With Benjamin Mendy, FCZ has brought in a world champion. The Frenchman thus joins an exclusive circle - only seven players have previously honored Switzerland with a World Cup trophy.
Zurich is strengthening its squad with a world champion. Benjamin Mendy, who won the 2018 World Cup with France, has signed a contract with FCZ until 2026. The French defender is the eighth world champion to play in Switzerland. His seven predecessors are.
Günter Netzer
The German was the playmaker, strategist, "blonde angel with big feet", "rebel on the ball" and lover of women and cars. Netzer worked his magic for ten seasons at Borussia Mönchengladbach and three years at Real Madrid. Netzer was also European champion in 1972 and world champion in 1974.
In 1976, at the age of 32, Netzer moved directly from the Whites to GC. He ended his career after one season. He has lived in Switzerland ever since. For a long time, Netzer accompanied the national team on SRF together with Beni Thurnheer. Now he has a lot to do with singer Baschi - who is in a relationship with his daughter Alena.
Gennaro Gattuso
In the summer of 2012, Sion boss Christian Constantin realized a veritable transfer coup - Gennaro Gattuso signed for two years. The 2006 world champion had previously played for AC Milan for 13 years (since 1999). The strong midfielder won the Champions League with the Rossoneri in 2003 and 2007.
The 73-time international was allowed to wear the captain's armband in Valais and was promoted to player-coach in the meantime - his sporting career (after 32 appearances for Sion) came to an end following an Achilles tendon rupture. However, the Calabrian was soon dismissed by CC. Later, the now 47-year-old coached Milan, Napoli, Valencia and Marseille, among others. The cult footballer is currently on the sidelines at Hajduk Split.
Christian Karembeu
Karembeu began his international career at Nantes in 1989, which took him to Real Madrid, Sampdoria Genoa, Middlesbrough and most recently Olympiakos Piraeus. The defensive player, who won the World Cup with France in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000, joined Servette in the summer of 2004. The star footballer had close personal and business ties with the then president Marc Roger.
His involvement in Switzerland ended with the bankruptcy of Geneva. The Servette captain moved on after twelve games for the Grenats. No wonder, as Karembeu had previously only received two of his five monthly salaries.
Marco Tardelli
Marco Tardelli is remembered by many football fans. In 1982, the defensive player scored the decisive 2:0 goal against Germany in the World Cup final - and then went on an unforgettable celebration.
Tardelli played for Juve for a long time (1975-85) before moving to rivals Inter (1985-87). He then moved to St. Gallen in 1988. The 81-time international played 31 games for the eastern Swiss club before calling time on his career.
Giancarlo Antognoni
The Fiorentina legend ended his career in Lausanne. Antognoni, who won the 1982 World Cup with Italy, was under contract with the Vaud club from 1987 to 1989. Many Viola fans wanted to continue supporting their record-breaking player, so Fiorentina fans turned up in droves at Lausanne matches.
The midfielder scored 7 goals in 51 games for Lausanne. Towards the end, however, Antognoni was merely a substitute. His farewell match in Florence was attended by 28,000 enthusiastic fans.
Gian-Luca Zambrotta
"Zambro" came to Switzerland as the fourth Italian world champion - with an impressive palmarès. He became world champion with Italy in Germany in 2006 and was part of the squad that reached the European Championship final in 2000. At the 2004 European Championship and the 2006 World Cup, he was voted into the tournament's all-star team. During his long career, he won the "Scudetto" three times with Juventus Turin and Milan and was under contract at FC Barcelona from 2006 to 2008.
The 98-time international moved to Chiasso in the Challenge League in the summer of 2013, where the full-back was also appointed assistant coach. In the course of the season (end of November), he became player-coach. However, the 36-year-old was rarely on the pitch (5 appearances). However, Zambrotta had little success as a coach. He was dismissed in spring 2015.
Nestor Clausen
The Argentinian joined Sion from Indepentiente Buenos Aires in 1989. The defender, who celebrated the 1986 World Cup title alongside Diego Maradona, was soon no longer a burden on the Valais side's foreign contingent - thanks to his ancestors in the village of Ernen (Upper Valais).
In his five years with FC Sion, Clausen won the cup (1991) and the championship (1992). Clausen worked as a coach for various clubs in South America and Arabia. The dual national has also coached in Switzerland: in the 2006/2007 season, he coached FC Sion to third place as a promoted team. In the 2008/2009 season, he was on the sidelines at Neuchâtel Xamax.
