Six. Since Tuesday evening and the qualification of Gregor Kobel’s Borussia Dormund against PSG, this is the number of Swiss players having reached the final of the Champions League. Among them, only three had the opportunity and the chance to actually compete.
He is the last Swiss to have participated in a Champions League final. It was in 2023. The Citizens won 1-0 against Inter Milan, thus completing a historic treble for the Mancunian club, winner of the Premier League, the FA Cup and the C1.
A true Swiss army knife of Pep Guardiola, capable of playing in all positions of defense, but also in midfield as number 6, the native of Neftenbach was one of the players most used by the Spanish tactician with 11 matches played out of the 13 played in the Champions League by Manchester City.
The former captain of the Nati experienced a sadder outcome in 2015 with the Old Lady, beaten 3-1 by FC Barcelona. Starting on the right flank of the Turin defense, Stephan Lichtsteiner did not have an easy task. Barça’s attack that year was made up of the MSN (Messi, Neymar, Suarez).
The player trained at Grasshopper remains one of the great architects of Juventus’ European campaign, playing in all the matches played by his club.
Another Stéphane, French-speaking this time. The Lausanne native won the Champions League in 1997 with Borussia Dortmund against Juventus led by Zinédine Zidane.
Starting at kick-off, Chapuisat, author of three goals and four assists in C1 that season, was replaced in the 70th minute by Lars Ricken, who scored the 3-1 goal straight away. A winning change, since the Ruhr club won the final by the same score.
Just like Manuel Akanji and Stéphane Chapuisat, certain Swiss players can boast of having won a Champions League (or several), without having played in the final.
The most successful is Xherdan Shaqiri, winner twice. The first time in 2013 with Bayern Munich and the second with Liverpool in 2019. Ciriaco Sforza also won it with the Bavarian club, but in 2001. The most unfortunate Swiss to have participated in a C1 final is Philippe Senderos, loser without playing in 2006 with Arsenal.
What fate will Gregor Kobel face on June 1st? One thing is certain: he should be lined up from the kick-off in the Borussia Dortmund goals and would thus become the fourth Swiss player to play in a Champions League final.
