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Benjamin Siegrist

Discussion in 'Celtic Chat' started by The Thumb, Jun 21, 2022.

Discuss Benjamin Siegrist in the Celtic Chat area at TalkCeltic.net.

  1. Celtic Bhoy 94

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    Very strong GK department we have 3 keepers that would be first choice for almost any other SPFL club.
     
  2. Sean Daleer Free Palestine Gold Member

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    What can I say, it was bound to happen eventually. It’s quite boring though.
     
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  3. BigDoggyWoofWoof

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    Not convinced there's a world of difference between him and Bain but will take him over Barkas any day.
     
  4. Mr Shelby Moderator Moderator Gold Member

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    He's significantly clear of Bain IMO.

    Far more commanding presence and stature, for starters, which all of our successful keepers over the years have had. 6ft 5 I think he is.

    One thing I always like in a keeper.
     
  5. Dan Breen

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    Happy with him, as most said, just a better back up than any of the others on our books.
    Would like to see the likes of Bain, Hazard and Doohan all punted.
    That young Toby is supposed to be a right good prospect.
     
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  6. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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    MANY Celtic supporters have long suspected that opposition players raise their game when they face their team, and new arrival Ben Siegrist has confirmed that – at least for him – coming up against Celtic brought out that little something extra.

    That fact will ring true for Celtic fans, who had built up something of a grudging respect for the keeper as he consistently turned in outstanding displays to defy them when representing for Dundee United.

    The 30-year-old says he is ready to push himself to even greater heights now that he has joined Ange Postecoglou’s squad, but he is still rather pinching himself that the stadium where he used to stand and marvel at his surroundings has now become his home.




    There is one memory in particular that stands out from last season, when his disappointment at losing a late goal to Liel Abada at Celtic Park was mixed with a feeling that he would love to be on the other side of such special moments. And now he has his chance.

    When asked if playing at Celtic Park in his United days did indeed bring the best out in him, Siegrist said: “Yeah. I mean, have you seen the stadium? It’s pretty special.


    “I remember losing here in the second-to-last minute and the lights were going on, the crowd were going crazy. I was gutted, I was really gutted, but I looked up and I went ‘This is pretty special here’.

    “It’s just exciting for me to be here, and I want to be part of it, be part of how the manager wants to take the club forward.


    Working here with the goalkeepers’ union, and working with the best players, it’s going to be really exciting.”

    It might be reasonable to assume that his excitement at joining Celtic might be tempered at least a little by the knowledge that he will be arriving at the club very much as second choice behind current number one Joe Hart, particularly when he had options at other clubs where he would almost certainly be the man in possession of the gloves.

    Thanks to a phone call with manager Ange Postecoglou though, the Swiss saw the bigger picture, and with a four year deal signed and sealed he has plenty of time to make the impression he thinks he is capable of at Celtic.



    Ultimately, it was down the manager, it was down to his vision,” he said.

    “I could go to another team and play another 100 or 150 games or I could go somewhere I feel like it’s going to improve me the most.

    “That’s what it came down to. My willingness to improve, to better myself and measure myself day in, day out against the best players Scotland has to offer. That was the fantastic opportunity I didn’t want to pass up.

    “It’s all about competition in his vision. I know there are no guarantees. There were no guarantees when I first came to Scotland four years ago. All I look forward to is the competition. It’s not a competition against somebody, it’s a competition with somebody. I look forward to competing with Joe, with Scott (Bain), and working with the manager.

    “I know the standing [Joe Hart] has here. He’s a fantastic goalkeeper and a good person, from the little chats I’ve had with him. I’m buzzing to be in the team with him, honestly. It’s going to be really good.

    “You know what the manager stands for. ‘We don’t stop’. That’s something that really excited me. When I had that phonecall with the manager, he told me his vision and what’s going to be happening in the future here.




    This isn’t just a short term see-how-it-goes project, this is a long term thing with the manager and how he wants us to play.”

    In practice though, the new expectations that Postecoglou will place upon Siegrist may provide something of a culture shock, just as they did to Hart in the first few weeks after his arrival at Celtic last summer.

    Siegrist is confident that he has the skillset though to handle the added responsibility with the ball at his feet that comes from playing in the manager’s system.

    “The fact that I’m probably going to have to learn a different style of playing excites me because I could have just carried on with my career and played another 200 games the same way as I always have,” he said.

    “But I don’t think I would have improved as much as I will do by coming here and trying to learn the Celtic way.

    “It’s not really risky because you don’t just turn up on a Saturday and it happens. You obviously practise it every day on the training ground.

    “Will it take some time to adjust? Of course. But I don’t look at it as being that risky - I won’t be playing square passes in the six yard box! But if that’s the way the manager wants to play then it’s up to me to get it nailed down.

    “But, again, that was his vision - for me to learn the system and to apply it in game time.

    “It’s part of my game that I probably couldn’t show to people because of the way I was asked to play at my previous team. So I look forward to showing people how good I am at it.




    “It will 100 per cent make me a better player. That’s exactly the point.

    “I want to learn a different side of the game and ‘Angeball’ - as you’ve called it - I’ve played against it and it’s pretty annoying when the boys are chasing after it for 90 minutes and the ball is moving so quickly.

    “But I’ve seen it, I’ve competed against it and now I want to be part of it on the other side.”
     
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  7. PaddyJamieson

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    Sounds like a top guy, excellent attitude. Definitely warming to this.
     
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  8. honda Gold Member Gold Member

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    I like him.
     
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  9. craigtheceltic

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    This is all I need to hear. His shot stopping is first class and he believes he has the tools to play our system. Welcome big man.

     
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  10. RalstonFanClubPresident

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    Give it a few months.
    :ange2:
     
  11. RalstonFanClubPresident

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    I think really good shot-stopping is of greater importance in Ange's system over some incredible ability to play with the ball with your feet. That's why Hart was such a success last season, despite not being an amazing ball-playing goalkeeper. Obviously the ability to stop shots is important for any keeper, but with the way we play, there are occasions when the defence and goalkeeper will be exposed, so being really strong in that area is crucial. Happy with this signing.
     
  12. Ziggy

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    Was a ball boy for Basel when they knocked us out

    Well that makes me feel old
     
  13. celtic warrior

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    Jesus christ...yep I feel old now.
     
  14. Dublin Celt

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    The biggest upside for this for me is the fact he would have even been an absolute no brainer at sevco.

    Sent from my GM1903 using Tapatalk
     
  15. Gazzi79

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    Why did he refuse to answer Journalist's question about him being wanted by Huns?

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  16. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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  17. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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    THE Downward Facing Dog and the Mountain Pose were Benjamin Siegrist’s introduction to professional goalkeeping as former American internationalist Brad Friedel converted him to the benefits of daily yoga.

    Siegrist’s big stretch now is all about making himself number one at Celtic Park.

    The 30-year-old Swiss goalkeeper signed a four-year deal with Ange Postecoglou’s side this week with the constant noise that surrounds Celtic – on matchday or otherwise - unlikely to be conducive to meditative sessions.




    The first guy I met was Brad Friedel and what a gentleman he was,” said Siegrist of his time at Aston Villa. “He taught me how to do yoga which was interesting. Loads of goalkeeping stretching is yoga poses anyway but he really got me into it. I don’t do it as much now but it is part of the training routine.

    “It was not a suggestion. It was, ‘we are doing yoga!’ It was more that it was a new thing and I was willing to try it. If Brad Friedel does it then it is definitely good enough for me and other keepers have kept it going. Jota does it. It is good exercise but it is also very supportive of your training regimen. It definitely was not a suggestion.


    “Yoga is more of a goalkeeping thing I think because we tend to be a little bit bigger. Our job needs us to be flexible but generate forces at the same time. I have really enjoyed doing it, I have not really been doing it in the sense of meditation. I like to read a lot of books on mental health, on other athletes on how they cope with stuff. I would with a mental coach who is sports psychologist. Those are all things that can help for sure.”

    There is a suggestion that Siegrist could have headed to Ibrox with Rangers also linked with his services in recent months. He was unwilling to divulge any details but it is safe to say that there were other options available to him. Some of those would have come with first-team gloves at the ready but the keeper’s preference was to embrace a journey that he believes will enable him to become a better player.




    The journey that got him to Celtic in the first place will have helped him on that front. A leg break as a young goalkeeper at Aston Villa as his contract was coming to an end is just one of various challenges that he has had to contest.

    “It is part of how I got here and what made me who I am.” He said. “A football journey is never going to be straight, it is always going to have ups and downs. I would not change it for the world. It has led me to here so I must have done some things right. I started off playing in Switzerland and I left home early to go to England and had a few loans there. I felt the right decision was to go back to Switzerland and play there for Vaduz who are in Lichtenstein but who play in the Swiss league.

    “I had my first bit of international football there as well as Europa League qualifiers and then the opportunity to join Dundee United came along and I wanted to do it. I wanted to make a go of it and make the number one spot my own. I had four successful years there where we had promotion and securing European football last season and now I am at the best club in Scotland.

    “I had an old head at Lichtenstein who was also the national team keeper who I managed to be number one ahead of him which was the first important step in my career and then when I went to Dundee United I didn’t play a lot in the beginning. I will always compete to the max and make sure I play to my potential and I did not give up and eventually got that number one spot.





    I just felt that I needed to make a name for myself somewhere else. It was time for me to play in the first-team. I was looking to improve and looking for a restart and the chance came to join Dundee United and you know the rest.”

    The allure of Celtic, the possibility of Champions League football and 60,000 supporters to play in front of – if he gets the gloves off of Joe Hart – made the move from Dundee United where he was out of contract a fairly straightforward switch.

    “Celtic needs no introduction. It doesn’t matter which corner of the world you are, people know about Celtic,” he said. “It was a great impression playing here for the first time. It was a great impression competing, seeing the fanbase. That is exciting because I am part of it now but I think a player does not choose Celtic, I think Celtic chooses them.”
     
  18. The Phoenix Black Lives Matter

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    Talks a great game.

    Seems to love the club already.

    I like that.

    Still Joe the Hitman Hart as number 1 though :oops:
     
  19. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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  20. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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