midfielder. Born Dec. 8 1983. Caps 8. Goals 1. Right-sided midfielder who broke into the team last year. Joined Sampdoria in 2008, having previously played for Catania and Piacenza. Started the last four qualifiers. 20-Pirmin Schwegler (Eintracht Frankfurt). Midfielder. Born March 9 1987. Caps 4. Goals 0. A former under-21 international, he joined Eintracht this season after three years with Bayer Leverkusen. 8-Gokhan Inler (Udinese). Born June 27 1984. Midfielder. Caps 35. Goals 2. A midfield workhorse, the hard-tackling Inler was ever-present in the qualifying campaign and played at Euro 2008. Inler made the big leap from the Swiss league to Serie A with surprising ease when he joined Udinese from FC Zurich in 2007. 23-Xherdan Shaqiri (FC Basel). Midfielder. Born Oct. 10 1991. Caps 2. Goals 0. The pick of a good crop of young players, Kosovo-born Shaqiri can play on either flank and is always a threat with his powerful shooting and good crosses. Moved to Switzerland as a child because of the war in his homeland and joined FC Basel's youth academy at 10. 19-Eren Derdiyok (Bayer Leverkusen). Forward. Born June 12 1988. Caps 20. Goals 2. Derdiyok's impressive scoring record of more than a goal every two games in his first Bundesliga season has made him a late candidate to take Nkufo's place in the starting line-up.Tall and powerful, he can also play at centre back. Won Swiss league and cup titles with FC Basel before joining Leverkusen. 9-Alexander Frei (FC Basel). Forward. Born July 15 1979. Caps 74. Goals 40. Switzerland's record scorer has a love-hate relationship with major tournaments. He was banned at Euro 2004 for spitting at England's Steven Gerrard and tearfully limped out of the Euro 2008 opener with a knee injury. Is fighting to get fit after breaking his arm in February. 10-Blaise Nkufo (Twente Enschede). Forward. Born May 25 1975. Caps 30. Goals 7. Nkufo spent five years out of the Swiss team because he felt he was not being given a fair chance but was persuaded to return in 2007. He responded with five goals in the qualifying campaign. A perfectionist, the Democratic Republic of Congo-born player has performed consistently for Twente, scoring at least 10 goals in each of his seven seasons with the club. 15-Hakan Yakin (FC Luzern). Forward. Born Feb. 22 1977. Caps 80. Goals 20. Perhaps the only player in the squad with genuine flair, he played at Euro 2004 and 2008 and the 2006 World Cup but has been used only as a substitute by Hitzfeld. Injuries and ill-judged transfers, including unsuccessful stints with Paris St Germain, VfB Stuttgart and Galatasaray, have slowed his career. 18-Albert Bunjaku. (Nuremberg). Forward. Born 29.11.83. Caps: 3. Goals: 0. After three seasons with lower league German team Rot-Weiss Erfurt, Kosovo-born Bunjaku has burst onto the Bundesliga scene this season by averaging a goal every two games for struggling Nuremberg. Made his international debut in the friendly against Norway in November. Left out of the inital 23, he has replaced the injured Marco Streller. (Compiled by Brian Homewood) (Editing by Jon Bramley; To query or comment on this story email [email protected])
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