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Fullname: Benjamin Kevin Siegrist
aka: Benji Siegrist, Ben Siegrist, Benjamin Siegrist
Born: 31 January 1992
Birthplace: Therwil, Switzerland
Signed: 21 June 2022 (free agent, left Dundee Utd at end of contract)
Left: 27 July 2024 (free agent, to Rapid Bucharest)
Position: Goalkeeper
Debut: Ross County 1-4 Celtic, League Cup, 31 Aug 2022
Squad No.: 31
Internationals: none
Biog
“I was a ballboy behind Rab Douglas!”
Ben Siegrist (2022)
Success is rarely an overnight achievement, and for the Swiss-born Ben Siegrist it was all a long time coming.
Having started in the Aston Villa stable without earning any first team appearances and having been part of successful youth squads with Switzerland, his career was to be spent at less fancied clubs and leagues until he finally won a place at Dundee Utd. His performances at that club caught the eye of everyone, and he was soon touted for a big move. He opted for Celtic at the end of his contract at the mature age of 30, a move that at this point he could only have previously dreamt about.
“It’s a hugely proud moment, and everything I’ve always wanted to be – at a top environment, at a top team and it simply can’t get any better than this.”
Ben Seigrist (June 2022)
The only issue for him was that he was to play second fiddle behind the excellent Joe Hart but he acknowledged that from the start.
He got very lucky, as on the first Celtic match against Dundee Utd after his signing, Celtic recorded a Scottish top tier record away result in August 2022, winning 9-0. Siegrist was on the Celtic bench for this match which will have been uncomfortable viewing for him to see his former colleagues decimated. Unsurprisingly, they ended up relegated at the end of the season.
He made his debut (along with Aaron Mooy & Bernabei) away to Ross County in a 4-1 win in the League Cup (Aug 2022), a place not always easy to visit. He even made an important save at one point in the match. He later played in a 4-0 win v Motherwell (again away, October 2022) also in the League Cup. He didn’t get to play in the remaining matches in the League Cup run as Celtic went on to win the title.
Injuries meant that he was out of contention quite often, and the surprise contract extension to Bain later in the season didn’t augur well for Siegrist. Celtic went on to win the domestic treble under Postecoglou but Siegrist was just a passenger in this season.
The arrival of Brendan Rodgers as the returning manager in June 2023 was a new challenge. However, even though Joe Hart was now creating some concerns, Siegrist was wholly out of the picture, with many looking outside for a successor rather than promoting Siegrist. A poor performance in a pre-season friendly didn’t help his case, and in any case Joe Hart went on to be a capable keeper that season.
Siegrist was not used throughout the season, but as first choice keeper Joe Hart was so popular across the board (playing in his last season as it was to turn out), Joe Hart was given the shirt ahead of all else making it harder for others like Siegrist to challenge him.
Despite the lack of appearances, he ended up still in the headlines, pictured with the well-known but over-rated Hollywood/Australian actress Rebel Wilson. He later ended up in a relationship with a very attractive Australian reality TV star, which likely gave him more attention than anything he ever done on-field with Celtic. There was comments made by some supporters finding this frustration, arguing that he was concentrating more on his social media than on his Celtic careeer.
So overall, he played no notable part on-field in the succcesses of the season, bar those early League Cup appearances, and so would end his time at Celtic with just the one medal. He never even got to play in a competitive match for Celtic at Celtic Park!
He moved to Rapid Bucharest in July 2024, now under the management of ex-Celtic player & manager Neil Lennon.
We wished him the best.
Post-Celtic Playing Career
After only a few weeks at Rapid Bucharest, his manager (ex-Celt Neil Lennon) was sacked after a very poor start to the new season. […]
Quotes
“I was a ballboy behind Rab Douglas!”
New Celtic goalkeeper Ben Siegrist says it would be a “boyhood dream” to play for them in the Champions League as he was a ballboy for their match against Basel back in 2002 (a humiliating defeat for Celtic that actually set Celtic up for the Road to Seville/UEFA Cup final 2023).
“I’ve heard very good things about the goalie coach, Stevie Woods. I think everybody’s told me he’s the best, best, best so it’s a match made in Heaven because I want to work and want to improve.”
Ben Siegrist (June 2022)
“It’s a hugely proud moment, and everything I’ve always wanted to be – at a top environment, at a top team and it simply can’t get any better than this.”
Ben Seigrist (June 2022)
“Joe (Hart) was a role model and he still is a role model for me. I’ll look up to him and he’s such an imposing figure in the goal with loads of experience – winning titles in England and obviously just being around him, I want to learn as much as possible.”
Ben Siegrist (June 2022)
“It’s fair to say that with Benji, he’ll be looking to move on. He’s been a really professional guy. His spirit, he’d done well at United and come into Celtic and maybe wanted to play more. When he didn’t, and I can only speak for my year with him, he was exemplary. His professionalism, everything about him was first class. And when I spoke last season, we thought that probably for him, in this part of his career, he needed to go and play. So I believe that will be the case and he will move on.”
Rodgers (July 2024)
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES (subs) |
LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 2022-23 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Shut-outs | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2023-24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Shut-outs | 0 | 0 | 1 |
0 | 1 (50%) |
Honours with Celtic
(Honours are marked below in which the player has played in at least one of the matches in the campaign.)
Scottish League Cup
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