Xherdan Shaqiri
Shaq grew up in a poor family in Augst BL – in an old house with no heating. When he was 16, he wanted to take part in a junior tournament in Spain with his two brothers. But it was too expensive for his family. Shaq spent weeks mowing the neighbors’ lawn and thus financed the trip. Two years later he flew with the national team to the World Cup in South Africa.
Ricardo Rodriguez
As part of his trial apprenticeship, he once spent a day as a caretaker in the Neudorf ice rink in Oerlikon. The result: Driven into a door with a forklift. Door demolished. Fortunately, he became a footballer and not a caretaker.
Edimilson Fernandes
Edi belongs to a large family with roots in Cape Verde. And it seems like everyone plays football professionally. His cousins are Gelson Fernandes, Manuel Fernandes (Portuguese international) and Cabral (former Swiss U21 national team), and he is also related to Elton Monteiro and Ulisses Garcia. Edi came to the junior division of Sion through Gelson’s father, who is the groundskeeper at FC Sion.
Ruben Vargas
His mother Fabienne della Giacoma (Swiss-Italian dual citizen) was a European trampoline participant at a young age. His father is a golf instructor. Ruben is a trained painter.
Eray Cömert
His family changed their surname in August 2018. The name Cümart, which was used until then, was due to an error when the grandparents entered Switzerland from Turkey. The error could only be corrected to the original “Cömert” thanks to the evidence of relevant documents.
Remo Freuler
It used to be called “mini” because of its height, it was always the youngest and smallest. Once I had to choose between tennis and football. Made the right decision.
Christian Fassnacht
As a 15-year-old junior at the FCZ, because it was found to be too light with its 155 centimeters. He has been in the opener of the SRF programs Sportflash, Super League Goool and Sportpanorama with a side pull since 2014, when Fassnacht was still an amateur at FC Thalwil.
Loris Benito
A language genius. Loris graduated from high school and speaks fluent German, Italian, French, English, Spanish and Portuguese. However, he became internationally famous when he ran after a marten during a game on the field and was bitten in 2013.
Steven Zuber
Grew up in a farmhouse in the Töss Valley with five siblings. His brother Kevin, who was a year older than him, was on his way to becoming a professional footballer until he was diagnosed with a heart defect after a collapse in a GC U18 game.
Denis Zakaria
His father comes from the Congo, his mother from Sudan. His full name like a poem: Denis Lemi Zakaria Lako Lado.
Djibril Sow
He is the cousin of Nati player Coumba Sow and was a schoolmate of Nico Elvedi.
Nico Elvedi
Father Adrian was once his trainer at the FCZ Academy and still works there. However, Nico’s role model was Sergio Ramos.
Breel Embolo
The explosive striker was 18 months old when he came to Switzerland from Cameroon with his mother and brother. Was not allowed to play for Switzerland between the U16 and U20 because he didn’t have a passport.
Manuel Akanji
Genius in mental arithmetic. Before moving to FC Winterthur, he also trained in athletics and tennis, only then was used as a wing.
Fabian Schär
At the age of 16, Fabian Schär, who no one believed could make the leap to a professional footballer, applied to various banks. He is hired at Raiffeisen in Wil SG and receives an apprenticeship wage of CHF 730 in the first year. He stays there for 5 years. Even when he was playing at FC Wil, he still worked 30 percent on the side.
Haris Seferovic
Our striker is “addicted” to chocolate. He often hides them from himself in the closet.
Granite Xhaka
The captain is Ricardo Rodriguez’s best friend. They have known each other since U15 times and always share the room.
Yvon Mvogo
Originally a basketball player, as a footballer he only played as a striker.
Becir Omeragic
Was once Bayern Munich a rejection and pulled the FCZ.