Stéphane Henchoz

Stéphane Henchoz (French pronunciation: ​[ɑ̃ʃo]; born 7 September 1974) is a Swiss football coach and a former international player who played as a defender, most notably for the English club Liverpool.[2]

Stéphane Henchoz
Henchoz in 2017
Personal information
Full name Stéphane Henchoz[1]
Date of birth (1974-09-07) 7 September 1974
Place of birth Billens, Switzerland
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Neuchâtel Xamax (manager)
Youth career
1989–1992 FC Bulle
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1995 Neuchâtel Xamax 91 (2)
1995–1997 Hamburger SV 49 (2)
1997–1999 Blackburn Rovers 70 (0)
1999–2005 Liverpool 135 (0)
2005 Celtic 6 (0)
2005–2006 Wigan Athletic 26 (0)
2006–2008 Blackburn Rovers 12 (0)
Total 389 (4)
National team
1993–2006 Switzerland 72 (0)
Teams managed
2008–2009 Blackburn Rovers (U18)
2009–2010 FC Bulle
2015–2019 Neuchâtel Xamax (assistant)
2019 Neuchâtel Xamax
2019 FC Sion
2020– Neuchâtel Xamax
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He was capped 72 times and played for his country from his debut in 1993, and played at Euro 1996 and Euro 2004.

Club career

Early career

Born in Billens, Switzerland, Henchoz first came to notice playing in the German Bundesliga for Hamburger SV.

Blackburn Rovers

In June 1997, he turned down an opportunity to join Manchester United, instead signing for Blackburn Rovers for a fee of £3 million.[3] Henchoz enjoyed a very successful debut Premiership season as Rovers finished sixth in 1997–98, although they were then relegated at the end of the 1998–99 season. Henchoz remained a Premiership player after being purchased for £3.5 million by Liverpool.

Liverpool

At Liverpool, Henchoz became a regular member of the first team during his five-and-a-half year stay at Anfield. Henchoz proved to be an inspirational signing and was popular with the Liverpool fans. He formed an effective central defensive partnership with Sami Hyypiä. This partnership played an important part in Liverpool's historic cup treble in 2001, although it was Henchoz's clumsy challenge on Martin O'Connor in the 90th minute of the League Cup final against Birmingham City that led to extra time (the match itself was only settled on penalties).[4] Henchoz is also remembered for inadvertently blocking a goalbound Thierry Henry shot with his arm in the 17th minute of that year's FA Cup final, Liverpool then went on to win the match with two Michael Owen finishes.[5]

His last two seasons were interrupted due to spells of injury but he still surpassed the 200 mark of games for Liverpool in 2003–04.

With injury problems and Gerard Houllier preferring Igor Bišćan at centre half, Henchoz became something of a bit part player appearing as an occasional right back. Eventually, the Henchoz-Hyypiä partnership was rekindled in 2003–04, helping Liverpool to fourth place in the league.

Celtic

When Rafael Benítez replaced Gérard Houllier as manager, his decision to try versatile English defender Jamie Carragher in partnership with Hyypiä spelled an end to Henchoz's Anfield career. Carragher, previously employed as a full-back, was a revelation at centre back and Henchoz consequently joined Celtic on a six-month contract in January 2005.[6]

Wigan Athletic

Upon the expiration of his Celtic contract, Henchoz opted to move back to the Premier League, signing a one-year contract with newly promoted Wigan Athletic.[7] He made 26 league appearances during the 2005–06 season as the club exceeded expectations with a top half finish. Henchoz also started for Wigan in the 2006 Football League Cup Final.

Return to Blackburn Rovers

Henchoz left Wigan after only a year, signing a contract until the end of the 2006–07 season back with Blackburn Rovers. He was used sparingly during the season to fill in for injuries, but performed suitably. His second spell at Blackburn Rovers came to an end on 19 May, when he was released by Mark Hughes.

Henchoz ended his career on 13 October 2008.

International career

Henchoz earned 72 caps for Switzerland from his debut in 1993. He played for the country at Euro 96 and Euro 2004. He was expected to play in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but due to health problems he retired from international football on 31 March 2006.

Coaching career
Stéphane Henchoz on the touchline for FC Sion

After retiring, Henchoz became manager of Blackburn Rovers's U18 team which he was until June 2009.[8] He then became manager of FC Bulle for the 2009/10 season.[9]

In December 2015, he was appointed assistant manager of Neuchâtel Xamax FCS.[10] On 6 February 2019 the club announced, that they had sacked Michel Decastel and Henchoz would take charge of the club for the rest of the season.[11] At the end of March 2019 the club confirmed, that Henchoz would leave his position at the end of the season.

On 27 May 2019, Henchoz was appointed manager of FC Sion for the upcoming 2019–20 season.[12] He resigned on 4 November 2019 following a 0–3 loss to FC St. Gallen, which was the 5th loss in 6 league games.[13]

In July 2020, he returned to Neuchâtel Xamax.[14]

Career statistics
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Switzerland League Schweizer Cup League Cup Europe Total
1992–93Neuchâtel XamaxNational League A350350
1993–94212212
1994–95350350
Germany League DFB-Pokal Other Europe Total
1995–96Hamburger SVBundesliga312312
1996–97180180
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
1997–98Blackburn RoversPremier League360401000410
1998–99340203020410
1999–2000LiverpoolPremier League290202000330
2000–013205060100530
2001–02370200015056[nb 1]0
2002–0319020406032[nb 1]0
2003–04180401040270
2004–050000301040
Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total
2004–05CelticPremier League6020000080
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2005–06Wigan AthleticPremier League260204000320
2006–07Blackburn RoversPremier League120201010160
2007–080000000000
Total Switzerland 911912
Germany 492492
England 24302502503903320
Scotland 6020000080
Career total 38932702503904804

Honours

Liverpool

Celtic

Individual

Notes
  1. Includes other competitive competitions, including the FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup

References
  1. "Stéphane Henchoz". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  2. "Henchoz, Stephane" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  3. "Rovers Grab Head Honcho". The Mirror. MGN. 17 June 1997. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  4. "Blues shot down as Liverpool lift cup". BBC Sport. 25 February 2001. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  5. "Owen shatters Arsenal in Cup final". BBC Sport. 12 May 2001. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  6. "Henchoz completes Celtic switch". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 29 January 2005. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  7. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wigan_athletic/4699447.stm
  8. How is Stephane Henchoz doing in charge of Neuchatel Xamax?, footballbh.net, 23 March 2019
  9. Stéphane Henchoz à la tête du FC Bulle, rts.ch, 25 June 2010
  10. Profile at Footballdatabase, footballdatabase.eu
  11. Stéphane Henchoz remplace Michel Decastel à la tête de Neuchâtel Xamax FCS, xamax.ch, 6 February 2019
  12. Former Liverpool defender Henchoz to coach Sion, usatoday.com, 27 May 2019
  13. "COMMUNIQUÉ OFFICIEL DE STÉPHANE HENCHOZ" (Press release) (in French). FC Sion. 4 November 2019.
  14. "Xamax setzt ab sofort wieder auf Henchoz". SRF (in German). 5 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  15. "Player of the year » Switzerland". World Football. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
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