The Best Soccer Players From Switzerland

Ranker Soccer
Updated June 1, 2024 96.6K views 54 items
Ranked By
9.4K votes
1.7K voters
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Vote up the best Swiss soccer players of all time.

Who are the best football players from Switzerland? This list includes the greatest soccer players born in Switzerland or who played on the Switzerland national football team. While the Swiss men's national team has a long and storied history of producing top international talent, fans of the Rossocrociati have been waiting for the A-Team to capture international glory. So, who are the best footballers from Switzerland? Who is the best Swiss soccer player of all time?

Some of the best Swiss soccer players include national legends like Heinz Hermann, Stéphane Chapuisat, Alexander Frei, and Stephan Lichtsteiner. There are also current Swiss football stars such as Granit Xhaka, Ricardo Rodríguez, and Xherdan Shaqiri, who led Switzerland to a quarter-finals appearance at the Euro Cup 2020. 

Vote up the best soccer players from Switzerland, and help decide who is the greatest Swiss footballer of all time!

Most divisive: Johan Djourou
Over 1.7K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of Swiss Footballers
  • Ruben Vargas
    31
    28 votes
    Ruben Estephan Vargas Martinez (born 5 August 1998) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a winger for Bundesliga club FC Augsburg and the Switzerland national team.
  • Djibril Sow
    32
    40 votes
    Mohameth Djibril Ibrahima Sow (born 6 February 1997) is a Swiss footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt and the Switzerland national team.
  • Denis Zakaria
    33
    Denis Lemi Zakaria Lako Lado (born 20 November 1996) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea, on loan from Serie A club Juventus, and the Switzerland national team.
  • Diego Benaglio
    34
    16 votes
    Diego Orlando Benaglio (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdjɛːɡo beˈnaʎʎo, ˈdjeː-]; born 8 September 1983) is a Swiss footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club AS Monaco FC. He spent most of his professional career with Stuttgart and Wolfsburg in Germany, winning the 2009 league championship and appearing in almost 300 competitive matches with the latter club. He also spent three years in Portugal, with Nacional. Benaglio earned 61 caps for Switzerland, representing the nation in three World Cups and Euro 2008.
  • Raphaël Wicky
    35

    Raphaël Wicky

    Age: 47
    10 votes
    Raphaël Wicky (born 26 April 1977) is a Swiss football coach and a former player. He was the manager of FC Basel. He was a defensive midfielder who could also play in defense and was known for his combative style.. He is currently the head coach of United States U17.
  • Admir Mehmedi
    36
    17 votes
    Admir Mehmedi (born 16 March 1991) is a Swiss footballer of Albanian descent who plays as a second striker or centre forward for VfL Wolfsburg of the Bundesliga and the Switzerland national team.
  • Kevin Mbabu
    37

    Kevin Mbabu

    Age: 29
    18 votes
    Melingo Kevin Mbabu (born 19 April 1995) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a defender for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg and the Switzerland national team.
  • Mario Gavranović
    38

    Mario Gavranović

    Age: 34
    20 votes
    Mario Gavranović (born 24 November 1989) is a Swiss professional footballer Croatian descent who plays as a forward for Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb and the Switzerland national team.
  • Ludovic Magnin
    39

    Ludovic Magnin

    Age: 45
    12 votes
    Ludovic Magnin (French pronunciation: ​[maɲɛ̃]; born 20 April 1979) is a Swiss former footballer and current manager. He is the manager of FC Zürich. He played as a left-back for the Switzerland national team, Yverdon Sport, FC Lugano, Werder Bremen, VfB Stuttgart, and FC Zürich.
  • Remo Freuler
    40
    11 votes
    Remo Marco Freuler (born 15 April 1992) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Nottingham Forest and the Switzerland national team.
  • Max Abegglen
    41

    Max Abegglen

    Dec. at 68 (1902-1970)
    10 votes
    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 Swiss national team 68 times, scoring 34 goals. He was the sole leading goalscorer 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 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.
  • Christian Fassnacht (born 11 November 1993) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a winger for Young Boys and the Switzerland national team.
  • Silvan Widmer
    43

    Silvan Widmer

    Age: 31
    11 votes
    Silvan Widmer is a Swiss professional footballer currently playing for Udinese Calcio.
  • Michael Lang
    44

    Michael Lang

    Age: 33
    12 votes
    Michael Rico Lang (born 8 February 1991) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a defender for German club SV Werder Bremen, on loan from Borussia Mönchengladbach, and the Switzerland national team.
  • Albert Bunjaku
    45
    53 votes
    Albert Bunjaku (born 29 November 1983) is a Kosovar Albanian football player who plays for Viktoria Köln. He previously represented Switzerland (particularly at the 2010 FIFA World Cup), before switching to the newly formed Kosovo national football team for which he is the all-time top scorer.
  • Fabian Frei
    46

    Fabian Frei

    Age: 35
    13 votes
    Fabian Frei (born 8 January 1989) is a Swiss footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for FC Basel. Until June 2011, he played for the Swiss U-21 team. He made his international debut for Swiss senior team on 7 October 2011. He was selected to represent Switzerland at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is of no relation to former club and country team mate Alexander Frei.
  • Blerim Džemaili
    47

    Blerim Džemaili

    Age: 38
    13 votes
    Blerim Džemaili (Albanian: Blerim Xhemaili [blɛˈɾim dʒɛˈmaili], Macedonian: Блерим Џемаили; born 12 April 1986) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays for Bologna as a midfielder. Džemaili made his debut for the Switzerland national team in March 2006 and was selected for their squads at the FIFA World Cup in 2006 and 2014.
  • Josip Drmić
    48
    13 votes
    Josip Drmić is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the Switzerland national football team. He began his career at FC Zürich and moved to 1. FC Nürnberg in 2013. His 17 goals in his first Bundesliga season then earned him a transfer to Leverkusen. A full international since 2012, Drmić represented Switzerland at the 2012 Olympics and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
  • Edimilson Fernandes Ribeiro (born 15 April 1996) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Bundesliga side Mainz 05.
  • François Moubandje
    50

    François Moubandje

    Age: 33
    14 votes
    Jacques François Moubandje is a Swiss footballer who plays for Toulouse in the Ligue 1. He is a left-back. In September 2013, Moubandje signed a four-year deal with Toulouse after transferring from Servette FC, who were relegated from the Swiss Super League at the end of the 2012-13 season. Moubandje will wear no. 29 for the 2013-14 season. He is expected to fill the gap left by the departure of Cheikh M'Bengue to Stade Rennais.
  • Yvon Mvogo
    51

    Yvon Mvogo

    Age: 29
    10 votes
    Yvon Landry Mvogo Nganoma (born 6 June 1994) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for PSV on loan from RB Leipzig. He has also played for the Switzerland national team.
  • Mvula Jordan Lotomba (born 29 September 1998) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Ligue 1 club Nice.
  • Bećir Omeragić (born 20 January 2002) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a defender for FC Zürich.
  • Eray Cömert
    54
    19 votes
    Eray Ervin Cömert (4 February 1998) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a defender for FC Basel.