Benjamin Huggel

Football player infobox
playername= Benjamin Huggel


fullname = Benjamin Huggel
| dateofbirth = birth date and age|1977|7|7
cityofbirth = Dornach
countryofbirth = Switzerland
height = height|m=1.90
currentclub = FC Basel
clubnumber = 8
position = Defensive Midfielder
youthyears = 1987-1996 1996-1998
youthclubs = FC Münchenstein FC Arlesheim
years = 1998-2005 2005-2007 2007-
clubs = FC Basel Eintracht Frankfurt FC Basel
caps(goals) = 153 (31) 053 0(1) 040 0(6)
nationalyears = 2003-
nationalteam = fb|Switzerland
nationalcaps(goals) = 026 0(0)
pcupdate = 5 October 2008
ntupdate = 19 September 2008

Benjamin "Beni" Huggel (born July 7 1977 in Dornach, Switzerland) is a defensive midfielder for Swiss soccer team FC Basel. He is also a regular and experienced member of the Swiss national squad.He is a tall, strong and a fearless fighter in the centre of the pitch.

Club career

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 2002–03 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 out of the Champions League in 2002. In 2003–04, he had another successful season, scoring eight times in 32 games as Basel won the Swiss title back from Grasshopper-Club Zürich.

In 2005, Huggel moved to German club Eintracht Frankfurt. He also recently clashed with Turkish defender Alpay Özalan Fact|date=April 2007 during a Bundesliga game, receiving a four game domestic ban.

In June 2007, Eintracht revealed that Huggel was transferred for an estimated fee of €400,000 to his old club, FC Basel.

International career

Huggel had a tough introduction to international football in August 2003 as the Swiss lost 2-0 against France. However, he also appeared in Switzerland's final two matches in the Euro 2004 qualification campaign - a 4-1 defeat to Russia and 2-0 victory over 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.

However, Huggel did not start in any Switzerland's qualifying games for the 2006 World Cup. He also missed the tournament after receiving a six-game ban for kicking a Turkish trainer after his nation's play-off victory over Turkey.

He was included in the squad to play at Euro 2008.

Honours

Basel
* Swiss Cup: 2002, 2003, 2008
* Swiss Super League: 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008
* Uhren Cup: 2003, 2008

Eintracht Frankfurt
* German Cup Runner Up: 2006

External links

* [http://www.fcb.ch/sport/show/playerDetailByID//26265/72/9/36 Profile at FC Basel] de icon

* [http://www.football.ch/sfl/777819/de/Kader.aspx?pId=307866 Profile at Swiss Football League Website] de icon