Pascal Zuberbühler
Encyclopedia
Pascal Zuberbühler in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

) is a Swiss footballer who is currently the goalkeeping coach for the Philippines
Philippines national football team
The Philippines national football team is the national football team of the Philippines and represents the country in international football. The team is controlled by the Philippine Football Federation , the governing body of football in the Philippines....

. He was recently released by Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...

 after coming to the end of his contract.

Club career

Zuberbühler made 187 appearances for Grasshopper Zürich between 1991 and 1999, winning the Swiss Super League
Swiss Super League
The Swiss Super League or Axpo Super League is the top tier of the Swiss Football League. The Swiss Super League is currently ranked 16th according to UEFA's ranking of league coefficients, which is based upon Swiss team performances in European competitions.-Names:-Participating clubs:The teams...

 three times and the Swiss Cup once. He moved to FC Basel
FC Basel
Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel is a Swiss football club based in Basel. They are one of the most successful clubs in Swiss football, having won the Swiss Super League 14 times, the third most for any Swiss club. They were most successful in the late 1960s and 1970s, winning the...

 where he played 217 games, winning the Championship another three times & the Swiss Cup twice. He is famous for his saves in a 1-1 tie with Liverpool in a Champions League game. He also played 13 league games and five Champions League games for Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer 04 Leverkusen is a German football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the most well-known department of TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, a sports club whose members also participate in athletics, gymnastics, basketball and other sports.-Origins and early years:On 27 November...

 in the 2000-2001 season.

He signed a two-year contract for West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...

 on a free transfer from Basel on 14 July 2006. His first appearance in an Albion shirt was in a friendly against Motherwell
Motherwell F.C.
Motherwell Football & Athletic Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The club compete in the Scottish Premier League and are one of only seven teams to have remained in this league since it was founded in 1998...

, where he earned praise from his manager Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson OBE is an English football manager and a former player. He is best known for playing in midfield for Manchester United, where he was the longest serving captain in club history. He was the manager of Sheffield United, being relieved of his first team duties at the club in February 2008...

. He then kept a clean sheet on his competitive début as Albion beat Hull City 2–0 on 5 August 2006. However, he was generally not a success with the Baggies and was dropped straight from the first team by new manager Tony Mowbray
Tony Mowbray
Anthony Mark "Tony" Mowbray is an English former professional football player, who is currently the manager of Middlesbrough...

 after starting 15 games, apparently due to the fans' poor reaction to Zuberbühler, who would boo and sarcastically applaud him when he played. Mowbray made the Swiss keeper available for loan in November.

Zuberbühler returned to the first team after Russell Hoult
Russell Hoult
Russell Hoult is an English footballer. He is a goalkeeper and is currently player/assistant manager/goalkeeping coach for Hereford United.-Playing career:...

 was suspended, and responded by keeping a clean sheet in the 3-0 FA Cup win at rivals Wolves
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...

, but it proved to be his last game for the club. January transfer-window signing Dean Kiely
Dean Kiely
Dean Laurence Kiely is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently goalkeeping coach at West Bromwich Albion. He has won 11 caps for the Republic of Ireland, but has more often than not been on the bench as their substitute goalkeeper...

 immediately replaced Zuberbühler in the first team, and he felt this harmed his chances for Euro 2008, due to be held in his home country, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. In February 2007, he was told by West Brom that he was "surplus to requirements", and that they would not stand in his way should a club come in for him. He signed an 18-month contract at Swiss side Neuchatel Xamax
Neuchâtel Xamax
Neuchâtel Xamax Football Club is a Swiss football club, based in Neuchâtel. It was created in 1970 through a merger between FC Cantonal and FC Xamax . The club plays in red shirts, black shorts and red socks and are currently in the Axpo Super League, the highest Swiss football league. They play...

, moving there on a free transfer.

In July 2008, on the invitation of former Switzerland national team boss Roy Hodgson
Roy Hodgson
Roy Hodgson is a former English footballer and current head coach of West Bromwich Albion.Hodgson, who has managed sixteen different teams in eight countries, guided the Switzerland national team to the last 16 of the 1994 World Cup and qualification for Euro 1996; Switzerland had not qualified...

, Zuberbühler joined Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...

 on trial. He first appearance for the club was against Korean side Busan I'Park as a second half substitute for David Stockdale
David Stockdale
David Adam Stockdale is an English footballer who plays for Ipswich Town as a goalkeeper, on loan from Fulham.Stockdale started his career with the Huddersfield Town youth system before joining York City's youth system in 2000, where he became a trainee in 2002. He made his first team debut on the...

 in the one-nil defeat. On 6 August 2008 Fulham signed Zuberbuhler on a one year deal. He only made one first-team appearance in the Carling Cup throughout the 2008-09 season, but his professionalism and team ethic saw him earn a new one-year contract, and he himself has spoken about his contentment at the club. The 2009-10 season was a disappointment as he made no first-team appearances and was at one point behind even Stockdale in the pecking order. He eventually fought his way back to being Mark Schwarzer
Mark Schwarzer
Mark Schwarzer OAM is an Australian association football player who plays as a goalkeeper. He currently plays for Premier League club Fulham. He rose to prominence during his time at North-East England football club Middlesbrough...

's back-up and was in the matchday squad for the Europa League Final. He has recently signed another one-year deal to remain at Craven Cottage
Craven Cottage
Craven Cottage is the name of a football stadium in the Hammersmith and Fulham area that has been the home ground of the association football team Fulham F.C. since 1896....

, but was not picked for the team's Premiership squad for the 2010-11 season and faces an uncertain future at the club. On 1 July 2011, Fulham confirmed that Zuberbühler had left the club on a free transfer, after coming to the end of his contract.

International career

Zuberbühler has been capped 51 times by Switzerland
Switzerland national football team
The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...

 and was a member of the Swiss squads for Euro 2004, Euro 2008 and World Cup 2006
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...

. Despite having received criticism in the run-up to the 2006 tournament, particularly his handling of crosses, he did not concede a goal in exactly 463 minutes of football against hard shots from France
France national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...

, South Korea, and Togo
Togo national football team
The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers (The Sparrow Hawks, is controlled by the Fédération Togolaise de Football.They played at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Their team bus...

 as his team lost in the last 16 on penalties against Ukraine
Ukraine national football team
The Ukraine national football team is the national football team of Ukraine and is controlled by the Football Federation of Ukraine. After Ukrainian Independence and breakaway from the Soviet Union, they played their first match against Hungary on 29 April 1992...

. Switzerland are the only team in the history of the tournament not to concede a goal in normal time. Zuberbühler holds the record for most successive matches at an international tournament without conceding (five games). On 11 June 2008, he played his last game with the Swiss national team, during the 2–0 victory over Portugal in Euro 2008, held in his home country.

He was recently hired by the Philippines national football team, reuniting with Fulham team-mate Neil Etheridge
Neil Etheridge
Neil Leonard Dula Etheridge is an English–Filipino professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Fulham. He joined Fulham Academy after three years as a trainee at . He is currently in the Reserve Squad, and has yet to make his debut in the Premier League or the Football League...

, as their new Goalkeeping Coach for their preparation for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
The Asian Football Confederation section of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification sees teams competing for berths in the final tournament in Brazil...

.

Honours

Swiss Championship Winner (Super League
Swiss Super League
The Swiss Super League or Axpo Super League is the top tier of the Swiss Football League. The Swiss Super League is currently ranked 16th according to UEFA's ranking of league coefficients, which is based upon Swiss team performances in European competitions.-Names:-Participating clubs:The teams...

) 1995, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005

Swiss 2nd Division Winner (Challenge League) 2007

Swiss Cup Winner 1994, 2002, 2003

External links

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