Tranquillo Barnetta

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Tranquillo Barnetta

Barnetta in 2006
Personal information
Full nameTranquillo Barnetta
Date of birth (1985-05-22) 22 May 1985
Place of birthSt. Gallen, Switzerland
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current clubEintracht Frankfurt
Number25
Youth career
1991–1996FC Rotmonten St. Gallen
1996–2002St. Gallen
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2002–2004St. Gallen60(15)
2004–2012Bayer Leverkusen187(23)
2004–2005→ Hannover 96 (loan)7(2)
2012–Schalke 0422(0)
2013–→ Eintracht Frankfurt (loan)8(0)
National team‡
2004–Switzerland70(10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 November 2013.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 5 October 2013

Tranquillo Barnetta (Italian pronunciation: [traŋˈkwillo barˈnetta]; born 22 May 1985) is a Swiss footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eintracht Frankfurt[1] and the Swiss national team. He usually plays out wide as a left winger but can also play in a more withdrawn role as a central midfielder. Barnetta is known for his "extreme pace, mobility and creativity."[2]

Personal life

Barnetta was born in St. Gallen. Both his parents are of Italian descent and he holds both the Swiss and the Italian citizenship.[3]

Career

Club

Barnetta started his career with St. Gallen in his hometown but was soon snapped up by German side Bayer Leverkusen in January 2004[4] During his first season at Bayer, he had a loan spell at Hannover 96, returning to Bayer in March 2005.[5]

After a good showing at the World Cup in Germany, Barnetta became a regular in the Bayer squad. The 2008–09 season was one to forget for him, after Bayer finished two places lower than the previous season and his goals tally dropped slightly. During the summer transfer window, he was linked with a move away from Bayer as his place in the squad seemed under threat from loanee Toni Kroos.[6] He regained his good form in the 2009–10 season, scoring a brace in only his second league game of the season and contributing to Bayer's unbeaten run for the entire first half of the season.

On 2 July 2012, after his contract ran out at Bayer Leverkusen, Barnetta signed a three-year deal with Bundesliga rivals Schalke 04 in preparation for the Gelsenkirchen club's participation in the Champions League.[7]

International

Barnetta is a former youth international and was in the Swiss U-17 squad that won the 2002 U-17 European Championships along with future senior teammates Philippe Senderos and Reto Ziegler.[8] He has been a member of the senior national team and was first called up to the squad for the Euro 2004 but did not make an appearance. At the 2006 World Cup, he scored the second goal in Switzerland's group stage win over Togo,[9] but missed a penalty kick in the shootout against Ukraine, which Switzerland lost 3–0. On 4 July, Barnetta was shortlisted for the tournament's Best Young Player award. He was ever present in 2010 World Cup qualifying as the Swiss secured a place by finishing top of their group.[10] On 4 June 2011, Barnetta scored two free kicks in quick succession against England in the Euro 2012 qualifiers.[11]

International goals

As of 16 October 2012

Honours

International

  • UEFA U-17 European Champion: 2002

References

  1. ↑ "Schalke reach agreement with Barnetta". Goal.com. 28 June 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2012. 
  2. ↑ Palmer, Kevin. "Champions League 2012–13, Group B". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 20 September 2012. 
  3. ↑ "Tranquillo Barnetta" (in Italian). swissinfo.ch. 6 March 2008. Retrieved 21 October 2013. 
  4. ↑ "Leverkusen holt St. Gallens Jungstar Barnetta". Netzeitung (in German). 9 January 2004. Retrieved 13 June 2009. 
  5. ↑ "Barnetta zurück zu Bayer". Blick (in German). 9 March 2005. Retrieved 13 June 2009. 
  6. ↑ Ostendorp, Heiko; Böni, Andreas (15 May 2009). "Tranquillo kann in jeder Liga der Welt spielen". Blick (in German). 
  7. ↑ "Schalke clinch Barnetta signing". ESPN Soccernet. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012. 
  8. ↑ Tschoumy, Renaud (10 November 2009). "Les «Rouge» admirent les «Rougets»". Le Matin (in French). 
  9. ↑ "Ice-cool Barnetta soothes Swiss nerves". fifa.com. 16 June 2006. 
  10. ↑ "Swiss duo riding high". fifa.com. 21 October 2009. 
  11. ↑ White, Duncan (4 June 2011). "England 2 Switzerland 2: match report". Telegraph. Retrieved 3 July 2012. 
  12. ↑ "Football – Match Friendlies : Scotland vs. Switzerland". footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 10 June 2011. 
  13. ↑ "Football – Match Friendlies : Switzerland vs. Ivory Coast". footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 10 June 2011. 
  14. ↑ "Togo-Switzerland". FIFA.com. Retrieved 10 June 2011. 
  15. ↑ "Football – Match Friendlies : Switzerland vs. Netherlands". footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 10 June 2011. 
  16. ↑ "Football – Match Friendlies : Switzerland vs. Chile". footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 10 June 2011. 
  17. ↑ "UEFA EURO 2012 – England-Switzerland". UEFA.com. 4 June 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011. 

External links

Eintracht Frankfurt – current squad
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