Philippe Senderos

Philippe Sylvain Senderos (born 14 February 1985) is a Swiss professional footballer who playes as a central defender for Grasshoppers and the Switzerland national football team. He began his career at Servette, before moving to England as a teenager with Arsenal. He became a regular at Arsenal and won the FA Cup in 2005, and was loaned to Milan and Everton later on in his time at the club. He then moved to Fulham on a free transfer and spent a brief spell in Spain at Valencia CF before signing for Aston Villa in 2014.

A full Swiss international since 2005, Senderos has won over 50 caps and scored 5 international goals. He was included in the Swiss squads for three World Cups and Euro 2008.

Club career

Servette

Senderos came up through the youth team set up at Swiss club Servette. After a few appearances in his first season, he soon became a regular player in the first team. On 27 July 2002, Senderos scored a brace (and his first goal) in a 2–0 win over Luzern. Senderos signed for Arsenal in December 2002, though he remained working at Servette until the following summer. Shortly after joining Arsenal, Senderos' father and agent said that he rejected a move to Real Madrid in favour of joining Arsenal. Senderos himself claimed he made the right decision joining the Gunners.