Stephan Lichtsteiner (; born 16 January 1984) 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 ...
. An attacking
right-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 ...
or
wing-back, he was known for his energetic runs down the
right wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this pos ...
, as well as his stamina and athleticism, which earned him the nicknames "
Forrest Gump" and "The Swiss
Express".
He began his professional career with
Grasshopper, winning a league title in
2002–03, and moved to
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the N ...
in 2005, helping the French club to Champions League qualification in his first season with the team. In 2008, he joined Italian club
Lazio
it, Laziale
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
, and won both the
Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
and
Supercoppa Italiana the following year. In 2011, he signed for
Juventus for a fee of €10 million. He played 257 total games for the Turin side over seven years and won 14 trophies, including the
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
title in each of his seasons with the team. In the summer of 2018, he was signed by
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
side
Arsenal, where he spent a season before moving to German club
Augsburg
Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...
the following summer. Lichsteiner announced his retirement from football after a season at the club.
A full international from 2006 to 2019, Lichtsteiner earned
108 caps for Switzerland, making him their third most capped player of all time. He represented his country at two
UEFA European Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...
s and three
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
s. In 2015, he was named
Swiss Footballer of the Year.
Early years
Lichtsteiner was born in
Adligenswil
Adligenswil is a municipality in Lucerne District in Canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. It is east of the city of Lucerne and borders on canton Schwyz.
Geography
Adligenswil is a spread out community on the north side of the valley of the Würzen ...
,
Canton of Lucerne and played for the local football club. He left home as a teenager to play for
Grasshopper Zürich
Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago.
Grasshopp ...
. While living in
Zürich
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Zürich ...
he completed a banking apprenticeship with
Credit Suisse but ultimately chose a career in football.
Club career
Grasshopper
Lichtsteiner made his first team debut with
Grasshopper Zürich
Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago.
Grasshopp ...
during the
2001–02 season in the former Nationalliga A (now the
Swiss Super League) but only made one league appearance. The following season, he began to establish himself as a first team regular and helped the club to the league title.
Lille
During the 2004–05 season Lichtsteiner sealed a transfer to French side
Lille OSC as one of five Swiss players to enter
Ligue 1 during the summer of 2005. He became a regular in his first season and helped Lille to a third-place finish to secure a Champions League spot. His last season ended disappointingly as Lille finished seventh in the league and missed out on European football next season just by a point. However he ended the season with 4 goals, his highest tally.
Lazio
After some good performances at
UEFA Euro 2008
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...
, several clubs, including
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...
and
Everton, expressed interest in signing Lichtsteiner. He rejected PSG's bid and, in July, signed a four-year contract with Italian side
S.S. Lazio for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of €1.5 million as a replacement for fellow Swiss international
Valon Behrami
Valon Behrami (born 19 April 1985) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Behrami was capped 83 times at international level by the Switzerland national team, playing at four FIFA World Cups, UEFA Euro 2008 and UE ...
, who went to
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
. In the April
Derby della Capitale
The Derby della Capitale ( en, Derby of the capital city), also known as Derby Capitolino and Derby del Cupolone, as well as The Rome Derby in English and Derby di Roma in Italian, is the football local derby in Rome, Italy, between Lazio and Ro ...
against cross-city rivals
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
*Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
, he scored his first goal to put Lazio 3–1 up in a heated derby encounter, which ended in a 4–2 win to Lazio, and resulted in numerous bookings. Lichtsteiner himself was also booked for a heated confrontation with Roma defender
Christian Panucci, after the Italian had fouled him. During the season, Lichtsteiner formed an attacking tandem down the flanks with Serbian international full-back
Aleksandar Kolarov
Aleksandar Kolarov (; born 10 November 1985) is a Serbian former professional footballer. Although primarily a left-back, Kolarov could also operate as a centre-back and anywhere along the left flank and was known for his overlapping attacking r ...
on the other side of the pitch. Although Lazio finished tenth, they ended the season on a high by winning the
Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
, and thus earning a place in the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
the next season. He played a part in Lazio's successful campaign, scoring in the penalty shoot-out against
Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa.
The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...
in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
* Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
, and also claimed the
Supercoppa Italiana at the beginning of the next season. After Kolarov's departure, his future at Lazio became increasingly in doubt, as several clubs expressed interest in him. At the end of the 2010–11 season, he opted not to see out the final year of his contract, despite the ''Biancocelesti'' qualifying for the Europa League.
Juventus
![Stephan Lichtsteiner'13](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Stephan_Lichtsteiner%2713.JPG)
On 27 June 2011,
Juventus confirmed that Lichtsteiner had undergone a medical in
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
and reached an agreement with Lazio to pay €10 million in three installments. The transfer was confirmed on 1 July 2011. He marked his debut on 11 September 2011 against
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...
by scoring the first goal in the 4–1 home victory, the first league goal to be scored in Juventus' new
stadium.
Juventus went on to win the ''Scudetto'' and he played a vital part in their strong defensive record, only missing a handful of matches through injury and suspensions.
Lichtsteiner repeated his opening matchday feat the following season by converting his left-sided counterpart
Kwadwo Asamoah
Kwadwo Asamoah (, ; born 9 December 1988) is a Ghanaian former professional Association football, footballer. Mainly a Midfielder#Wide midfielder, left midfielder or Defender (association football)#Full-back, left-back, he was also occasionally d ...
's pass in the 2–0 win. He played fewer matches during
2013–14 season due to injuries but contributed three goals in all competitions and won his third consecutive
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
title. His
crossing and ball-playing ability from the right flank, as well as his ability to make attacking runs to get on the end of
Andrea Pirlo
Andrea Pirlo (; born 19 May 1979) is an Italian professional football coach and former player who is head coach of Süper Lig club Fatih Karagümrük. Considered one of the best deep-lying playmakers ever, Pirlo was renowned for his visio ...
's long passes, came to the fore as a right-sided wing-back in
Conte's 3–5–2 formation.
As a result, he finished the season as Juventus's top assist-maker in the league, alongside
Paul Pogba
Paul Labile Pogba (born 15 March 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays for club Juventus and the France national team. He operates primarily as a central midfielder, but can be deployed as a left winger, attacking midfielder, d ...
, with eight.
On 6 June 2015, Lichtsteiner started for Juventus in the
2015 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2015 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League, the 60th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 23rd season since it was renamed from the European Champi ...
as the team were defeated 3–1 by
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
at Berlin's
Olympiastadion
Olympiastadion is the German, Finnish and Swedish word for Olympic Stadium and may refer to:
* Stockholm Olympic Stadium, the host of the 1912 Summer Olympics (though mostly referred as simply ''Stockholms Stadion'')
* Olympiastadion (Berlin), the ...
; he was involved in
Álvaro Morata
Álvaro Borja Morata Martín (; born 23 October 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Spain national team.
He began his career at Real Madrid, making his debut with the sen ...
's temporary equalising goal. On 23 September 2015, Lichtsteiner was substituted at half time during a league match against
Frosinone
Frosinone (, local dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is located about south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of the ...
due to breathing difficulty. It was later necessary for heart surgery to be performed to correct
cardiac arrhythmia
Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, heart arrhythmias, or dysrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adults ...
, which caused him to be out for a month. On 3 November 2015, Lichtsteiner returned from injury, starting against
Borussia Mönchengladbach in the
2015–16 Champions League and scoring the equalizing goal in the 44th minute of a 1–1 away draw which was later voted one of the best goals of the tournament that season.
At the beginning of the 2016–17 season, Lichtsteiner was excluded from Juventus's squad for the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
group stage; this was due to the fact that the club had signed rightback
Dani Alves
Daniel Alves da Silva (born 6 May 1983), known simply as Dani Alves (), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Liga MX club UNAM and the Brazil national team. Widely considered one of the greatest full-backs of ...
, and had already filled their squad quota, as Juventus were also required to have four club youth products in the 25-men squad, even though initially the only former youth product in the first team was
Claudio Marchisio
Claudio Marchisio (; born 19 January 1986) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
A product of the Juventus youth system, he spent a large portion of his career at his hometown club, with the exception of a sea ...
. Thus, Lichtsteiner was excluded to make way for other players. Juventus had also re-signed
Juan Cuadrado
Juan Guillermo Cuadrado Bello (born 26 May 1988) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays for club Juventus and the Colombia national team. He is known for his direct style of play, including his pace (both on and off the ball) as wel ...
on loan, which meant that Lichsteiner would face competition for the starting right fullback/wingback/winger position, leading to rumours that he would be leaving the club; nevertheless, he later stated that he would be remaining with Juventus. Despite competition for a starting spot, Lichtsteiner took part in the
2016 Supercoppa Italiana
The 2016 Supercoppa Italiana was the 29th edition of the Supercoppa Italiana, Italian football supercup. It was played on 23 December 2016 at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar. Juventus were the defending champions. With Juventus winning bot ...
on 23 December 2016, as one of the starting eleven, as Juventus lost to
AC Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...
on penalties. On 2 February 2017, Lichsteiner renewed his contract until 30 June 2018.
On 1 September, Licthsteiner was not included in the Juventus's squad for the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
group stage again. On 9 September, Licthsteiner played his first match as team's
captain in a 3–0 win against
Chievo
Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige.
It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...
. On 7 March 2018, Lichtsteiner made his 250th appearance for Juventus in a 2–1 win over
Tottenham
Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...
at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
, in the second leg of the round of 16 of the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
, coming off the bench in the second half to help create
Gonzalo Higuaín
Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín (; born 10 December 1987) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed ''El Pipita'' or ''Pipa'', Higuaín was a prolific striker, known for his eye for goal, strong physique, and o ...
's goal. He made his 200th Serie A appearance with the club in a 3–1 home win over
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
on 5 May, after which he announced that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season. On 19 May, Lichtsteiner made his 257th and final appearance for Juventus in the last match of the season in a 2–1 home win over
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...
as the club celebrated winning their seventh consecutive league title; during the same match, he missed a penalty, and was given a send-off later during the game when he came off, despite Juventus having already made all three substitutions. In this season, Lichsteiner won his seventh scudetto of his career becoming the non-Italian footballer with the most Serie A won.
Arsenal
On 5 June 2018, Lichtsteiner signed for
Arsenal on a free transfer. He made his Arsenal debut on 12 August, coming on as a substitute in the 35th minute for the injured
Ainsley Maitland-Niles
Ainsley Cory Maitland-Niles (born 29 August 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder or full-back for club Southampton on loan from Arsenal.
Maitland-Niles spent the 2015–16 season on loan at Ipswich To ...
in an eventual 2–0 home defeat to
Manchester City. On 31 October, Lichtsteiner scored his only goal for Arsenal in the first half of a 2–1 home win over
Blackpool in the fourth round of the
2018–19 EFL Cup. On 3 June 2019, it was announced that Lichtsteiner would leave Arsenal after just one season at the club.
FC Augsburg
On 19 August 2019,
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 ...
side FC Augsburg announced the signing of Lichtsteiner on a free transfer for the
2019–20 season. He made his debut five days later in a 1–1 home draw with
1. FC Union Berlin
1. Fußballclub Union Berlin e. V., commonly known as 1. FC Union Berlin () or Union Berlin, is a professional German football club in Köpenick, Berlin.
The club's origins can be traced to 1906, when its predecessor FC Olympia Oberschöneweid ...
, becoming the club's oldest ever player at 36 years and six months.
On 12 August 2020, Lichtsteiner announced that he would retire from football.
International career
A former youth international, Lichtsteiner played in the
1999 U16 and the
2004 U21 European Championships. He was first called up to the
senior squad on two occasions in 2005 but was an unused substitute both times. On 11 November 2006, he made his senior debut in a friendly against
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
which ended in a 2–1 loss.
Although he missed out on 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 ...
, Lichtsteiner was given a chance to prove himself as first choice right back
Philipp Degen
Philipp Degen (born 15 February 1983) is a retired Swiss professional footballer. Degen was usually a right back who could also play at left back or on the right wing. Degen reached the last 16 in the 2006 World Cup with Switzerland and was se ...
was out with long-term injury. In May,
Köbi Kuhn
Jakob "Köbi" Kuhn (12 October 1943 – 26 November 2019) was a Swiss football player and manager.
During his playing career he played primarily for FC Zürich and won 63 caps for Switzerland, one of which was at the 1966 FIFA World Cup in Engl ...
named him in the squad for the
Euro 2008
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of Europea ...
. He played every match at the tournament and eventually replaced Degen as first choice right back. Switzerland ended the tournament with two losses and a win. He retained his starting place under new manager
Ottmar Hitzfeld
Ottmar Hitzfeld (; born 12 January 1949) is a German former professional football player ( striker) and manager. He accumulated a total of 18 major titles, mostly in his tenures with Grasshopper Club Zürich, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. ...
and played every minute in 8 of the 10
2010 World Cup qualifiers.
Lichtsteiner played seven games in
UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2012 was a series of parallel association football competitions held over 2010 and 2011 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012, held in Poland and Ukraine. The draw for the qualifying rounds was hel ...
, with the Swiss failing to reach the finals in Poland and Ukraine. He scored his first international goal on 11 October 2010 in the final game, a 2–0 win over
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
in
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
. In
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA#Structure, FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil national football team, Bra ...
, he played eight full matches in a successful campaign, scoring two first-half goals on 6 September 2013 in a 4–4 draw with
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
at the
Stade de Suisse. Manager
Vladimir Petković
Vladimir Petković (; born 15 August 1963) is a Bosnian-born Swiss professional football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of French side Bordeaux, having previously managed the Switzerland national team, a string o ...
named him in the 23-man squad for the
finals in Brazil, where he played every minute in a run to the last 16.
Due to injury to regular captain
Gökhan Inler
Gökhan İnler (born 27 June 1984) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club Adana Demirspor.
İnler began his professional career with FC Basel and later joined FC Aarau and FC Zürich, winning the Swiss Sup ...
, Lichtsteiner wore the Swiss armband for the first time on 14 October 2014 in his 70th match, a 4–0 away win over
San Marino
San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...
in
UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
The UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from September 2014 to November 2015 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams joining the automatically qualified host team France in the UEFA Euro 2 ...
. Prior to the
finals in France Lichtsteiner was made permanent captain as Inler was dropped due to lack of playing time at club level. The Swiss made it out of the group stage and faced
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
in the Round of 16. With the score at 1–1, the match was decided by
penalties
Penalty or The Penalty may refer to:
Sports
* Penalty (golf)
* Penalty (gridiron football)
* Penalty (ice hockey)
* Penalty (rugby)
* Penalty (rugby union)
* Penalty kick (association football)
* Penalty shoot-out (association football)
* Penalty ...
, and Lichtsteiner took first and scored but the Swiss lost as
Granit Xhaka
Granit Xhaka (born 27 September 1992) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Arsenal and the Switzerland national team.
Xhaka began his career at hometown club FC Basel, winning the Swiss Super League in each of ...
missed.
In
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia qualifying automatically as hosts. All 210 ...
, Lichtsteiner scored in home wins over the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
,
Andorra
, image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg
, symbol_type = Coat of arms
, national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...
and
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
, as the Swiss qualified through the play-offs. He was named in Petković's 23-man squad for the
finals
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
in Russia. On 8 June, in the final warm-up game against
Japan, he became the fourth Swiss to earn
100 international caps in the 2–0 victory. He was fined 5,000
Swiss francs after the 2–1 group win over
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
for joining
Xherdan Shaqiri
Xherdan Shaqiri (; born 10 October 1991) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire and the Switzerland national team.
Shaqiri began his career at FC Basel, winning honours including ...
and
Granit Xhaka
Granit Xhaka (born 27 September 1992) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Arsenal and the Switzerland national team.
Xhaka began his career at hometown club FC Basel, winning the Swiss Super League in each of ...
in their controversial goal celebrations and later defended their actions.
Managerial career
On 1 February 2022, Licthsteiner was appointed as
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
under-15s team coach.
Style of play
A dynamic, hard-working, consistent, and versatile defender, Lichtsteiner was capable of playing anywhere along the right flank, and had been deployed as an attacking
full-back or
wing-back in a four-man back-line, or also as
winger in a 3–5–2 formation. Although he predominantly played on the right, he was also used on the left flank on occasion, or even as a makeshift
centre-back. A quick, physically strong, tenacious, and tactically intelligent player, he was known for his energetic runs up and down the wing, which enabled him to exploit spaces and get on the end of long balls, thus enabling him to help out at both ends of the pitch and cover the right flank effectively. His stamina, dedication and athleticism earned him the nicknames "
Forrest Gump" and "The Swiss
Express".
Although not particularly skilful from a technical standpoint, Lichsteiner was capable of linking up with teammates and making attacking runs to get on the end of passes, which enabled him to get into positions from which he could create chances for strikers with crosses from the touchline, or even score goals himself; while he was mainly regarded for his offensive contribution, he was also known for being reliable defensively. However, at times Lichsteiner also drew criticism in the media for lacking composure under pressure, being too rash and aggressive in his challenges, and prone to defensive errors, as well as for being inconsistent in his crossing and distribution from the right wing.
Lichtsteiner has been described by former FIFA referee
Jonas Eriksson as the most disagreeable player he has met. According to Eriksson, Lichtsteiner "is angry and grumpy. I try to explain, I try to be humble, but he's hard to make contact with. It creates a bad atmosphere."
Personal life
Lichtsteiner is married to
Manuela Markworth, an economist and fitness instructor. They have a daughter and a son.
Lichtsteiner acquired the nickname "
Forrest Gump" from Lazio-supporting Radio Sei commentator Guido de Angelis after making a run down his flank to score in the 4–2 derby victory over crosstown rivals
A.S. Roma
' (''Rome Sport Association''), commonly referred to as Roma (), is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its existence, except for ...
. His runs and athleticism has also earned him the nickname "The Swiss Express" since moving to Juventus.
In 2021, Lichtsteiner joined the board of directors of
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
club
HC Lugano
Hockey Club Lugano, often abbreviated to HC Lugano or HCL, is a professional ice hockey club based in Lugano, Switzerland. The team competes in the National League (NL) and has won seven Swiss championships.
History
The founding of HC Lugano took ...
.
Career statistics
Club
International
![Stephan Lichtsteiner 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Stephan_Lichtsteiner_2018.jpg)
''Switzerland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Lichtsteiner's goal.''
Honours
Grasshopper
* Nationalliga A: 2002–03
Lazio[
*]Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
: 2008–09
* Supercoppa Italiana: 2009
Juventus[
*]Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
: 2011–12, 2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
*Coppa Italia: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
*Supercoppa Italiana: 2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
, 2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
, 2015
*UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
runner-up: 2014–15, 2016–17
Arsenal
*UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
runner-up: 2018–19
Individual
* Swiss Footballer of the Year: 2015
* UEFA Goal of the Season: 2015–16
See also
* List of footballers with 100 or more caps
References
External links
*
Profile
on Swiss FA website
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lichtsteiner, Stephan
1984 births
Living people
People from Lucerne-Land District
Swiss footballers
FC Luzern players
Grasshopper Club Zürich players
Lille OSC players
S.S. Lazio players
Juventus F.C. players
Arsenal F.C. players
FC Augsburg players
Switzerland under-21 international footballers
Switzerland international footballers
UEFA Euro 2008 players
Swiss Super League players
Ligue 1 players
Serie A players
Premier League players
Bundesliga players
Expatriate footballers in Italy
Expatriate footballers in France
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate footballers in Germany
Swiss expatriate footballers
Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Swiss expatriate sportspeople in France
Swiss expatriate sportspeople in England
Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Germany
2010 FIFA World Cup players
2014 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 2016 players
Association football fullbacks
2018 FIFA World Cup players
FIFA Century Club
Sportspeople from the canton of Lucerne