BENJAMIN SIEGRIST
The Celtic support knew exactly what they were getting when the Swiss keeper signed on the dotted line at Paradise in June 2022 – his staggering performances between the sticks for Dundee United over the previous two seasons had helped the Tannadice side to three draws against the Hoops and kept their defeats down to a reasonable scoreline.
It was exactly those amazing displays in halting a formidable Celtic forward line that saw the Celts bring him in as back-up for Joe Hart.
During the 2022/23 season, his first full campaign at Paradise, Siegrist was part of the side that lifted a historic eighth treble, clinching the SPFL title as well as the League Cup and Scottish Cup.
Playing for his hometown club of FC Therwil as a youngster from the age of eight, he was signed by local senior club FC Basel as a 10-year-old, but by the time he was 16-years-old he was on his way to Aston Villa where he spent much of his early 20s on loan at various lower-league clubs before joining Swiss top-level club, Vaduz.
He played 37 times for the Swiss Super League outfit before making the move that would eventually see him becoming a Celt as he joined Csaba Laszlo’s Dundee United as back-up keeper in 2018.
However, when Robbie Neilson took over as manager at Tannadice, the keeper’s role as understudy became a thing of the past and he went on to play 110 games for United that included winning the 2019/20 Championship and the defiant displays against the Hoops that caught the eye of Celtic supporters and Backroom Bhoys alike.
He said of those games against Celtic: “Of course you know you’re going to be busy playing against such a talented side and international players so I was never short of motivation. And to be here and competing now for Celtic is just amazing.
