The Most Famous

SOCCER PLAYERS from Switzerland

This page contains a list of the greatest Swiss Soccer Players. The pantheon dataset contains 21,273 Soccer Players, 159 of which were born in Switzerland. This makes Switzerland the birth place of the 22nd most number of Soccer Players behind Poland, and Austria.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Swiss Soccer Players of all time. This list of famous Swiss Soccer Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Swiss Soccer Players.

1. Roberto Di Matteo (b. 1970)

With an HPI of 56.54, Roberto Di Matteo is the most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 47 different languages on wikipedia.

Roberto Di Matteo (Italian pronunciation: [roˈbɛrto di matˈtɛːo]; born 29 May 1970) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. During his playing career as a midfielder. He played for Swiss clubs Schaffhausen, Zürich and Aarau early in his career. After winning the Swiss league title with Aarau in 1992–1993, he joined Serie A team Lazio where he played under managers Dino Zoff and Zdeněk Zeman. After three seasons at Lazio, he joined Chelsea in 1996 for £4.9 million fee, a club record at the time. He retired as a player in February 2002 at the age of 31 following injury problems. Born in Switzerland to Italian parents, he was capped 34 times for Italy, scoring two goals, and played in UEFA Euro 1996 and the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Di Matteo began his managerial career with Milton Keynes Dons, whom he took to the League One playoffs in 2008–09 before leaving to return West Bromwich Albion to the Premier League. As caretaker manager of Chelsea, he steered the club to double title success, winning both the FA Cup and the club's first UEFA Champions League title in 2012, but was dismissed later that year. He coached Schalke 04 for seven months in 2014–2015 and Aston Villa for four months in 2016.

2. André Abegglen (1909 - 1944)

With an HPI of 56.43, André Abegglen is the 2nd most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

André Abegglen (7 March 1909 – 8 November 1944) was a Swiss football player and manager. As a striker he played for Grasshoppers, French club Sochaux and the Switzerland national team, for whom he appeared in two World Cups. He is the brother of Max Abegglen and Jean Abegglen, both players of the Swiss national team. He died in 1944, at the age of just 35.

3. Ivan Rakitić (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 56.35, Ivan Rakitić is the 3rd most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 74 different languages.

Ivan Rakitić (Croatian pronunciation: [ǐʋan rǎkititɕ]; born 10 March 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Croatian Football League club Hajduk Split. Rakitić started his professional career at Basel and spent two seasons with them before he was signed by Schalke 04. After spending three-and-a-half seasons in the Bundesliga, he was signed by Sevilla in January 2011. Two years later, Rakitić was confirmed as the club captain and captained the team to UEFA Europa League triumph. In June 2014, Barcelona and Sevilla reached an agreement on the transfer of Rakitić. In his first season with Barça, he won the treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League. He scored the first goal of the 2015 Champions League final and became the first player ever to win the Champions League a year after winning the Europa League while playing for two clubs. After appearing in 310 games and winning ten more trophies with Barcelona, Rakitić returned to Sevilla in 2020 and won the Europa League again in the 2023 UEFA Europa League final. Born in Switzerland to Croatian parents from Yugoslavia, Rakitić played for Switzerland at youth level, but decided to represent Croatia at senior level. He made his debut for the Croatia national team in 2007 and has since represented the country at UEFA Euro 2008, 2012 and 2016, and the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup, reaching the final of the latter. He retired from international duty in September 2020, having made 106 appearances. At the time of his retirement, he was the fourth most capped player in the history of Croatia.

4. Marcel Koller (b. 1960)

With an HPI of 54.67, Marcel Koller is the 4th most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Marcel Martin Koller (born 11 November 1960) is a Swiss professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Al Ahly in the Egyptian Premier League.

5. Yann Sommer (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 54.48, Yann Sommer is the 5th most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 51 different languages.

Yann Sommer (born 17 December 1988) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Inter Milan and the Switzerland national team. Sommer completed his apprenticeship at Basel, where he won the Swiss Super League on four consecutive occasions, before transferring to Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2014, where he remained for nine years. He also won the Swiss Challenge League and two Liechtenstein Football Cups while on loan to Vaduz. Sommer made his debut for the Switzerland national team in 2012. He represented the nation at the FIFA World Cup in 2014, 2018 and 2022, and the UEFA European Championship in 2016, 2020 and 2024.

6. Leopold Kielholz (1911 - 1980)

With an HPI of 53.74, Leopold Kielholz is the 6th most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Leopold "Poldi" Kielholz (9 June 1911 – 4 June 1980[2]) was a Swiss football striker. He participated in the 1934 FIFA World Cup, scoring 3 goals, and also in the 1938 FIFA World Cup. Historically, he was the first Swiss international to score a goal for his country in a World Cup tournament. He was wearing glasses during games.

7. Max Abegglen (1902 - 1970)

With an HPI of 53.11, Max Abegglen is the 7th most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Max "Xam" Abegglen (11 April 1902 – 25 August 1970) was a Swiss footballer who played as a forward. Throughout his career, he played for FC Lausanne until 1923 when he transferred to Grasshopper Zurich. He was the brother of André 'Trello' Abegglen and Jean Abegglen, both also players of the Swiss national team. Abegglen played for the Switzerland national team 68 times, scoring 34 goals. He was the sole leading goal-scorer for the team until Kubilay Türkyilmaz's 34th goal in his 62nd and final international in 2001. Their records were broken on 30 May 2008 with Alexander Frei's 35th goal. Abegglen scored a hat-trick in his first international, against the Netherlands in Bern on 19 November 1922. His only other hat-trick was on 24 May 1924 at the 1924 Summer Olympics, with three goals in a 9–0 win over Lithuania. The Swiss won the silver medal after losing the final 3–0 to Uruguay. Abegglen missed the 1934 FIFA World Cup. In his final match, he was captain as Switzerland lost 1–0 to Nazi Germany on 2 May 1937. The club Neuchâtel Xamax, twice Swiss champions in the 1980s, is named after "Xam" Max Abegglen. He also competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics and the 1928 Summer Olympics.

8. Josef Hügi (1930 - 1995)

With an HPI of 52.90, Josef Hügi is the 8th most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Josef Hügi (23 January 1930 – 16 April 1995) was a Swiss international footballer who played as a striker from the late 1940s to the early 1960s.

9. Luuk de Jong (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 51.58, Luuk de Jong is the 9th most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 49 different languages.

Luuk de Jong (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈlyɡ də ˈjɔŋ]; born 27 August 1990) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a striker and captains Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven. De Jong previously played for DZC '68, De Graafschap, Twente, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Newcastle United, before joining PSV in 2014. He played over 200 games for the club, scoring over 100 goals, and helped them win the Eredivisie three times in his five-season stay. In 2019, he joined Sevilla, before going out on loan to Barcelona in 2021. He re-joined PSV in 2022. A former Dutch international, De Jong represented the Netherlands at UEFA Euro 2012, Euro 2020 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

10. Stéphane Chapuisat (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 51.44, Stéphane Chapuisat is the 10th most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Stéphane Chapuisat (born 28 June 1969) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a striker. A prolific goalscorer for both club and country (for which he appeared more than 100 times), he spent most of his career with Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund. He represented Switzerland at the 1994 World Cup and two European Championships. Chapuisat is currently the sporting director of BSC Young Boys.

People

Pantheon has 194 people classified as Swiss soccer players born between 1902 and 2002. Of these 194, 163 (84.02%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Swiss soccer players include Roberto Di Matteo, Ivan Rakitić, and Marcel Koller. The most famous deceased Swiss soccer players include André Abegglen, Leopold Kielholz, and Max Abegglen. As of April 2024, 35 new Swiss soccer players have been added to Pantheon including Richard Dürr, Willy Jäggi, and Frank Séchehaye.