Raphaël Nuzzolo (born 5 July 1983) is a Swiss former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He played a majority of his carrier for

Neuchâtel Xamax Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel. Since the fusion in 2021 of the municipalities of Neuchâtel, Corcelles-Cormondrèche, Peseux, and Valangin, the city has ap ...

. He currently works as a scout for

BSC Young Boys Berner Sport Club Young Boys (YB by short abbreviation, ) is a Swiss professional sports club based in Bern, Switzerland. Its first team has won 17 Swiss league championships and eight Swiss Cups. YB is one of the most successful Swiss footbal ...

Career

Xamax

Born in

Biel Biel/Bienne (official bilingual wording; German language, German: ''Biel'' ; French language, French: ''Bienne'' ; Bernese German, locally ; ; ; ) is a bilingual city in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. With over 55,000 residents, it is the ...

, Nuzzolo began playing football for hometown club

Biel-Bienne Biel/Bienne (official bilingual wording; German language, German: ''Biel'' ; French language, French: ''Bienne'' ; Bernese German, locally ; ; ; ) is a bilingual city in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. With over 55,000 residents, it is the ...

. After two seasons there he joined

in 2001. Originally hired as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

, he only started to be successful years later when he was moved to the position of right

. In 2006, Miroslav Blazevic who was then trainer at

, declared that "Nuzzolo has a future in the Swiss national team". On Sunday 19 February 2006 he scored his first goal at the highest Swiss level on a 2–2 tie in Zurich against Grasshoppers. During the 2008–09 season, as Xamax's trainer by then

Nestor Clausen Nestor may refer to: * Nestor (mythology), King of Pylos in Greek mythology Arts and entertainment * "Nestor" (''Ulysses'' episode) an episode in James Joyce's novel ''Ulysses'' * Nestor Studios, first-ever motion picture studio in Hollywood, L ...

had difficulties finding a performant right back, he moved Nuzzolo to this position, which he kept for most of the season. In the 2009–10 season, Nuzzolo proved being a key player of the team as either a left or right

and has been regarded by many as the club's best player for that season. For the 2010–11 season he was elected captain of the first team, reinforcing his position as a both a key a local figure at the start of his 10th season for the club.

Young Boys

On 16 July 2011, he was transferred to Young Boys for an undisclosed fee. After five years with Young Boys, he returned to Xamax ahead of the 2016–17 season. Despite having a year left on his contract, he reached an agreement with the club to dissolve the contract early.

Xamax and retirement

After two years in Neuchâtel, Nuzzolo achieved promotion back to the

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

. In the following season, he narrowly avoided relegation, with Xamax beating

FC Aarau FC Aarau is a Swiss professional football club based in Aarau. Founded in 1902, the club competes in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football after being relegated from the Swiss Super League. History FC Aarau was form ...

on penalties after a 4–4 aggregate score in the relegation playoff. Aarau had won the first leg in Neuchâtel 4–0, where Nuzzolo had been sent off in the 52nd minute. However, in the next season, they were unable to stave off relegation and were forced to return to the Challenge League after two years in the top tier. On 3 May 2023, he announced his retirement from football, following the end of the

2022–23 Swiss Challenge League The 2022–23 Swiss Challenge League (referred to as the Dieci Challenge League for sponsoring reasons) is the 125th season of the second tier of competitive football in Switzerland and the 20th season under its current name. Overview Ten teams ...

season. His last act at Xamax was helping the team stay in the Challenge League, as his last game was a 3–0 victory over

FC Rapperswil-Jona Fussball Club Rapperswil-Jona is a Swiss football club based in Rapperswil, Switzerland. The team currently play in Challenge League (Switzerland), Challenge League from 2025–26, the second tier of Swiss football after promotion from Promotio ...

in the relegation play-off. In his second stint at Xamax he scored 98 goals in 238 league appearances. In his 488 appearances for Xamax, he scored a total of 137 goals.

Post-retirement

On 16 June 2023, he returns to Young Boys to work in their scouting department under head scout

Stéphane Chapuisat Stéphane Chapuisat (born 28 June 1969) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is currently the sporting director of BSC Young Boys. A prolific goalscorer for both club and country (for which he appeared more than ...

Personal life

Nuzzolo was born in Switzerland and is of Italian descent.

Honours

Individual *

Top assists provider: 2018–19

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nuzzolo, Raphael 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Biel/Bienne Footballers from the canton of Bern Men's association football midfielders Swiss men's footballers Swiss people of Italian descent Swiss Super League players Swiss Challenge League players Neuchâtel Xamax FCS players BSC Young Boys players FC Biel-Bienne players 21st-century Swiss sportsmen