The U17 national team qualified for the World Cup for the second time. In 2009, they sensationally became world champions in Nigeria. But what has become of the heroes from back then?
Nassim Ben Khalifa
Nassim Ben Khalifa was arguably the greatest talent in the squad, but did not realize his full potential. Ben Khalifa played for the Grasshoppers in Zurich in 2009. Just one year after his success in Nigeria, the striker moved to VFL Wolfsburg, where he was never able to establish himself. After his departure, he set off on a journey through the world of football. He also played in Belgium, Turkey and Tunisia. He has now found his fortune in the top Japanese league, where he has been under contract with Avispa Fukuoka since 2024.
Roman Buess
The now 33-year-old stayed with Basel for three years after 2009, but only made one partial appearance in the Super League and one in the Cup. Buess never left Switzerland. Aarau, Locarno, Wohlen, Thun, St. Gallen and Lausanne were his other stops before moving to Winterthur in 2019. With FCW, he achieved promotion to the Super League in 2022, where he increasingly struggled with injuries. He has only made five appearances in the current championship. The striker has yet to score a goal. Nevertheless, he has scored in two games in the Cup.
Oliver Buff
After the World Cup, Buff stayed with FC Zurich for eight years before joining Real Zaragoza in Spain. After two years, he moved to Cyprus, where he played for Anorthosis for ten months before his transfer back to Switzerland to GC came about. After playing for the Zurich club, he tried his luck in Malaysia (Selangor FC) and Lithuania (FK Žalgiris Vilnius). The now 33-year-old ended his professional career in 2024 and has since played for his youth club FC Oetwil-Geroldswil in the 2nd regional division.
Charyl Chappuis
Charyl Chappuis came from the GC youth team and was first loaned out to Locarno and then to Lugano after the World Cup. However, he was never really able to gain a foothold in Ticino and moved to Buriram United in Thailand in 2013. Born in Kloten, he also has a Thai passport and played 20 times for the senior national team in his second home country. He has been earning his money with Bangkok FC in Thailand's second-highest league since 2024.
Incidentally, the 33-year-old is a real star in Southeast Asia. The midfielder has over 1.3 million followers on Instagram.
André Gonçalves
Another star from 2009 who never lived up to his potential. André Gonçalves came through the youth ranks at FC Zurich, but was never able to make his mark in the first team. FC Schaffhausen signed him in 2013, where he remained under contract until 2019. The 33-year-old now plays for FC Linth 04 in the 2nd Interregional League.
Sead Hajrovic
The future also looked bright for the 1.84m tall central defender. In 2009, he moved from the GC youth team to FC Arsenal in the Premier League, but was only used there in the U18 and reserve team. Sead Hajrovic returned to Switzerland in 2013 and played for Grasshoppers again for a year, before moving on to Winterthur, then Wohlen and finally Winterthur again. After further spells with Viktoria Köln, Yverdon Sport, Neuchâtel Xamax and Düdingen, he ended his active career in the summer of 2025. He now works as a coach for Fribourg in the 2nd Interregional League.
Janick Kamber
Another player who was never really able to assert himself. Neither after the World Cup at Basel nor at Lausanne, Biel or Wohlen. However, Janick Kamber did eventually become a regular at Neuchâtel Xamax in the Super League. He ended his professional career in 2021 and moved to regional football at FC Mümliswil.
Pajtim Kasami
The first on the list who has also made a name for himself beyond Switzerland's borders. The midfielder has had a career that is somewhat reminiscent of an InterRail itinerary. Even before the 2009 World Cup, Pajtim Kasami spent six months playing abroad. Back then, he was still a youth player for Liverpool FC. His later stations were: GC, Lazio, Bellinzona, Palermo, Fulham, Lucerne, Olympiakos Piraeus, Nottingham Forest, Sion, Basel and Sampdoria. Since September 2025, the now 33-year-old has been back in Switzerland with Winterthur, where he has made six appearances so far.
Kasami once scored this magnificent goal for Fulham:
Joël Kiassumbua
Joël Kiassumba was not the first choice goalkeeper at the World Cup in Nigeria and was rarely the first choice at club level either. He was never happy in the Super League, neither at Lugano nor at Servette. In the summer of 2025, the Stade Nyonnais goalkeeper moved from the Challenge League to the 1st Division Classic with SC YF Juventus. Kiassumbua made 25 international appearances for the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Bruno Martignoni
The central defender has played for numerous Challenge League clubs since 2009 (200 games for Locarno, Aarau, Servette, Chiasso) and made a total of 32 appearances in the Super League for Aarau and Lugano. He now plays for Mendrisio in the 1st Division Classic.
Igor Mijatovic
The Geneva-born player is no longer actively involved in football. His last club was Drina Zvornik from eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina until 2016. Before that, Igor Mijatovic played for Bellinzona and other clubs from Ticino for a long time.
Maik Nakic
Maik Nakic has now also ended his career. The former midfielder was never able to establish himself at FC Sion, was frequently loaned out and most recently played for FC Aigle.
Kofi Nimeley
Another player who has already hung up his boots. Kofi Nimeley came through the youth ranks at FC Basel, but never made it into the first team. He moved to FC Locarno in 2013 and ended his career at FC Black Stars.
Ricardo Rodriguez
There's probably not much to say about the 33-year-old left-back. Ricardo Rodriguez knew how to exploit his potential, first impressing at FC Zurich, then at Wolfsburg and AC Milan. After four years at Turin FC, Rodriguez moved to Betis Sevilla in 2024. He has been a regular in the national team for years and has now made 133 appearances - only Granit Xhaka has worn the national team shirt more often. He has already played in three World Cups and three European Championships and - if Switzerland qualify - is likely to be part of Murat Yakin's line-up for the USA, Mexico and Canada in 2026.
Haris Seferovic
He is another player who is now very well known. The striker, who scored the only goal in the final against Nigeria in 2009, was long regarded as an eternal talent, but was able to impress at Frankfurt and especially at Benfica. With 25 goals in 93 games for the Swiss senior national team, he was also successful at international level. He took part in three World Cups and two European Championships. He now plays for United FC in the United Arab Emirates.
Benjamin Siegrist
Benjamin Siegrist was a regular goalkeeper for the U17 national team in 2009, but never made his big breakthrough at club level. Siegrist spent almost his entire career on the island. Gained the most experience in the two top Scottish leagues (115 games in total). He has been part of Romanian club FC Rapid since 2024, but is currently on loan to Genoa in Serie A, where he is still waiting for his first appearance.
Raphael Spiegel
The third goalkeeper of the 2009 U17 national team is currently playing for the Oakland Roots in the second-highest US league. After three years with Grasshoppers, Raphael Spiegel moved to West Ham United in England in 2012. However, he was unable to establish himself in the Premier League and, after being loaned out several times, he opted for a transfer to Portugal. He returned to Switzerland in 2018 to join Winterthur and moved to Lausanne in 2022, where he was mainly a substitute goalkeeper.
Matteo Tosetti
The now 33-year-old midfielder is another U17 world champion who never left Switzerland. Matteo Tosetti has played for Locarno, Wohlen, Lugano, YB, Thun, Sion and Bellinzona, among others. He is currently playing for FC Locarno in the 2nd Interregional League.
Robin Vecchi
The right-back stopped playing football back in 2014. After Robin Vecchi was unable to establish himself at Basel, he moved to the Black Stars in 2013 before retiring completely a year later.
Frédéric Veseli
The former U17 national team captain currently plays for FC Südtirol in Italy's Serie B. Previously, Frédéric Veseli was mainly active in England. He played for Manchester City's youth team during the 2009 World Cup. He moved to Manchester United in 2012, but was transferred to Ipswich Town a year later. In 2015/2016, he played his only season in Switzerland to date in Lugano, before moving on to Italy, France, Turkey, Albania and finally back to Italy. The central defender made 44 appearances for the Albanian national team and took part in Euro 2016.
Granit Xhaka
Saving the best for last - undisputedly the most successful footballer of our 2009 World Cup heroes, the central defensive midfielder soon made the step up to the FC Basel first team after the victory in Nigeria. In 2012, he moved to the "Foals" in Gladbach and played for the Bundesliga club for four years. In 2016, he made the big move to Arsenal FC in London, where Granit Xhaka was an undisputed regular and occasionally captain.
In 2023, he moved back to the Bundesliga to Bayer Leverkusen, with whom he immediately won the first league title in the club's history. He has been under contract with Sunderland in the Premier League since the summer of 2025 and has quickly become a crowd favorite.
In the Swiss national team, too, nobody can get past the central midfielder. He always leads the team onto the pitch as captain and is the record player with 141 games (15 goals). The 33-year-old has already taken part in three World Cups and three European Championships and will almost certainly also be involved in the 2026 World Cup.
