Player Profile

Very few had heard of Phillipp Degen before he signed for Liverpool and even fewer after he had left. The right-back won the league title two years in succession in his homeland with Basel before joining Borussia Dortmund in 2005. Injuries hampered his progress and he only made ten league appearances in the 2007/08 season. His contract expired in the summer of 2008 and he joined Liverpool on free. Rafa was quite happy with signing Degen: "He is an offensive player with great energy and a winning mentality. His strength is going forward and I am confident he will prove to be a quality addition to our squad. Sometimes you can find these players on the market." Degen was quite unlucky at the start of his Liverpool career, hardly being able to step on to the field without getting injured. He broke two ribs on his Liverpool debut against Crewe in the League Cup on 23 September 2009 and when he made his second appearance against Spurs in December he injured his foot. To the surprise of many Degen figured in as many as 11 of Liverpool's 56 competitive matches during the 2009/10 season, six from the start and five as a substitute. One of those starts ended with an unfortunate red card at Fulham in October. He didn't start another match until the New Year when he was part of the team who capitulated horribly to Reading in the FA Cup. Although frequently in the 18-man matchday squad, Degen only made five more appearances by the end of the season.

Degen wanted to get his career back on track and moved to Stuttgart on a season-long loan in the summer of 2010 where he only appeared eight times in the 2010/11 season. Degen's Liverpool contract was cancelled 'by mutual consent' at the end of August 2011. On 20 November Degen was offered a contract with his first club, Basel. His contribution to Basel winning both the Swiss Championship and the Swiss Cup in 2012 was only minimal. Basel retained their domestic title in 2013 and were also the beaten finalists in the Swiss Cup. Degen appeared in twenty-one league matches during the 2012/13 season, scoring three times. In 2013/14 his total of appearances dropped to seventeen in all competitions (one goal) and the following season he featured on only four occasions. 2015/16 saw him appear only fleetingly, as he was ruled put for much of the season with a shoulder injury and made only six league starts. At the end of the season, he announced his retirement from the game and set up in business as an agent.