Mario Eggimann spent his early years with FC Kuttingen, before switching to the Swiss top flight with FC Aarau in 1998. After four seasons in FCA colours, the defender moved to Germany in 2002 with Karlsruhe.

Eggimann quickly claimed regular status with the south-western outfit and made steady progress in his favoured centre-back position. In 2006-7, the 1.84m stopper was named team captain, and duly led second-division Karlsruhe back to the Bundesliga in a triumphant promotion campaign.

After six seasons with KSC, Eggimann signed for top flight Hannover in the summer of 2008. However, the 29-year-old has found the going tough upon his arrival in Lower Saxony, and continues to battle for a first team spot.

Eggimann had experience wearing the skipper’s armband before it was awarded to him by his first club in Germany: he was previously captain of the Switzerland U-21 team. The Brugg-born defender made the leap to full international status in September 2007 in a 2-1 friendly victory over Chile. Until shortly before UEFA EURO 2008 on home soil, he was a member of the provisional Switzerland squad, but coach Jakob Koebi Kuhn chose not to select him in the final party for the continental tournament.

Under new boss Ottmar Hitzfeld, Eggimann appeared twice in the campaign to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, completing the full 90 minutes in the pivotal 2-1 win away to chief rivals Greece. Hitzfeld is likely to value the player’s Bundesliga experience highly when it comes to the June and July tournament in South Africa.