Philippe Senderos

Philippe Senderos

Personal information
Full name	Philippe Sylvain Senderos
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Centre Back
Team information
Current team	Fulham
Number	14
Youth career
1992–2001	Servette
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2001–2003	Servette	26	(3)
2003–2010	Arsenal	84	(4)
2008–2009	→ Milan (loan)	14	(0)
2010	→ Everton (loan)	2	(0)
2010–	Fulham	24	(1)
International career‡
	Switzerland U-17
2005–	Switzerland	47	(5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:16, 17 May 2012 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10:27, 10 June 2012 (UTC)

Philippe Sylvain Senderos - (born 14 February 1985 in Geneva) is a Swiss Muslim[1] footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Fulham and the Switzerland national football team. Previously he has played for Servette, Arsenal, A.C. Milan and Everton.

Club career

Servette

Born to a Spanish father, Julián Senderos, and a Serbian mother, Zorica Novaković, Philippe came up through the youth team set up at Swiss club Servette.

Embracing Islam

Senderos accepted Shia Islam in recently and converted himself from a Christian to a Shia Muslim. He used to study the different religions and faith and then he was introduced Shia Islam, and after a great study he accepted Ja'fari school of thought of Shia Islam. Franck Ribery, Thierry Henry, Robin Van Persie, Umar Duff, Abel Luís da Silva Costa Xavier), (David Trezeguet, Nicolas Anelka also accepted Shia Islam along with Senderos.

Arsenal

Senderos signed for Arsenal in December 2002, though he remained working at Servette until the following summer. During the 2005–06 season Senderos scored his first Arsenal goal in a 2–1 loss to West Bromwich Albion, and again in a 7–0 win over Middlesbrough. He produced some fantastic performances in Arsenal's run to the final of the Champions League in 2005-06, but towards the end of his career at the club his performances became more and more erratic. He was often seen by fans and media to be the blame of Arsenal's defensive woes.

A.C. Milan

Senderos fell out of favour with Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger. In August 2008 Senderos joined Italian club Milan on a season-long loan. He quickly picked up an injury and struggled to make the first team ahead of Paolo Maldini and Kakha Kaladze, but finally made his first full appearance for the Rossoneri in a UEFA Cup Group Stage tie against Portuguese side Braga, and came on as a substitute for his first Serie A appearance against Fiorentina, after half the season had gone. Senderos made fourteen appearances in Serie A for Milan before returning to Arsenal.

Everton

Senderos made only two appearances for Arsenal in 2009–10, both in the League Cup, and in January 2010 joined Everton for the remainder of the season, and wore the number 23, vacated by the departure of Lucas Neill. He made his first appearance for the club in a 1–0 win away against Wigan Athletic. He returned to Arsenal at the end of the season having made only three appearances for Everton (two in the Premier League and one in the Europa League).

Fulham

In June 2010, Senderos signed a three-year deal with Fulham on a free transfer. On 9 August while training, Senderos tore his Achilles tendon. He underwent surgery and was expected to be out for 6 months. He finally made his debut for Fulham on 30 April 2011 against Sunderland. He made his second appearance for Fulham against Birmingham, helping the team to a clean sheet with a number of good tackles and clearances. On 21 April, he scored his first Premier League goal since joining Fulham as they beat Wigan Athletic 2-1 at Craven Cottage.

International career

Senderos in action for Switzerland in November 2006 in a match against Brazil

Senderos is a former youth international and has played at all levels of football from the U15s upward for Switzerland, though he was also eligible to play for Spain or Serbia through his parents. He was captain of the Swiss U-17 squad that won the 2002 U-17 European Championships.

He made his full international debut in March 2005 in Switzerland's 0–0 draw against France in Paris. After playing in Switzerland's successful qualifying campaign, he was named in their 2006 FIFA World Cup squad. He started alongside Patrick Müller in all three of Switzerland's group matches, managing to score a goal in the third match against Korea Republic. He broke his nose and suffered shoulder ligament damage in the match, which ruled him out of the remainder of Switzerland's World Cup campaign. Senderos was also part of the Swiss squad at the UEFA Euro 2008 finals, appearing in all three group matches as the team failed to qualify for the knockout stages.

He was part of the Swiss national team at the 2010 World Cup. In the first match, where Switzerland shocked Spain 1–0, he was substituted in the 36th minute after injuring his ankle seriously in an accidental collision with teammate Stephan Lichtsteiner. Swiss coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said after the match, "He has a sprained ankle, possibly a ruptured ligament. If that is the case, it would be very difficult to replace him."

Personal life

Senderos is a child of Serbian (Zorica Novković) and Spanish (Julián Senderos) immigrants. He converted to Islam.

Senderos speaks six languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Serbian. His brother Julien is a professional basketball player currently with Meyrin Grand-Saconnex and the Swiss national team.

During his time at Arsenal, fans dubbed him Swiss Tony. The name came from a character from The Fast Show, and was a pun on his nationality, and similar playing style to Tony Adams.

Honours

With Arsenal

Winner

• FA Cup: 2005
• FA Community Shield: 2004

International

• UEFA U-17 European Champion: 2002

External links

• Official website
• Profile at fulhamfc.com
• Philippe Senderos at National-Football-Teams.com
• Philippe Senderos at Soccerbase
• Profile at sporting-heroes.net
• Premier League profile

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