2025 was her year: Sydney Schertenleib won the double with Barcelona and played in the home European Championships with the national team. Even on the bench, she was in tears with pride.
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- Sydney Schertenleib experienced the home European Championships with the Swiss national team as an emotional highlight, characterized by great team cohesion, enthusiastic fans and personal moments that left a lasting impression on her.
- Despite a difficult start to the tournament on the substitutes' bench, she fought her way into the starting eleven, showed great motivation and became an important team pillar on the way to the quarter-finals.
- 2025 was also a successful year for Schertenleib at club level, with a double at FC Barcelona, international recognition and the clear goal of winning the Champions League in the future.
Sydney Schertenleib is no exception. When the footballer travels to the stadium on the bus with her colleagues, she puts on her headphones and immerses herself in her own world. She is then completely focused on herself, on the game, building up her concentration. But this summer, when she was on the bus taking the Swiss footballers to Basel's St. Jakob-Park for the opening game of the home European Championships against Norway, she could no longer escape her surroundings. "Actually, I really only listen to music in those moments, but when I looked out there, I realized how much it all meant to us and to the people. That was rad."
It was particularly "rad" for Schertenleib when the Swiss beat the tenacious Icelanders to reach the quarter-finals. "I ran to my family and they all hugged me tightly - a real group hug," she says. "That was a very emotional moment."
"We had a fantastic time together"
And when she saw videos from the summer at the last national team reunion, of the games and cheering fans, Schertenleib was just as overwhelmed. "It brought tears to my eyes. It was so beautiful. That will shape me and all of us forever."
The tournament didn't start quite as she had hoped. Coach Pia Sundhage initially sat Schertenleib on the bench. However, that didn't change her desire to give her all. "I still cried with pride on the bench. And I was all the more motivated to give my all for my country." She had already received numerous messages before the game.
From the second game onwards, she was always in the starting eleven. Whether she played or not, the team spirit was outstanding, says Schertenleib. "We had a fantastic time together." She has, of course, kept the bibs from the tournament. However, she will only hang them up after her career - with other, perhaps even more significant events.
"Lia then brings me back down..."
For Schertenleib herself, the year 2025 was crowned with success anyway. The former GC and FCZ midfielder won the Spanish double with FC Barcelona in the summer. At the end of 2024, she was also nominated for the Golden Girl Award, which recognizes the greatest talent under 21. A great honor for the Zurich native.
And anyway, Barcelona! Schertenleib's career really took off in the south. "The people are super nice, they gave me a great welcome." She loves playing with the ball, as the Blaugrana do. "I like having the ball at my feet. I'm certainly someone who is creative." But she shouldn't overdo it. "I already have my 5 to 10 minutes a day when I'm crazy," she says and laughs. She doesn't like to pass the ball then, but dribbles like there's no tomorrow. "But Lia (Wälti, captain, editor's note) brings me back down."
Her Spanish colleagues also raved about the European Championships. "They also loved Switzerland."
Her goals? To be in the starting eleven in even more crucial games - and: "To win the Champions League!"
