Steven Zuber (born 17 August 1991) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a winger for Greek Super League club AEK Athens and the Switzerland national team. He has also been a youth international for Switzerland.

Steven Zuber
Personal information
Full name Steven Zuber[1]
Date of birth (1991-08-17) 17 August 1991 (age 33)[1]
Place of birth Winterthur, Switzerland
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Winger, Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
AEK Athens
Number 10
Youth career
1997–1998 FC Wülflingen/Wiesendangen
1998–2001 FC Kollbrunn-Rikon
2001–2002 FC Turbenthal
2002–2006 Winterthur
2006–2008 Grasshopper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2013 Grasshopper 127 (23)
2013–2014 CSKA Moscow 29 (1)
2014–2020 TSG Hoffenheim 96 (9)
2015–2016TSG Hoffenheim II 3 (6)
2019VfB Stuttgart (loan) 14 (5)
2020–2022 Eintracht Frankfurt 20 (0)
2021–2022AEK Athens (loan) 35 (8)
2022– AEK Athens 62 (16)
International career
2007–2008 Switzerland U17 9 (1)
2008–2009 Switzerland U19 9 (3)
2010–2012 Switzerland U21 18 (5)
2012 Switzerland Olympic 4 (0)
2017– Switzerland 56 (11)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:00, 22 September 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 6 July 2024

Early life

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Steven Zuber was born on 17 August 1991 in Winterthur, Zürich, Switzerland to Walter and Susanne Zuber. He has five siblings: Melanie, Kevin, Severin, David, and Marvin.[3] On 27 May 2015, he married his long-time girlfriend, Mirjana Vasović.[4]

Club career

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Grasshopper

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Zuber made his first-team debut for Grasshopper on 12 July 2008 in the Intertoto Cup second round, second leg match against KS Besa, where he came on as an 83rd-minute substitute. On 3 August, he made his first Swiss Super League appearance in a 1–1 draw with Vaduz.

CSKA Moscow

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On 5 July 2013, Zuber signed a five-year contract with Russian Premier League champions CSKA Moscow.[5] He made his debut on 13 July against Zenit St. Petersburg in the 2013 Russian Super Cup, which CSKA won 3–0.[6] He made his league debut four days later against Ural.[7]

Hoffenheim

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On 14 August 2014, Zuber moved to 1899 Hoffenheim[8] on a four-year deal.[9] On 25 January 2017, he extended his contract until 2020.[10]

VfB Stuttgart

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On 9 January 2019, Zuber was loaned out to VfB Stuttgart until the end of the season.[11]

Eintracht Frankfurt

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On 4 August 2020, Zuber joined Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt, with Mijat Gaćinović going the other way as part of a swap deal.[12] He signed a 3-year contract.

AEK Athens

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On 30 August 2021 he signed a long-season contract with Superleague Greece club AEK Athens on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt.[13] After 130 appearances in the German Bundesliga, Zuber moves to a new league after he has already played football in his home country and Russia. For the left midfielder, the Greek capital club will be the sixth in his professional career.[14]

The deal between the two clubs includes a buy-out option in the region of €2,000,000, while Zuber will sign a three-year contract, should AEK choose to exercise it.[15]

On 6 May 2022, AEK activated the buy-out clause of the Swiss player and along with that, the three-year contract was signed. Zuber was a key figure in helping AEK win the Greek Superleague title scoring 8 goals in 28 matches.

International career

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A member of the 2007–08 Switzerland U-17 squad, he was named as a reserve for the UEFA U-17 Championship held in May 2008. Zuber was a member of the Switzerland national team that participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[3] On 17 March 2017, he was called into camp for the Switzerland team.[16]

He was included in the national team's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[17] He started the first 2 group games against Brazil and Serbia, scoring the tying goal in a 1–1 draw with Brazil in their first group match. He started their round of 16 match against Sweden as they lost 1-0 and fell out of the tournament.

In May 2019, he played in 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals, where his team finished 4th.[18]

Zuber was included in Switzerland's UEFA Euro 2020 squad.[19] He played an important role in Switzerland's victory over France in the round of 16, providing an assist and winning a penalty. He also finished the tournament as the assist leader with 4.[20]

He missed the 2022 FIFA World Cup due to injury.[21] Despite returning to full fitness, he played just one international game throughout 2023, coming on in the final 30 minutes against Andorra on 16 June 2023.

He was selected for Switzerland's 38-man preliminary squad for the UEFA Euro 2024.[22] During the preparation for the main tournament, he scored the opening goal from long distance in a friendly win against Estonia.[23]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 19 May 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Grasshopper 2008–09 Swiss Super League 10 0 1 0 5 1 16 1
2009–10 20 5 0 0 20 5
2010–11 34 4 3 6 2[b] 0 39 10
2011–12 31 8 4 2 35 10
2012–13 32 6 4 1 36 7
Total 127 23 12 9 7 1 146 33
CSKA Moscow 2013–14 Russian Premier League 27 1 3 0 6[c] 0 1[d] 0 37 1
2014–15 2 0 1[d] 0 3 0
Total 29 1 3 0 6 0 2 0 40 1
TSG Hoffenheim 2014–15 Bundesliga 17 0 4 0 21 0
2015–16 12 2 0 0 12 2
2016–17 24 4 2 0 26 4
2017–18 20 1 1 0 6[e] 0 27 1
2018–19 8 0 1 0 3[c] 1 12 1
2019–20 14 2 2 0 16 2
Total 95 9 10 0 9 1 114 10
VfB Stuttgart (loan) 2018–19 Bundesliga 15 5 15 5
Eintracht Frankfurt 2020–21 Bundesliga 20 0 2 0 22 0
2021–22 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
Total 20 0 3 0 0 0 23 0
AEK Athens (loan) 2021–22 Super League Greece 35 8 3 0 38 8
AEK Athens 2022–23 Super League Greece 28 8 6 0 34 8
2023–24 31 7 2 0 9[f] 1 42 8
Total 94 23 11 0 9 1 114 24
Career total 380 61 39 9 31 3 2 0 452 73
  1. ^ Includes Swiss Cup, Russian Cup, DFB-Pokal, Greek Cup
  2. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. ^ a b Appearance in Russian Super Cup
  5. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. ^ Four appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

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As of match played 6 July 2024[24]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Switzerland 2017 8 2
2018 13 3
2019 4 1
2020 7 0
2021 14 4
2022 5 0
2023 1 0
2024 4 1
Total 56 11
Scores and results list Switzerland's goal tally first.[25]
List of international goals scored by Steven Zuber
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 7 October 2017 St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland   Hungary 3–0 5–2 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 4–0
3 27 March 2018 Swissporarena, Lucerne, Switzerland   Panama 4–0 6–0 Friendly
4 17 June 2018 Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don, Russia   Brazil 1–1 1–1 2018 FIFA World Cup
5 8 September 2018 Kybunpark, St. Gallen, Switzerland   Iceland 1–0 6–0 2018–19 UEFA Nations League A
6 23 March 2019 Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi, Georgia   Georgia 1–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
7 25 March 2021 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   Bulgaria 3–0 3–1 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
8 30 May 2021 Kybunpark, St. Gallen, Switzerland   United States 2–1 2–1 Friendly
9 1 September 2021 St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland   Greece 1–0 2–1 Friendly
10 9 October 2021 Stade de Genève, Lancy, Switzerland   Northern Ireland 1–0 2–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
11 4 June 2024 Swissporarena, Lucerne, Switzerland   Estonia 1–0 4–0 Friendly

Honours

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Grasshopper

CSKA Moscow

AEK Athens

Individual

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References

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  1. ^ a b "FIFA World Cup Russia 2018: List of Players: Switzerland" (PDF). FIFA. 15 July 2018. p. 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Steven Zuber - Athens". Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Steven Zuber". Steven Zuber. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  4. ^ "Miss-Kandidatin Marjanas Traumhochzeit mit Kicker Steven Zuber". Schweizer Illustrierte.
  5. ^ "Zuber joins PFC CSKA". pfc-cska.com/en/. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  6. ^ "CSKA Moskva vs. Zenit 3 – 0". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  7. ^ "Ural vs. CSKA Moskva". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  8. ^ "Steven Zuber left PFC CSKA for Hoffenheim". en.pfc-cska.com. PFC CSKA Moscow. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  9. ^ "Transfer news: Hoffenheim sign winger Steven Zuber from CSKA Moscow on a four-year deal". skysports.com. Sky Sports. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Steven Zuber extends contract until 2020". achtzehn99.de. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Steven Zuber joins VfB on loan". vfb.de. VfB Stuttgart. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  12. ^ "Mijat Gacinovic and Steven Zuber swap clubs". BuLi News. 4 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  13. ^ "Steven Zuber signed for AEK FC!". aekfc.gr. Online. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Leihe mit Kaufoption: Zuber verlässt Eintracht Frankfurt in Richtung AEK Athen". www.fussballeck.com. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  15. ^ "ΑΕΚ: Στην τελική ευθεία του Ζούμπερ, αυτοί είναι οι όροι του deal με παίκτη και Άιντραχτ" (in Greek). www.sport24.gr. 27 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Nationalmannschaft - Nati in Lausanne angekommen – Zuber voller Elan" [National team arrived in Lausanne – Zuber full of energy]. srf.ch (in German). Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen. 20 March 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  17. ^ "Switzerland opts for experience in World Cup squad". washingtonpost.com.
  18. ^ "Pickford the hero in England shootout win". BBC Sport.
  19. ^ iacovazzo.giorgio. "Mit 29 Spielern Richtung UEFA EURO". football.ch (in German). Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  20. ^ "France vs. Switzerland - Football Match Report - June 28, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  21. ^ "Murat Yakin gibt Schweizer WM-Aufgebot bekannt" [Murat Yakin announces Swiss World Cup squad] (in German). Swiss Football Association. 9 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  22. ^ "Männer-Nationalteam: Erste Phase der EM-Vorbereitung mit 21 Spielern" [Men's national team: First phase of European Championship preparations with 21 players] (in German). Swiss Football Association. 17 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  23. ^ "Zuber mit Bewerbungsschreiben an Yakin" (in German). SRF. 4 June 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  24. ^ "Steven Zuber". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  25. ^ "Zuber, Steven". National Football Teams. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  26. ^ "EURO 2020 top assists table". www.besoccer.com. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
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  • Profile at the AEK Athens F.C. website