Reto Zanni (born 9 February 1980) is a Swiss former footballer who played mainly as right defender, but also as central defender. Football career Grasshopper Club Zanni played his youth football with local club SC Buochs and after his time at school he started his apprenticeship as office clerk. He was scouted by Grasshopper Club and in summer 1998 moved to their youth department, signing his first professional contract with them he interrupted his apprenticeship. He commenced his professional football in GC's U-21 team, where he played for one year, occasionally being called up into the first team, despite suffering a few injuries. He played his debut with the first team on 25 July 1998, coming on as a substitute against Lugano. In Spring 1999 he played the last four games of the season with the first team. In summer 1999 Zanni advanced definitely to GC's first team under head coach Roy Hodgson. He played well under Hodgson advancing to become regular player. He kept his place in the team, even after the change of coach to Hans-Peter Zaugg. He went on to play 45 times for the GC, scoring one goal, until in November 2000 he suffered an injury and was kept out of the game until the end of the season. At the end of the season GC won the league championship. St. Gallen (loan) During the 2001–02 season, Zanni was on loan at St. Gallen to obtain more playing experience. For St. Gallen he played 28 league games and four in the UEFA Cup. Return to GC After the loan period Zanni returning to the Grasshopper-Club. However, right to the beginning of the season he was diagnosed with a fatigue fracture and missed nearly the entire season due to the injury. GC became Swiss champions this season, but Zanni played just one game in the 2002–03 season. He left the Grasshopper-Club in 2003 after five years at the club. Thun He joined FC Thun in 2003 and there, under head coach Hanspeter Latour, he broke into the first team immediately. During his time at Thun, he rose to be one of the team's best players. He played well for one and a half seasons, until the end of 2004, and as Latour left the club Zanni also decided to leave. Basel Season 2004–05 On 15 January 2005 FC Basel signed Zanni on a two-and-a-half-year contract with an