Senderos moves on loan to Milan
Swiss national football player Philippe Senderos will join top Italian club AC Milan on loan from Arsenal in a deal worth up to €14 million (SFr22.6 million).
The 23-year-old defender underwent a medical examination in Italy on Tuesday before signing a one-year contract worth €4 million with Milan.
Under the deal with Arsenal, the Italians have a three-year option to take over Senderos, who played 115 games for the Gunners, as Arsenal are known, and scored four goals.
Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger confirmed the move, saying that congestion at his team’s defence had prompted it.
“This way he gets top-level games somewhere. We want him to play without losing him,” Wenger told journalists.
He added it was not decided yet whether the loan would turn into a permanent deal.
“For me it’s a dream come true,” said Senderos on the Milan website. “I learned a lot in London, but I can say that I have reached a new level with the move to this club.”
Max Kern, football journalist with the Zurich-based Blick newspaper, said it was a “win-win-win situation”.
“Senderos gets to play more games than in London, Milan can count on an experienced defender and Arsenal will cash in.”
Benefits
Senderos, who moved to London from Servette Geneva in 2003, could become the most expensive Swiss footballer ever. Eight years ago, Patrick Müller transferred from Grasshoppers Zurich to the French club, Olympic Lyon, in a deal worth €7.9 million.
Switzerland has provided a host of talented young footballers over the past few years. Most of the Swiss nationals ply their trade with clubs abroad, most of them in Germany, England and Italy.
“Senderos is a case in point,” said Kern. “He was European champion with Switzerland at the age of 17. This helped him make the leap to Arsenal.”
He is convinced that the Swiss national squad stands to benefit from the experience Swiss players gather in the main European club leagues.
“New manager of the Swiss national team Ottmar Hitzfeld can count on more than 90 per cent of players who have a contract with a club abroad, “Kern said.
Childhood heroes
Francisco Díaz, a close friend of the Geneva-based Senderos family, said it was a difficult decision for the Swiss defender.
“Philippe is very excited about the move to the Italian club, where some of his childhood heroes such Clarence Seedorf and Andrea Pirlo are playing,” Díaz told swissinfo.
“It is a new challenge for him and he knows the doors will be open at Arsenal if he wants to return to London.”
Díaz said the change was made easier for Senderos by the fact that other important players – Mathieu Flamini, Gilberto Silva and Alexander Hleb – also left Arsenal.
The Swiss defender is not very happy with the 2007 season for the Gunners, but he focused on the matches with the national team at Euro 2008, co-hosted by Switzerland and Austria.
Senderos is the second Swiss to play for AC Milan. Johann Vogel, who is defensive midfielder for English club Blackburn Rovers, spent the 2005 season with the 17-time Italian champions.
AC Milan, owned by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, finished a disappointing fifth in the Serie A last season. It has already signed Chelsea’s Andriy Shevchenko and Arsenal’s Flamini for the new season.
swissinfo, Iván Turmo and Urs Geiser
The biggest contingent of Swiss players abroad have contracts with teams of the German Bundesliga, including Alex Frei, Tranquillo Barnetta, Diego Benaglio and Ludovic Magnin.
Four Swiss play in Italy’s top flight: Philippe Senderos for AC Milan, Gökhan Inler and Alain Nef for Udinese, and Stephan Lichtsteiner for Lazio Roma.
English clubs have signed at least six Swiss, including Philipp Degen (Liverpool),
Johan Djourou (Arsenal), Valon Behrami (West Ham), Gelson Fernandes (Manchester City), Johann Vogel (Blackburn Rovers), Pascal Zuberbühler (Fulham).
Senderos was born in Geneva in 1985.
After playing for Geneva’s Servette club from 2001 to 2003, he moved to Arsenal, playing his first Premier League game in 2004.
The central defender was a member of the Swiss side that won the European under-17 championship in 2002.
He joined the national squad in 2005 for a first game against France. Since then, he has been selected 31 times and scored three goals.
He was part of the Swiss team that took part in the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008.
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