Johan Vonlanthen facts for kids
Vonlanthen playing for Switzerland in 2006
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1 February 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Santa Marta, Colombia | ||
| Height | 1.75 m | ||
| Playing position | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998–1999 | FC Flamatt | ||
| 1999–2001 | Young Boys | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2001–2003 | Young Boys | 18 | (2) |
| 2003–2006 | PSV | 29 | (5) |
| 2005 | → Brescia (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | → NAC Breda (loan) | 32 | (6) |
| 2006–2011 | Red Bull Salzburg | 85 | (11) |
| 2009–2010 | → Zürich (loan) | 27 | (10) |
| 2011–2012 | Itagüí | 5 | (0) |
| 2012 | Wohlen | 0 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Grasshoppers | 5 | (0) |
| 2014 | → Schaffhausen (loan) | 17 | (2) |
| 2014–2016 | Servette | 32 | (10) |
| 2016–2018 | Wil | 66 | (11) |
| Total | 325 | (57) | |
| National team | |||
| 2001 | Switzerland U-15 | 4 | (1) |
| 2004 | Switzerland U-21 | 3 | (1) |
| 2004–2010 | Switzerland | 40 | (7) |
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Johan Vonlanthen Benavídez (born February 1, 1986) is a former professional footballer. He played as a winger, which means he was a player who focused on attacking from the sides of the field. Even though he was born in Colombia, he chose to play for Switzerland. He could do this because his stepfather was Swiss.
Johan started his professional career very young. He made his debut in the Swiss Super League for BSC Young Boys when he was only 16 years old. In 2003, he moved to the Dutch club PSV. He first announced he was stopping his football career in May 2012. However, he came back to play in May 2013 and joined Grasshoppers. He finally retired from football in August 2018 after playing for FC Wil for two years.
Contents
Johan Vonlanthen: Football Career
Early Days and First Steps
Johan Vonlanthen began playing football as a junior for BSC Young Boys in Switzerland. He was very talented and made his first appearance in the top Swiss league, the Swiss Super League, during the 2001–02 season. He was only 16 years old at the time.
In the summer of 2003, Johan moved to the Netherlands to play for PSV Eindhoven in the Eredivisie league. He quickly made a good impression and helped PSV get into the UEFA Champions League, which is a very important European club competition. After a strong first season, his performance dipped a bit. Because of this, he was loaned out to Brescia Calcio in Italy for six months in 2005. Later, he was loaned again to NAC Breda for the 2005–06 season.
Playing for Big Clubs
At the start of the 2006–07 season, Vonlanthen moved to Red Bull Salzburg in Austria. He played there for several years.
In July 2009, he was loaned to FC Zürich for one season. After his loan ended, he returned to Red Bull Salzburg for the 2010–11 season.
A Break and a Return
In August 2011, Vonlanthen moved to Itagüí, a club in Colombia's top league.
On May 30, 2012, Johan Vonlanthen surprised many by announcing his retirement from football at the age of 26. He said he didn't want to have another knee operation.
However, he couldn't stay away from the game for long! On June 13, 2013, he decided to come out of retirement. He joined Grasshoppers and signed a one-year contract.
Later, on December 27, 2013, he was loaned to Schaffhausen, a team in the Swiss second division. This was because he wasn't getting much playing time at Grasshoppers. He played for Servette and then FC Wil before finally retiring in August 2018.
International Games for Switzerland
Johan Vonlanthen's stepfather was Swiss, which allowed Johan to play for the Swiss national team.
He made his first appearance for the senior Switzerland national team on June 6, 2004, against Liechtenstein. He came on as a substitute late in the game, and Switzerland won 1–0.
At the UEFA Euro 2004 tournament, Vonlanthen became one of the youngest players ever to play in the competition. He came on as a substitute against England. On June 21, 2004, he made history by becoming the youngest goal scorer ever in the European Championships. He scored a goal against France, breaking a record that Wayne Rooney had set just four days earlier. Johan was 18 years and 141 days old when he scored. His record was later broken by Lamine Yamal in 2024.
Scoring for His Country
Here are the goals Johan Vonlanthen scored for the Switzerland national team:
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 June 2004 | Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal |  France |
1–1 | 1-3 | UEFA Euro 2004 |
| 2 | 4 September 2004 | St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland |  Faroe Islands |
1–0 | 6–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 2–0 | |||||
| 4 | 6–0 | |||||
| 5 | 9 October 2004 | Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel |  Israel |
2–1 | 2–2 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 30 May 2008 | Kybunpark, St. Gallen, Switzerland |  Liechtenstein |
3–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 7 | 20 August 2008 | Stade de Genève, Lancy, Switzerland |  Cyprus |
4–1 | 4–1 | Friendly |
Vonlanthen kept a regular spot in the national team after the European Championships in Portugal. He also played often for the Switzerland under-21 team. He was part of the squad that almost made it to the 2009 European Championships, but they lost to Spain.
He was chosen to play for Switzerland in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but he couldn't go because of a leg injury. He was also called up for UEFA Euro 2008.
Life Off the Field
Johan Vonlanthen is a follower of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. This is a Christian religion with strict beliefs.
See also
In Spanish: Johan Vonlanthen para niños
