# Philippe Senderos
**Philippe Senderos** (Philippe Sylvain Senderos, born 1985 in Geneva, Switzerland) is a Swiss former footballer who played as a center-back, most prominently for Arsenal between 2003 and 2010, and won 57 caps for Switzerland, scoring 5 goals.[1](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/philippe-senderos/226474) • [2](https://elpais.com/deportes/eurocopa-futbol/2021-06-30/suiza-mezcla-el-futbol-frances-italiano-y-aleman.html) He represented Switzerland at three FIFA World Cups (2006, 2010, and 2014) and at [UEFA Euro 2008](https://www.edgepedia.org/uefa-euro-2008).[3](https://www.mlssoccer.com/players/philippe-senderos/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1985, Geneva, Switzerland[1](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/philippe-senderos/226474) |
| Position | Centre-back; 190 cm, listed as shirt 4 in Switzerland's 2006 World Cup squad[4](https://www.fifadata.com/document/fwc/2006/PDF/FWC_2006_SquadLists.pdf) |
| Arsenal career | 2003–2010, 117 appearances, 2005 FA Cup winner, 2006 UEFA Champions League finalist[5](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0254-0d7cb67b812d-507258912924-1000--senderos-swaps-arsenal-for-fulham/) |
| Switzerland | 57 caps, 5 goals; World Cups 2006, 2010, 2014 and Euro 2008[2](https://elpais.com/deportes/eurocopa-futbol/2021-06-30/suiza-mezcla-el-futbol-frances-italiano-y-aleman.html) • [3](https://www.mlssoccer.com/players/philippe-senderos/) |
| Clubs | Servette, Arsenal, Milan, Everton, Fulham, Valencia, Aston Villa, Grasshoppers, Rangers, Houston Dynamo, Chiasso[2](https://elpais.com/deportes/eurocopa-futbol/2021-06-30/suiza-mezcla-el-futbol-frances-italiano-y-aleman.html) |
| Retirement | Retired at 34, at Chiasso in 2019[2](https://elpais.com/deportes/eurocopa-futbol/2021-06-30/suiza-mezcla-el-futbol-frances-italiano-y-aleman.html) |
| After playing | Sporting director at Servette, his boyhood club, after completing the Spanish federation's sporting-director course[6](https://as.com/futbol/champions/senderos-en-el-bernabeu-sientes-el-aura-del-madrid-y-el-peso-de-la-historia-n/) |
## Early life and Servette
Senderos grew up in Geneva, where he kicked a ball in the family living room as a small child and joined Servette Geneva at five and a half years old.[7](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/Philippe%20Senderos/01/6981) His father Julián was born in a small village in the Spanish province of [Guadalajara](https://www.edgepedia.org/guadalajara) and his mother Zorica is Serbian; Senderos speaks French, Spanish, English, German, Italian, Serbian, and Farsi, his wife's nationality.[2](https://elpais.com/deportes/eurocopa-futbol/2021-06-30/suiza-mezcla-el-futbol-frances-italiano-y-aleman.html)
He captained Switzerland to the [UEFA European Under-17 Championship](https://www.edgepedia.org/uefa-european-under-17-championship) title in Denmark in 2002, which drew interest from Europe's leading clubs. Liverpool's manager [Gérard Houllier](https://www.edgepedia.org/gerard-houllier) held talks with him, Real Madrid and Barcelona enquired, and Bayern Munich and [PSV Eindhoven](https://www.edgepedia.org/psv-eindhoven) were also interested.[8](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/018c-0f8445e452d2-3705abcbe7c9-1000--senderos-bound-for-arsenal/)
## Arsenal
In December 2002, Servette announced that the 17-year-old would join Arsenal, the English champions, on 1 June 2003 after his contract expired; the clubs had reached a financial agreement three months earlier.[8](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/018c-0f8445e452d2-3705abcbe7c9-1000--senderos-bound-for-arsenal/) The transfer fee was reported as around £2.5 million.[9](https://www.skysports.com/football/player/2168/philippe-senderos) Senderos said at the time that English football developed a fighting spirit in players and that he wanted to improve his education in England.[8](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/018c-0f8445e452d2-3705abcbe7c9-1000--senderos-bound-for-arsenal/)
**Breakthrough in 2005.** A long injury delayed his progress, but when [Sol Campbell](https://www.edgepedia.org/sol-campbell) was injured, Senderos debuted on [New Year's Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-years-day) 2005 against Charlton and kept his place during a run in which Arsenal did not lose; he regarded Campbell as an educational asset rather than a threat.[10](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/senderos-a-serious-reader-of-the-game-489978.html) Wenger then selected the 20-year-old ahead of a fit-again Campbell in the 2005 [FA Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fa-cup) final, a decision described as one of the boldest of Wenger's career; Arsenal won the match.[11](https://www.the-independent.com/sport/football/premier-league/senderos-offers-solution-to-arsenal-s-problem-area-222767.html) That summer he signed a new four-year contract and took the number 6 shirt, the first Arsenal player to wear it since club legend Tony Adams in 2002.[12](https://www.fussball-schweiz.ch/nationalspieler-ehemalige/portraets-r-z/senderos-philippe/)
**The 2005–06 season.** Paired with [Kolo Touré](https://www.edgepedia.org/kolo-toure) at center-back, Senderos anchored a defensive run that carried Arsenal to the 2006 Champions League final in Paris.[13](https://www.arsenalstation.com/2009/07/23/the-superior-level-of-phillipe-senderos/) In February 2006 he played at the Bernabéu, where Arsenal beat Real Madrid with a goal from [Thierry Henry](https://www.edgepedia.org/thierry-henry), becoming the first English team to win there; Real Madrid was eliminated and [Florentino Pérez](https://www.edgepedia.org/florentino-perez) resigned days later.[6](https://as.com/futbol/champions/senderos-en-el-bernabeu-sientes-el-aura-del-madrid-y-el-peso-de-la-historia-n/) Senderos later described the occasion as a dream fulfilled, saying he vomited before kickoff from nerves and never again felt the same sensation in any stadium.[6](https://as.com/futbol/champions/senderos-en-el-bernabeu-sientes-el-aura-del-madrid-y-el-peso-de-la-historia-n/)
**Decline and loans.** He never established himself as a first-choice defender under Wenger.[5](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0254-0d7cb67b812d-507258912924-1000--senderos-swaps-arsenal-for-fulham/) He spent the entire 2008–09 season on loan at [AC Milan](https://www.edgepedia.org/ac-milan), with an option to sign permanently, and on his return featured only in reserve sides.[14](https://fr.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/01d0-0e6fb94d3f87-059100d2e9a7-1000--senderos-prete-a-milan/) • [15](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/senderos-eyes-opportunity-to-prove-his-worth-under-moyes-1879807.html) In January 2010 he joined Everton on loan, having played just two Carling Cup ties for Arsenal in the previous two seasons, and accepted that his Arsenal career was over.[15](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/senderos-eyes-opportunity-to-prove-his-worth-under-moyes-1879807.html) In total he made 117 appearances for Arsenal, winning the 2005 FA Cup and reaching the following season's Champions League final.[5](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0254-0d7cb67b812d-507258912924-1000--senderos-swaps-arsenal-for-fulham/)
## Later club career
In June 2010, with his Arsenal contract expired, Senderos agreed a three-year deal with Fulham, the 2009/10 Europa League runners-up, as manager [Roy Hodgson](https://www.edgepedia.org/roy-hodgson)'s first signing of the summer. Hodgson, a former Switzerland coach, said he had admired Senderos since he captained the Under-17 side in 2002.[5](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0254-0d7cb67b812d-507258912924-1000--senderos-swaps-arsenal-for-fulham/)
After Fulham he played for Valencia, Aston Villa, Grasshopper Club Zürich (January to June 2016), Rangers, and Houston Dynamo, before retiring at Chiasso at 34.[2](https://elpais.com/deportes/eurocopa-futbol/2021-06-30/suiza-mezcla-el-futbol-frances-italiano-y-aleman.html) • [12](https://www.fussball-schweiz.ch/nationalspieler-ehemalige/portraets-r-z/senderos-philippe/) He was in the Aston Villa squad for the 2015 FA Cup final but did not play.[12](https://www.fussball-schweiz.ch/nationalspieler-ehemalige/portraets-r-z/senderos-philippe/) His career was marked by repeated injuries, which he acknowledged while judging it a good one overall.[2](https://elpais.com/deportes/eurocopa-futbol/2021-06-30/suiza-mezcla-el-futbol-frances-italiano-y-aleman.html)
## International career
Senderos was a Switzerland international from his youth teams onward and earned 57 senior caps with 5 goals.[2](https://elpais.com/deportes/eurocopa-futbol/2021-06-30/suiza-mezcla-el-futbol-frances-italiano-y-aleman.html) He played at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where he was listed at 190 cm in the squad as an Arsenal player,[4](https://www.fifadata.com/document/fwc/2006/PDF/FWC_2006_SquadLists.pdf) and at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups and Euro 2008.[3](https://www.mlssoccer.com/players/philippe-senderos/) At the 2006 tournament he helped Switzerland shut out Togo in a 2–0 win.[16](https://ftpmirror.your.org/pub/wikimedia/images/wikinews/en/0/0a/20June2006.pdf)
## After retirement
After stopping playing, Senderos completed the sporting-director course of the Spanish Football Federation and took up the role of sporting director at Servette, the club where he began playing at five years old; his cousins remain members there.[6](https://as.com/futbol/champions/senderos-en-el-bernabeu-sientes-el-aura-del-madrid-y-el-peso-de-la-historia-n/) He has said he hopes one day to become a coach.[2](https://elpais.com/deportes/eurocopa-futbol/2021-06-30/suiza-mezcla-el-futbol-frances-italiano-y-aleman.html) In interviews he has remained close to Arsenal, praising [Mikel Arteta](https://www.edgepedia.org/mikel-arteta), his former Everton teammate, as a natural leader who knew the club from within.[17](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/arteta-siempre-tuvo-alma-de-lider-n/)
## References
1. [Philippe Senderos – joueur de football, L'Équipe](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/philippe-senderos/226474)
2. ["Suiza mezcla el fútbol francés, italiano y alemán", El País (2021)](https://elpais.com/deportes/eurocopa-futbol/2021-06-30/suiza-mezcla-el-futbol-frances-italiano-y-aleman.html)
3. [Philippe Senderos, MLSsoccer.com](https://www.mlssoccer.com/players/philippe-senderos/)
4. [2006 FIFA World Cup Germany squad lists, FIFA](https://www.fifadata.com/document/fwc/2006/PDF/FWC_2006_SquadLists.pdf)
5. [Senderos swaps Arsenal for Fulham, UEFA.com (2010)](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0254-0d7cb67b812d-507258912924-1000--senderos-swaps-arsenal-for-fulham/)
6. [Senderos: "En el Bernabéu sientes el aura del Madrid y el peso de la historia", AS (2025)](https://as.com/futbol/champions/senderos-en-el-bernabeu-sientes-el-aura-del-madrid-y-el-peso-de-la-historia-n/)
7. [Philippe Senderos, Munzinger Biographie](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/Philippe%20Senderos/01/6981)
8. [Senderos bound for Arsenal, UEFA.com (2002)](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/018c-0f8445e452d2-3705abcbe7c9-1000--senderos-bound-for-arsenal/)
9. [Philippe Senderos transfer history, Sky Sports](https://www.skysports.com/football/player/2168/philippe-senderos)
10. [Senderos a serious reader of the game, The Independent (2005)](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/senderos-a-serious-reader-of-the-game-489978.html)
11. [Senderos offers solution to Arsenal's problem area, The Independent (2005)](https://www.the-independent.com/sport/football/premier-league/senderos-offers-solution-to-arsenal-s-problem-area-222767.html)
12. [Senderos, Philippe, fussball-schweiz.ch](https://www.fussball-schweiz.ch/nationalspieler-ehemalige/portraets-r-z/senderos-philippe/)
13. [The "Superior Level" of Phillipe Senderos, Arsenal Station (2009)](https://www.arsenalstation.com/2009/07/23/the-superior-level-of-phillipe-senderos/)
14. [Senderos prêté à Milan, UEFA.com (2008)](https://fr.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/01d0-0e6fb94d3f87-059100d2e9a7-1000--senderos-prete-a-milan/)
15. [Senderos eyes opportunity to prove his worth under Moyes, The Independent (2010)](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/senderos-eyes-opportunity-to-prove-his-worth-under-moyes-1879807.html)
16. [Wikinews, 20 June 2006: Switzerland too much for Togo](https://ftpmirror.your.org/pub/wikimedia/images/wikinews/en/0/0a/20June2006.pdf)
17. ["Arteta siempre tuvo alma de líder", AS (2025)](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/arteta-siempre-tuvo-alma-de-lider-n/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Men's footballers of continental Europe › German footballers born before 1995*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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