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The Most Famous

SOCCER PLAYERS from Switzerland

This page contains a list of the greatest Swiss Soccer Players. The pantheon dataset contains 16,880 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. Alisha Lehmann (23 - )

With an HPI of 63.86, Alisha Lehmann is the most famous Swiss Soccer Player. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages on wikipedia.

Alisha Debora Lehmann (born 21 January 1999) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Aston Villa and the Switzerland national team. She previously played for BSC YB Frauen of the Nationalliga A, for West Ham United of the FA WSL, and on loan with Everton of the FA WSL.

2. Roberto Di Matteo (1970 - )

With an HPI of 54.97, Roberto Di Matteo is the 2nd most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 46 different languages.

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.

3. André Abegglen (1909 - 1944)

With an HPI of 54.78, André Abegglen is the 3rd most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

André Abegglen (7 March 1909 – 8 November 1944) was a Swiss football player and manager. As a forward he played for Grasshopper Club Zürich, the French club FC Sochaux-Montbéliard and the Swiss 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.

4. Ivan Rakitić (1988 - )

With an HPI of 53.70, Ivan Rakitić is the 4th most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 71 different languages.

Ivan Rakitić (Croatian pronunciation: [ǐʋan rǎkititɕ]; born 10 March 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Saudi Pro League club Al-Shabab. Born in Switzerland, he played for the Croatia national team. 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.

5. Luuk de Jong (1990 - )

With an HPI of 52.45, Luuk de Jong is the 5th most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 43 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.

6. Josef Hügi (1930 - 1995)

With an HPI of 52.28, Josef Hügi is the 6th 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.

7. Leopold Kielholz (1911 - 1980)

With an HPI of 51.05, Leopold Kielholz is the 7th most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 20 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.

8. Murat Yakin (1974 - )

With an HPI of 50.80, Murat Yakin is the 8th most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Murat Yakin (Turkish: Yakın; born 15 September 1974) is a Swiss football coach and former player. He is the manager of the Switzerland national football team. In 2021, following stints as manager at Swiss clubs including Basel, Grasshoppers and Sion, he was appointed as coach of the Swiss national team, guiding them to qualification for 2022 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2024.

9. Max Abegglen (1902 - 1970)

With an HPI of 50.76, Max Abegglen is the 9th most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 22 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 in the Football at the 1924 Summer Olympics on 24 May 1924, 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.

10. Roger Courtois (1912 - 1972)

With an HPI of 50.05, Roger Courtois is the 10th most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Roger Courtois (30 May 1912 – 5 May 1972) was a French football player and manager. He played as a striker.

People

Pantheon has 159 people classified as soccer players born between 23 and 2002. Of these 159, 138 (86.79%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living soccer players include Alisha Lehmann, Roberto Di Matteo, and Ivan Rakitić. The most famous deceased soccer players include André Abegglen, Josef Hügi, and Leopold Kielholz. As of April 2022, 16 new soccer players have been added to Pantheon including Alisha Lehmann, Hans Pulver, and Heinz Schneiter.