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Date of Birth: Tuesday, February 15, 1983
Birth Place: Switzerland
Height: 185cm
Position: Defender
Former Clubs/Teams: Borussia Dortmund, FC Basel

Biography

Philipp Degen is a defender for Switzerland and Liverpool in the English Premier League. When he arrived at Liverpool, Coach Rafa Benitez highlighted Degen's attacking abilities down the left and right flanks, hoping that this young Swiss defender could take over where John Arne Riise had left off. Having taken some time to settle and meet the demands of the English game, Degen remains a fringe player because of various injury problems.

Childhood

Philipp Degen was born on 15th February 1983 in Holsteain, near Basel in Switzerland. Philipp is the twin brother of footballer David Degen, who has also represented Switzerland internationally, and much of their youth was spent competing against each-other in the parks, keepie-uppie competitions, and trying to out-do each-other with their skills! Both Degen’s were signed up by local club FC Oberdorf but were talented enough to win a joint transfer to FC Basel.

Early Career

Whilst midfielder brother David was loaned out, Philipp was moved into the Basel first-team squad in 01/02, albeit only playing two games as FC Basel romped to the league title. As Philipp developed and matured, he found himself in the first-team more and more, until he made the first-team right-back spot his own in 03/04 – this time having a real contribution to Basel’s Swiss league victory.

Another convincing season led to his Switzerland debut in 2005, and a ÂŁ2m move to Borussia Dortmund. He quickly became a favourite with the fans at the German club, and was voted in the clubs top three Players of the Year in 2006/07. His next season was disrupted by injury. Dortmund thought that Degen owed them for their patience in dealing with his injuries, but with his contract up, Degen looked elsewhere for football.

Current Club

Philipp Degen signed on a Bosman-free transfer for Liverpool on 3rd July 2008, after a frustrating time sat on the bench for Switzerland at Euro 2008 in his own country. As a right-back who can also play on the left, he was expected to compete with the likes of Andrea Dossena and Fabio Aurelio, but because of fitness issues and injuries Degen has failed to make much of an impact on the first-team as they challenge for the Premier League title.

International

Philipp Degen made his international debut on the 9th February 2005, when he was just 22 years old. He formed part of a talented but young defence, alongside Philippe Senderos, Vincent Kompany and Johan Djourou at the World Cup 2006. Switzerland made it to the Quarter Finals before losing to Ukraine. As the host-country, Switzerland qualified automatically for Euro 2008, but again went out early.