Euro 2008 Player Profile: Patrick Muller

Name: Patrick Muller
Date of Birth: 17th December 1976
Place of Birth: Geneva, Switzerland
Height: 182 cm
Role: Central Defender
Current Club: Olympique Lyonnais, Number 4
Previous Clubs: 1984-1994 Meyrin, 1994-1995 Servette Genève (youth clubs), 1995-1998 Servette, 1998-2000 Grasshopper Club Zurich, 2000-2004 Olympique Lyonais (131 games, 2 goals), 2004 RCD Mallorca, 2005-2006 FC Basel, 2006 – onwards Olympique Lyonnais
Switzerland Stats: First game in 1998 vs. Northern Ireland, has played 76 times and has scored 3 goals.

He started playing for Meyrin youth team together with Johann Vogel, former captain of the Nati.
French Ligue 1 Champion in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008.
Thanks to a goal of his in extra-time, Lyon won the Coupe de la Ligue in 2001.
Swiss Champion with Servette in 1999 and FC Basel in 2005.
The friendly game vs. Slovakia on the 24th of May 2008 was his first game with Switzerland since a friendly game vs. Argentina on the 2nd of June 2007.
Due to a serious injury to his right knee he hasn’t been able to play for Lyon or Switzerland from December 2007 until May 2008.
He left Lyon on the eve of Euro 2008 despite not having ended his contract. He was supposed to play a Coupe de la Ligue final in Paris, taking the place of the injured Boumsong, but chose to leave Lyon to get to Switzerland’s training camp. He wanted to be able to play the the two friendly games before the start of Euro 2008 rather than playing the last game for a team that wouldn’t renew his contract.
He has received offers from other French teams for the 2008-2009 season including Grenoble, Auxerre and Lens.

The question is will Muller’s return bring back the solid and unbreakable (no goals conceded) Swiss defence of the 2006 World Cup? Or is the injury and lack of competition to much to cope with for veteran Patrick Muller?

A video with the history of Patrick Muller’s career: