Willi Steffen (17 March 1925 – 3 May 2005) was a

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 Internati ...

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 ...

who played as a left-back. Steffen started out as an amateur with Cantonal Neuchâtel and later became the first Swiss footballer to play in

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when he signed for Chelsea. He had only journeyed to England to learn the

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, having been sent by his parents in preparation for him joining the family's

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and

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business, but his teacher turned out to be the wife of then-Chelsea manager, Billy Birrell. He was given a trial and signed for the club in July 1946. Steffen was a cultured and dedicated full back, tall and pacy, who quickly became a crowd favourite at Chelsea, while his blonde hair and good looks also won him admirers. He made his debut in a 3–1 loss against

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 ...

and played 20 league and cup games for Chelsea during the 1946-47 season, including a memorable

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

win over

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, during which he expertly marked winger Ian McPherson. Steffen returned to Switzerland at the end of the season to finish his

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and was made club

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in his final game for Chelsea, also against Derby. Upon his return to Switzerland he re-joined Cantonal before moving to

Young Boys Bern BSC Young Boys (YB by short abbreviation ) are a Swiss sports club based in Bern, Switzerland. Its first team has won 15 Swiss league championships and six Swiss Cups. YB is one of the most successful Swiss football clubs internationally, reac ...

in 1950. With them, he won the

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 seaso ...

four years in succession from 1957-60 as well as the Schweizer Cup in 1953 and 1958. A former fighter pilot, Steffen played for Switzerland at the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

, though they went out in the group stages. He also played in a 1–0 win over an

side containing

Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game, he is the only player to have been knighted while st ...

Tommy Lawton Thomas Lawton (6 October 1919 – 6 November 1996) was an English football player and manager. A strong centre-forward with excellent all-round attacking skills, he was able to head the ball with tremendous power and accuracy. Born in ...

and Billy Wright in Zurich in 1947. He won 28 international

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for his country. He died in Bern in 2005, aged 80.

References

1925 births 2005 deaths Chelsea F.C. players BSC Young Boys players 1950 FIFA World Cup players Swiss men's footballers Switzerland international footballers Footballers from Bern Association football defenders {{Switzerland-footy-defender-stub