The best Swiss football players of all time

Switzerland does not have the greatest footballing tradition in the world, but the Alpine country has produced outstanding players throughout its history. These are some of the best in our opinion.

Johann Vogel is one of the best Swiss midfielders ever. He played for Grasshoppers Zürich in his home country, PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands and AC Milan in Italy. Vogel also earned 94 caps for his country, scoring 2 goals.

Considered by many as the best Swiss player ever, Xherdan Shaqiri is a skilful left-footed player who has scored many important goals for Switzerland. At club level, he has played for FC Basel, Bayern Munich, Internazionale, Stoke City, Liverpool, Olympique Lyon and Chicago Fire and won the Champions League twice.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

Another Swiss player with a Liverpool past. Stéphane Henchoz wore the Reds' shirt for more than 5.5 years, helping the club to the UEFA Cup and FA Cup, among other trophies. It was Henchoz's most successful period of his career, which also took him to FC Bulle, Xamax, Hamburger SV, Blackburn Rovers, Celtic Glasgow and Wigan Athletic.

Umberto Barberis was a formidable winger in his time, excelling in Switzerland and France. He won two Swiss league titles with Servette FC and won the French title with AS Monaco, which earned him the awards of Swiss Footballer of the Year (3x) and Foreign Footballer of the Year in France.

Alain Geiger, who won 112 caps (2 goals) for the Swiss national team, is a football legend in his country. The defender spent almost his entire career in Switzerland, except for a spell with French Saint-Étienne. Geiger is a four-time Swiss champion and four-time Swiss Cup winner.

Kubilay Turkyilmaz was a strong striker with a formidable goal-scoring ability. In his career, he scored 34 goals for the Swiss national team, making him the country's top scorer until 2008, when Alexander Frei broke his record.

Switzerland's all-time top scorer certainly deserves a spot on this list. Alexander Frei found the back of the net 42 times for his country, in just 84 appearances. A Swiss legend.

With 118 appearances for the Swiss national team, Heinz Hermann had the most caps for his country for a long time. The central midfielder spent his entire career in Switzerland, winning no fewer than six league titles and five Swiss Footballer of the Year awards.

Josef Hugi, an FC Basel legend, played 320 league games for the club and scored 224 goals. This resulted in one Swiss league title with the RotBlau and three top scorer titles.

Stéphane Chapuisat is considered one of the best Swiss players ever. He wore his country's shirt 103 times and scored 21 goals. At club level, Chapuisat is known for his time at German side Borussia Dortmund, where he won two German league titles and the Champions League.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

Stephan Lichtsteiner was an outstanding right-back in his prime, playing for major European clubs like Juventus and Arsenal. The 108-time international won seven league titles with the Old Lady, before retiring at FC Augsburg in 2020.

Midfielder Granit Xhaka also definitely deserves a place in this list. Known for his high work rate and excellent shooting ability, the left-footed midfielder helped Arsenal to two FA Cups, FC Basel to two Swiss titles., and Bayer Leverkusen to its first-ever Bundesliga title.

The only goalkeeper in this list, Yann Sommer, made a name for himself at FC Basel and Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he earned a move to Bayern Munich. He currently plays for Internazionale.

Gökhan Inler was an excellent midfielder with accurate shooting and passing skills. He excelled at FC Zürich before moving to SSC Napoli, where he celebrated two Coppa Italia triumphs. He also crowned himself Premier League champion with Leicester City.

Massimo Ceccaroni, another FC Basel legend, spent 15 years with the RotBlau, winning one league title and one Swiss Cup. Remarkably, he did not score a single goal during his time at St. Jakob-Park.

Hakin Yakin had a very successful career in Switzerland, winning four Swiss league titles and two Swiss cups. He also earned 87 caps for the Swiss national team, in which he scored 20 goals, and played for VfB Stuttgart and Galatasaray.

Ricardo Rodriguez is one of the best left-backs to ever wear the Swiss shirt. The Zürich-born player built an impressive career, playing for FC Zürich, VfL Wolfsburg, AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Torino FC and Real Betis.

Part of Pep Guardiola's Premier League-winning City squad, Manuel Akanji earned himself a spot on this list. The strong central defender broke through at FC Winterthur and FC Basel before going to Borussia Dortmund. In Germany, he developed into one of the Bundesliga's best defenders, which resulted in a top transfer to Manchester City.

Max Abegglen is one of Switzerland's most prolific strikers ever. The former Lausanne-Sport and Grasshoppers star scored 34 goals in 84 caps for Switzerland, making him the country's (shared) top scorer until Alexander Frei took over the record in 2008. In addition, Abegglen is a multiple Swiss champion and Cup winner. He won all his trophies with Grasshoppers.

Picture: Instagram, @oeternofutbolmoderno

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

Of course, there could have been many more players on this list. For example, Tranquillo Barnetta (pictured), Philippe Senderos, Valon Behrami, Robert Ballaman, Breel Embolo, Fabian Schär and Gelson Fernandes could all have been included. Who would you have added? Let us know in the comments.