Johann Louis François Vogel (born 8 March 1977) is a Swiss former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He spent most of his professional with

Grasshopper Club Zürich Grasshopper Club Zürich, commonly referred to as simply GC, GCZ, or Grasshoppers, is a multisports club based in Zürich, Switzerland. The oldest and best known department of the club is its football team. With 27 titles, Grasshopper holds the ...

and PSV. In his later career, he played for

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Betis, and

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

before returning to Grasshoppers. At international level, he amassed 94 caps scoring twice for the Switzerland national team.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, to

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

father, and

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

mother, Vogel joined Swiss amateur club

FC Meyrin Football Club Meyrin is a football (soccer), football team based in Meyrin in Switzerland. They currently play in the Swiss 1. Liga (football), 1. Liga, the third tier of the Swiss Football Association, Swiss football pyramid. Meyrin were promot ...

in his youth, but made the cut into professional football by joining

. In his time at Grasshoppers, he usually played central defence or rightback although on occasion, he could be called to feature in a central defensive midfield role. In his role as a defensive midfield player, in which he uses his ability to pass accurately and to effectively retain possession of the ball, Vogel can be counted on to add depth to either defence or attack.

PSV and Milan

Dutch club PSV sought his services in 1999 and he became a prominent member of the team until he decided to leave to join

at the end of the 2004–05 season. In his final season with PSV, he was noted for forming a formidable midfield partnership with

Mark van Bommel Mark Peter Gertruda Andreas van Bommel (born 22 April 1977) is a Dutch football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently the manager of Belgian side Royal Antwerp. His FIFA World Cup profile describes him as "a tackli ...

and

Phillip Cocu Phillip John-William Cocu (born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player, he is the manager of Vitesse. Cocu was born in Eindhoven but raised in Zevenaar, playing youth football for local clubs DCS and De Graa ...

where the club managed to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League tournament.

Real Betis

On 31 August 2006, he joined

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

in an exchange deal for

Ricardo Oliveira Ricardo José Dognella Lima de Oliveira (; born 6 May 1980) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Athletic. He represented São Paulo and Santos in two different spells, but also played in Spain, amassing La Liga ...

. Vogel made his Betis debut against

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

on 10 September 2006 at the

Manuel Ruiz de Lopera Manuel Ruiz de Lopera y Ávalos (born 13 August 1944) is a Spanish businessman who was owner and chairman of football club Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based ...

, which Betis won 3–0. Vogel made his last

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

appearance for Betis on 19 May 2007 against

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

. On 27 December 2007, he agreed to leave Betis after suing them. Everton confirmed they were in talks to sign the player after being told he could leave his then club Real Betis in July 2007. However the deal hit problems due to Real Betis wanting payment for him.

Blackburn Rovers

On 18 March 2008, he agreed a two and a half year contract (with Blackburn having an option for a further year) with Mark Hughes' Blackburn Rovers. Vogel joined fellow Swiss footballers

Stéphane Henchoz Stéphane Henchoz (; born 7 September 1974) is a Swiss football coach and a former professional player who played as a centre-back, most notably for the English club Liverpool. He was capped 72 times and played for the Switzerland national team ...

and

Bruno Berner Bruno George Berner (born 21 November 1977) is a Swiss professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of FC Winterthur in the Swiss Super League. Throughout his playing career, Berner played predominantly as a left back, bu ...

Ewood Park Ewood Park () is a football stadium in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and the home of Blackburn Rovers F.C., founding members of the Football League and Premier League, who have played there since 1890. It is an all seater multi-sports facili ...

, as well as his former PSV-colleague

André Ooijer André Antonius Maria Ooijer (born 11 July 1974) is a former Dutch footballer who played as a defender. He played his last professional game for Ajax against Vitesse on 6 May 2012. In an international career lasting over a decade with the Ne ...

. After receiving International clearance to play for

on 25 March, he was given the number 8 shirt by

Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City. During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, and a ...

, the shirt vacated by

Robbie Savage Robert William Savage (born 18 October 1974) is a Welsh former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder, now a association football, football pundit and director of football at club Macclesfield F.C., Macclesfie ...

after his move to

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

. Vogel made his debut for Rovers on 5 April against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

. However, in the 2008–09 season, Vogel found himself frozen out at

. He came on as a substitute in a 3–1 defeat by

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. On 7 April 2009, his contract was terminated by

with immediate effect and by mutual consent. After that, he announced his retirement from professional football.

Grasshoppers comeback

Two and a half years after his retirement, Vogel decided to return to the field again. He made comeback with Grasshoppers where he made his professional debut and appeared in the starting line-up against

FC Thun Fussballclub Thun 1898 is a Swiss football team from the Bernese Oberland town of Thun. The club plays in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of the Swiss football league system, following relegation from the Swiss Super League in the ...

on 5 February 2012. After appearing in another two league matches, he retired for the second time.

International career

Vogel made his debut for

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

on 8 March 1995 in a 1–1 draw against

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. Vogel has played in

Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...

Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

and has made 94 appearances in total for his country. He scored his first goal on 10 March 1999 in a friendly against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. Until 8 March 2007, he was the captain of Switzerland.

Career statistics

:Sources:

International goals

Honours

Club

Grasshoppers * Swiss National League A: 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98 *

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...

: 1994 PSV Eindhoven *

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

: 1999–00, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05 *

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

: 2004–05 *

Johan Cruijff-schaal The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footba ...

: 2000, 2001, 2003

Individual

Dutch Footballer of the Year The title Dutch Footballer of the Year (Dutch: ''Voetballer van het Jaar'') has been awarded in the Netherlands since 1984. The award is determined by a poll of Dutch professional footballers playing in the First (Eredivisie) and Second (Eerste Divi ...

: 2001

References

External links

* * *
Official La Liga career stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vogel, Johann Living people 1977 births Footballers from Geneva Association football midfielders Swiss footballers FC Meyrin players Grasshopper Club Zürich players PSV Eindhoven players A.C. Milan players Real Betis players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Swiss Super League players Eredivisie players Serie A players La Liga players Premier League players Swiss expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Swiss expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Italy Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Spain Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in England Swiss expatriate sportspeople in England Switzerland international footballers UEFA Euro 1996 players UEFA Euro 2004 players 2006 FIFA World Cup players Swiss-German people Swiss-French people