Xavier Margairaz

Xavier Margairaz
Margairaz taking on Ronaldinho with Switzerland in 2006
Personal information
Full name Xavier Margairaz[1]
Date of birth (1984-01-07) 7 January 1984 (age 40)
Place of birth Rances, Switzerland
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1991–1996 Rances
1996–2000 Yverdon Sport
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2003 Lausanne-Sport 46 (3)
2003–2005 Neuchâtel Xamax 34 (5)
2005–2007 Zürich 78 (20)
2007–2009 Osasuna 13 (0)
2009 → Zürich (loan) 13 (2)
2009–2012 Zürich 80 (16)
2012–2013 Sion 35 (5)
2014 Servette 10 (0)
2015–2017 Lausanne-Sport 53 (3)
Total 362 (54)
International career
2005–2010 Switzerland 18 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Xavier Margairaz (born 7 January 1984) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Club career

Margairaz was born in Rances. After beginning professionally with FC Lausanne-Sport and Neuchâtel Xamax, he was part of the 2005–06 and 2006–07 Super League-winning teams of Fussballclub Zürich.

In May 2007, Margairaz signed a three-year contract with Spanish side CA Osasuna,[2] where he struggled with first-team opportunities. In late February 2008, in a friendly match with SD Eibar, he suffered a serious knee injury (anterior cruciate ligament, internal lateral ligament and external meniscus). After a successful surgery in Geneva, he missed UEFA Euro 2008 as his recovery process was estimated to be of at least eight months;[3] this happened a week after another serious knee-injured central midfielder of the Navarrese club, Javad Nekounam, began training.

On 14 January 2009, Margairaz moved back to FC Zürich on loan until the end of the season.[4] In June, after he helped the team to another league title and Osasuna received €400.000, the move was made permanent.

On 15 September 2009, Margairaz became Zürich's first scorer in the UEFA Champions League, netting in a 2–5 home loss against Real Madrid in the group stage.[5] In January 2012, he moved to FC Sion on a three-and-a-half-year contract, leaving in June of the following year.[6]

International career

A member of the Swiss national team since 2005, Margairaz was called up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where he had two late substitute appearances.[7][8]

Personal life

Margairaz's older brother, Sascha, was also a footballer. He played mainly in the lower leagues and amateur football.[9][10]

Honours

Zürich

References

  1. ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Switzerland" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
  2. ^ Duo boost Osasuna forward line; UEFA, 19 June 2007
  3. ^ Margairaz se lesiona de gravedad y se perderá la Eurocopa (Margairaz suffers serious injury and he will miss the Eurocup); Marca, 27 February 2008 (in Spanish)
  4. ^ Margairaz zurück im FC Zürich (Margairaz returns to Zürich); NZZ Online, 14 January 2009 (in German)
  5. ^ Ronaldo has Madrid up and running; UEFA, 15 September 2009
  6. ^ Xavier Margairaz va quitter Sion (Xavier Margairaz to quit Sion); Le Matin, 2 June 2013 (in French)
  7. ^ France 0–0 Switzerland; BBC Sport, 13 June 2006
  8. ^ Switzerland 2–0 South Korea; BBC Sport, 23 June 2006
  9. ^ «Je suis devenu mature sur le tard» («I matured a bit late»); La Région, 10 September 2014 (in French)
  10. ^ Xavier Margairaz ou la bataille contre l’oubli (Xavier Margairaz or the battle against oblivion); La Région, 5 November 2014 (in French)
  11. ^ "Schweizer-Cup - Swisscom-Cup - Final". football.ch. Retrieved 2 November 2022.