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 Internation ...

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who played as a left-back. Steffen started out as an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

with Cantonal Neuchâtel and later became the first Swiss footballer to play in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

when he signed for

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. 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 William Birrell (13 March 1897 – 29 November 1968) was a Scottish professional footballer who made over 220 appearances as a forward in the Football League for Middlesbrough. He also made over 120 appearances in the Scottish League for Raith ...

. 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 competi ...

win over

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Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was situ ...

, during which he expertly marked winger

Ian McPherson Ian MacPherson, Macpherson or McPherson may refer to: * Ian Macpherson, 1st Baron Strathcarron (1880–1937), British lawyer and politician * Ian Macpherson (novelist) (1905–1944), Scottish novelist * Ian McPherson (footballer) (1920–1983), Sco ...

. Steffen returned to Switzerland at the end of the season to finish his

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

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, rea ...

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 season ...

four years in succession from 1957-60 as well as the

Schweizer 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 ...

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 stil ...

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 Fa ...

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

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for his country. He died in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

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