Reto Ziegler

Early career

In the summer of 2004, Ziegler signed a contract with Tottenham Hotspur, which was initially meant to begin on 1 January 2005, when his contract with Grasshoppers expired. However, the two clubs – reportedly through the initiative of then-Tottenham sporting director Frank Arnesen – agreed to an immediate transfer, and Ziegler joined Spurs in late August of that year.

Tottenham Hotspur

Despite being just 18 years old, Ziegler soon made his debut and became an important member of the team under both head coach Jacques Santini, who left in October after just a few months in charge, and his successor, Martin Jol. Ziegler featured mostly at left midfield but also played a few matches as left full-back, often switching position with Timothée Atouba, another versatile left-sided player with the team at the time. Ziegler featured in 31 matches in all competitions that season, including 23 in the Premier League. He showed great promise and improvement, and became popular with the fans for his attack-minded play on the left side and good passing ability. One of his most memorable moments from that season came in the home loss to Arsenal. Near the end of the game, he played a delicate chipped pass to Frédéric Kanouté, who scored to make it 4–5. Another memorable moment was in the 1 January 2005 match against Everton, where he scored his first goal en route to a 5–2 Tottenham win. At the time, it was his only goal of his professional career. At the end of…

Ziegler is a former youth international and was in the Switzerland U-17 squad that won the 2002 U-17 European Championships. Ziegler made his full debut for Switzerland in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification match against France on 26 March 2005, helping his team secure a point through a 0–0 draw at the Stade de France. He gained two more caps before drifting out of the frame and was not named to Switzerland's squad for the 2006 World Cup. For the Swiss U-21 team, he scored a late free-kick against the Netherlands in September 2008 to send Switzerland through to the play-off round of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. On 19 November 2008, Ziegler scored his only senior goal for Switzerland, a powerful left-footed strike against Finland which won the Swiss the match, 1–0. He was selected for the 2010 World Cup squad. He started at left back and played the full 90 minutes in all three matches in the group stage. Switzerland did not advance out of the group. Ziegler was selected again for Switzerland's 2014 World Cup squad. This time, however, he did not appear in any matches.

Club

As of match played 11 December 2021

International

Score and result list Switzerland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Ziegler goal.

Ziegler's brother Ronald also played as a professional footballer, including for Swiss side ES FC Malley. He has been married to Swiss former alpine skier Elodie Rudaz since June 2017. The couple have two daughters.