The Houston Dynamo have signed Swiss defender Philippe Senderos, the club announced today. He will join the Dynamo pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC) and P-1 Visa.
Senderos, 32, has represented Switzerland in the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups. He joins American defender DaMarcus Beasley (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014), American midfielder Ricardo Clark (2010) and Honduran midfielder Boniek García (2010, 2014) as the fourth player with FIFA World Cup experience on the Dynamo roster.
“Philippe Senderos will be a welcomed addition to our team. His extensive experience, leadership qualities, and ability to organize and communicate will complement our already talented group of defenders as we enter the final third of the season,” said Dynamo Vice President and General Manager Matt Jordan. “With this signing, along with the quality of our current group, we are confident that we have a very deep roster with players at every position who have the ability to step in at any moment to contribute the success of our team.”
A native of Geneva, Switzerland, Senderos has played in five different countries across Europe since making his professional debut in 2002 with Servette FC in Switzerland. In 2003, Senderos joined English Premier League giants Arsenal F.C. where he stayed until 2010. Senderos and The Gunners won the FA Community Shield in 2004, the FA Cup in 2005, and reached the UEFA Champions League final in 2006.
Senderos joined the legendary Italian Serie A club A.C. Milan on loan in 2008 and played in 14 games for the Rossoneri. He also played for Everton, Fulham and Aston Villa in the Premier League and Valencia in Spain’s La Liga. Senderos returned to his home country in 2016 to join Grasshoppers before signing with Rangers F.C. in the Scottish Premier League.
“Philippe is a World Cup class player who is going to bring experience to our team. He is going to bring quality for our locker room, and his professionalism is going to help to continue building the philosophy of the Houston Dynamo” said Dynamo Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera. “His quality and experience are going to bring the level up in all aspects for our club.”
Senderos has also represented his home country at the international level in multiple tournaments. In 2002, he led Switzerland as the team captain in winning the 2002 UEFA European U-17 Championship. In 2005, he earned his first cap at the senior level against France, and in that same year he scored his first international goal against Cyprus.
Senderos has played in 57 games for Switzerland and has scored five goals. He was pivotal in Switzerland qualifying to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, scoring the first goal in the first leg of the qualification playoff against Turkey. The playoff ended 4-4 in aggregate, but Switzerland made it to the World Cup due to the away goals rule. Senderos competed in the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups as well as the 2008 UEFA Championship with Switzerland.
The defender speaks six languages – English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Serbian.
With the signing of Senderos, the Dynamo have 29 players on the active roster. Senderos is the eighth international player on the club roster, joining midfielder Juan David Cabezas (Colombia), midfielder Joe Holland (England), defender Adolfo Machado (Panama), midfielder Charlie Ward (England), midfielder Tomás Martínez (Argentina), and forwards Romell Quioto and Alberth Elis (Honduras).
TRANSACTION: The Houston Dynamo sign defender Philippe Senderos as a free agent via the discovery process.
Full Name: Philippe Sylvain Senderos
Position: Defender
Height: 6’ 3”
Weight: 180 pounds
Date of Birth: February 14, 1985
Last team: Rangers F.C. (Scotland)
