 Barnetta withSwitzerland in 2006 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tranquillo Barnetta[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1985-05-22)22 May 1985 (age 39) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | St. Gallen, Switzerland | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1996 | FC Rotmonten St. Gallen | ||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2002 | St. Gallen | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | St. Gallen | 60 | (15) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2012 | Bayer Leverkusen | 187 | (23) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | →Hannover 96 (loan) | 7 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2015 | Schalke 04 | 44 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | →Eintracht Frankfurt (loan) | 22 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Philadelphia Union | 41 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | St. Gallen | 60 | (11) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 421 | (61) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | Switzerland U17 | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2014 | Switzerland | 75 | (10) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Tranquillo Barnetta (Italian pronunciation:[traŋˈkwillobarˈnetta]; born 22 May 1985) is a Swiss former professionalfootballer who played as amidfielder.
He was usually deployed out wide as a leftwinger but could also play in the centre as anattacking midfielder, or even in a more withdrawn role as acentral midfielder. Barnetta was known for his "extreme pace, mobility and creativity".[2] Prior to moving to MLS, Barnetta played football for several Swiss and German clubs. At international level, he has amassed 75 caps for theSwiss national team, representing his nation in threeFIFA World Cups, and twoUEFA European Football Championships.
Barnetta started his career with his hometown team,St. Gallen for the2002–2003 season. During his first professional season, he earned 30 appearances and scored 5 goals.
Barnetta's debut season in Switzerland was noticed abroad and was soon snapped up by German sideBayer Leverkusen in January 2004.[3]During his first season at Bayer, he had a loan spell atHannover 96, returning to Bayer in March 2005.[4]
After a good showing at the World Cup in Germany, Barnetta became a regular in the Bayer squad. The 2008–09 season was one to forget for him, after Bayer finished two places lower than the previous season and his goals tally dropped slightly. During the summer transfer window, he was linked with a move away from Bayer as his place in the squad seemed under threat from loaneeToni Kroos.[5] Barnetta regained his good form in the 2009–10 season, scoring a brace in only his second league game of the season and contributing to Bayer's unbeaten run for the entire first half of the season.
On 2 July 2012, after his contract ran out atBayer Leverkusen,Schalke 04 confirmed that Barnetta signed a three-year professional contract with them until 30 June 2015,[6] and in preparation for the Gelsenkirchen club's participation in theChampions League.[6] The transfer was reported as afree transfer by Schalke's sport and communications managerHorst Heldt.[6] Barnetta was assigned a number 27 shirt, previously worn byCiprian Deac.[6] In the 2013–14 season, Barnetta had a season longloan spell atEintracht Frankfurt, returning to Schalke 04 in June 2014 whom he signed for at the end of the 2011–12 season.[7]
On 23 September 2014, Barnetta scored his first goal for Schalke in his second league match of the 2014–15 season.[8]
On 29 July 2015, Barnetta signed with thePhiladelphia Union.[9] Integrating with the Union, who were midway through theirseason, Barnetta netted his first goal on 20 September, in a home win against theHouston Dynamo.[10]
After a full preseason with the Union, Barnetta led the team as the attacking playmaker during the2016 season. Registering 5 goals and 4 assists, he helped lead Philadelphia's return to theMLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2011. Prior to the conclusion of the 2016 campaign, the Union announced Barnetta would return to Switzerland to rejoinFC St. Gallen. Barnetta cited he wanted to contribute to his hometown club in front of friends and family while he still had the fitness to do so meaningfully.[11] He finished his Philadelphia career with 45 appearances and 6 goals.
Barnetta signed a contract withSt. Gallen on 14 November 2016, starting from 1 January 2017.[12]
At the end of the 2018–19 season, Barnetta decided to retire.[13][14]
Barnetta is a former youth international and was in theSwiss U-17squad that won the2002 U-17 European Championships along with future senior teammatesPhilippe Senderos andReto Ziegler.[15] He has been a member of thesenior national team and was first called up to the squad for theEuro 2004 but did not make an appearance. Barnetta was called up to the squad afterJohann Lonfat was injured andDavide Chiumiento had turned down a call up as the first choice replacement.[16] At the2006 World Cup, he scored the second goal in Switzerland's group stage win overTogo,[17] but missed apenalty kick in theshootout againstUkraine, which Switzerland lost 3–0. On 4 July, Barnetta was shortlisted for the tournament'sBest Young Player award. He was ever present in2010 World Cup qualifying as the Swiss secured a place by finishing top of their group.[18] On 4 June 2011, Barnetta scored two free kicks in quick succession againstEngland in theEuro 2012 qualifiers.[19] Barnetta was called up to represent Switzerland at the2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, but he didn't play any matches.[20][21]
Known for his "extreme pace, mobility and creativity" on the left flank,[2]FIFA's official website describes Barnetta as a "primarily a creative footballer", who also "covers ground and closes down opponents on thefootball pitch with the sort tireless energy and dogged determination one might expect from a tigerishcentral midfielder".[22] Barnetta is regarded for bringing "drive, skill and maturity" to theSwiss national team.[22]
Barnetta was born inSt. Gallen. Both his parents are ofItalian descent and he holds both Swiss and Italian citizenship.[23]
Since retiring from professional football, Barnetta has become astay-at-home dad, taking care of their two children while his wife works as aphysician.[24]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | App. | Goals | App. | Goals | App. | Goals | App. | Goals | App. | Goals | |||
| St. Gallen | Swiss Super League | 2002–03 | 30 | 10 | 30 | 10 | [25][26] | ||||||
| 2003–04 | 30 | 5 | 30 | 5 | |||||||||
| Total | 60 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 15 | |||
| Hannover 96 (loan) | Bundesliga | 2004–05 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | |
| Bayer Leverkusen | Bundesliga | 2005–06 | 31 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 6 | |
| 2006–07 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 2 | |||
| 2007–08 | 32 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 7 | |||
| 2008–09 | 31 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 5 | |||
| 2009–10 | 32 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 4 | |||
| 2010–11 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 2 | |||
| 2011–12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |||
| Total | 187 | 23 | 13 | 2 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 229 | 26 | |||
| Schalke 04 | Bundesliga | 2012–13 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0 | |
| 2013–14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 3 | |||
| Total | 44 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 3 | |||
| Eintracht Frankfurt (loan) | Bundesliga | 2013–14 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 1 | |
| Philadelphia Union | MLS | 2015 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 13 | 1 | |||
| 2016 | 30 | 5 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 32 | 5 | |||||
| Total | 41 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 6 | |||
| St. Gallen | Swiss Super League | 2016–17 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | |
| 2017–18 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 2 | |||
| 2018–19 | 25 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 9 | |||
| Total | 60 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 12 | |||
| Career total | 421 | 61 | 31 | 3 | 46 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 499 | 65 | |||
| National team | Year | App. | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland national team | 2004 | 2 | 0 |
| 2005 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 10 | 3 | |
| 2007 | 10 | 3 | |
| 2008 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2012 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 75 | 10 | |
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 1 March 2006 | Hampden Park, Glasgow |  Scotland | 1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly | [citation needed] |
| 2. | 27 May 2006 | St. Jakob-Park,Basel |  Ivory Coast | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly | |
| 3. | 19 June 2006 | Westfalenstadion,Dortmund |  Togo | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2006 World Cup | |
| 4. | 22 August 2007 | Stade de Genève, Geneva |  Netherlands | 1–0 (penalty) | 2–1 | Friendly | |
| 5. | 2–0 | ||||||
| 6. | 7 September 2007 | Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna |  Chile | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly | |
| 7. | 4 June 2011 | Wembley Stadium, London |  England | 1–0 | 2–2 | ||
| 8. | 2–0 | ||||||
| 9. | 15 August 2012 | Stadion Poljud,Split |  Croatia | 2–1 | 4–2 | Friendly | |
| 10. | 16 October 2012 | Laugardalsvöllur,Reykjavík |  Iceland | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Bayer Leverkusen
Switzerland U17
Individual
Switzerland squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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