Philippe Senderos, a soccer prodigy with a diverse background, a father of Spanish descent and a mother of Serbian blood, while he himself thrives on Swiss soil. This background allowed him the freedom to choose whether to play for the Spanish, Serbian or Swiss national teams. In the end, however, he chose Switzerland and has made his mark on the national team at every level from the age of 15 upwards.
Looking back at the 2002 UEFA European Junior Championships, Senderos captained the Swiss U-17 team to a great success in Denmark. They won all three of their group matches to qualify top of the table; beat Georgia 3-0 in the knockout rounds, and then knocked out England 3-0 in the semifinals; drew 0-0 with France in the final, and then won 4-2 on penalties, accomplishing a brilliant record.
On March 26, 2005, Senderos made his debut as a Swiss international in Paris. He helped Switzerland to a 0-0 draw with France in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, narrowly edging out Israel for second place in the group. A 4-4 draw with Turkey in the play-offs allowed Switzerland to qualify for the World Cup in Germany, thanks to an away goal advantage.
Senderos was named to the World Cup final round roster and partnered with Patrick Miller, going undefeated in the group stage and advancing to the top of the group. However, Senderos said an early goodbye to the World Cup after breaking the deadlock for Switzerland in the 22nd minute against South Korea, only to break his nose and strain his shoulder ligaments during the match. Switzerland went down 0-3 on penalties to Ukraine in the eighth-quarter finals, and despite remaining goalless in normal play and extra time, ended up regretting their exit.
This is an exciting chapter in the national team career of Philippe Senderos. For more stats and information about him, keep an eye on our website.
