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, 198 of which were born in Switzerland. This makes Switzerland the birth place of the 25th most number of Soccer Players behind Romania, and Chile.

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. Werner Leimgruber (1934 - 2025)

With an HPI of 64.17, Werner Leimgruber is the most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages on wikipedia.

Werner Leimgruber (2 September 1934 – 2 January 2025) was a Swiss footballer who played as a defender for FC Zürich. He made 10 appearances for the Switzerland national team, also playing in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Leimgruber died on 2 January 2025, at the age of 90.

2. Yann Sommer (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 63.88, Yann Sommer is the 2nd most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 54 different languages.

Yann Sommer (born 17 December 1988) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Inter Milan. Known for his exceptional reflexes and high agility, Sommer is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Sommer began his career 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 before retiring in August 2024.

3. Ivan Rakitić (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 63.28, Ivan Rakitić is the 3rd most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 75 different languages.

Ivan Rakitić (Croatian pronunciation: [ǐʋan rǎkititɕ]; born 10 March 1988) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. 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. André Abegglen (1909 - 1944)

With an HPI of 63.01, André Abegglen is the 4th most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 28 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, to the cause of a heart attack.

5. Roberto Di Matteo (b. 1970)

With an HPI of 62.80, Roberto Di Matteo is the 5th 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. 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 a £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.

6. Leopold Kielholz (1911 - 1980)

With an HPI of 61.44, Leopold Kielholz is the 6th most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 24 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 known for wearing glasses during games.

7. Josef Hügi (1930 - 1995)

With an HPI of 59.98, Josef Hügi is the 7th most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 22 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.

8. Marcel Koller (b. 1960)

With an HPI of 59.96, Marcel Koller is the 8th 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 was most recently the head coach of Al Ahly in the Egyptian Premier League.

9. Anton Allemann (1936 - 2008)

With an HPI of 58.97, Anton Allemann is the 9th most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Anton "Toni" Allemann (6 January 1936 – 3 August 2008) was a Swiss footballer. He began his career at BSC Young Boys in Bern in 1957 at age 21, where he spent four seasons.

10. Oliver Neuville (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 58.89, Oliver Neuville is the 10th most famous Swiss Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 44 different languages.

Oliver Patric Neuville (German pronunciation: [ˈɔlivɐ ˈnøːvɪl]; born 1 May 1973) is a German former footballer who played as a striker. During an 18-year professional career which began in Switzerland, he played mainly for German clubs Bayer Leverkusen (five seasons) and Borussia Mönchengladbach (six), amassing Bundesliga totals of 334 games and 91 goals. Neuville appeared nearly 70 times for the Germany national team during one full decade, representing Germany in two World Cups and at Euro 2008.

People

Pantheon has 206 people classified as Swiss soccer players born between 1902 and 2002. Of these 206, 174 (84.47%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Swiss soccer players include Yann Sommer, Ivan Rakitić, and Roberto Di Matteo. The most famous deceased Swiss soccer players include Werner Leimgruber, André Abegglen, and Leopold Kielholz. As of April 2024, 12 new Swiss soccer players have been added to Pantheon including Lia Wälti, Viola Calligaris, and Vincent Sierro.