Leonidas Stergiou ( el, Λεωνίδας Στεργίου; born 3 March 2002) is a Swiss 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 plays as a
centre-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
for German club
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB Stu ...
Stergiou initially made his competitive debut for the senior St. Gallen side on 6 February 2019, participating in a 3–1 victory against
FC Zürich
Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a Swiss football club based in Zürich. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League 13 times and the Swiss Cup 10 times. The most recent titles a ...
.
On 22 August 2023, Stergiou joined
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB Stu ...
in Germany on loan. Stergiou played just 39 minutes in the first half of the season, but made his first start in February and then became a regular starter. On 4 May 2024, he scored his first
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
goal in a 3–1 win over
Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
.
On 15 May 2024, the loan deal was made permanent and Stergiou signed a contract until June 2028 with VfB Stuttgart.
International career
Stergiou played four games for Switzerland U15 and five for Switzerland U16. He was the captain of Switzerland U21 at the
2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
The 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2023) will be the 24th edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship (27th edition if the Under-23 era is also included), the biennial international youth football ...
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. He replaced Ricardo Rodriguez in the 79th minute as Switzerland won 1–0.
In June 2024, he was named in the Swiss squad for UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany. He replaced
Silvan Widmer
Silvan Dominic Widmer (born 5 March 1993) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Bundesliga club Mainz 05 and the Switzerland national team.
Club career
Widmer began his playing career at SV Würenlos and FC Baden befo ...
as a substitute in the 68th minute of the team's opening Group A match against
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
.
Personal life
Stergiou was born in
Wattwil
Wattwil is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Toggenburg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the municipality of Krinau merged into Wattwil.Toggenburg area of Switzerland, to a Serbian mother and a Greek father. After joining the
FC St. Gallen
Fussballclub St. Gallen 1879, commonly known as St. Gallen, is a Swiss professional football club based in the city of St. Gallen, Canton of St. Gallen. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the Swiss Super League.
History
Founde ...
Swiss Super League
The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 season ...
Young Footballer of the Year:
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...