Yann Sommer facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Yann Sommer

Sommer playing for Inter Milan in 2023
Personal information
Date of birth	(1988-12-17) 17 December 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth	Morges, Switzerland
Height	1.83 m
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Inter Milan
Number	1
Youth career
1996–1997	FC Herrliberg
1997–2003	Concordia
2003–2005	FC Basel
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2005–2007	FC Basel U21	42	(0)
2007–2014	FC Basel	113	(0)
2007–2009	→ FC Vaduz (loan)	50	(0)
2009–2010	→ Grasshoppers (loan)	33	(0)
2014–2023	Borussia Mönchengladbach	272	(0)
2023	Bayern Munich	19	(0)
2023–	Inter Milan	46	(0)
National team
2003–2004	Switzerland U16	10	(0)
2003–2005	Switzerland U17	10	(0)
2005–2007	Switzerland U19	18	(0)
2007–2011	Switzerland U21	31	(0)
2012–2024	Switzerland	94	(0)
Honours Men's football Representing  Switzerland UEFA European Under-21 Championship Runner-up 2011 Denmark
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:36, 10 November 2024 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

Yann Sommer (born 17 December 1988) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Inter Milan.

Sommer completed his apprenticeship at Basel, where he won the Swiss Super League on four consecutive occasions, before transferring to Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2014, where he remained for nine years. He also won the Swiss Challenge League and two Liechtenstein Football Cups while on loan to Vaduz.

Sommer made his debut for the Switzerland national team in 2012. He represented the nation at the FIFA World Cup in 2014, 2018 and 2022, and the UEFA European Championship in 2016, 2020 and 2024 before retiring in August 2024.

Club career

Basel

Born in Morges, Vaud, Sommer played as a child in the youth teams of Herrliberg and later of Concordia Basel. He moved to the Basel youth setup in 2003. He signed his first professional contract with Basel in 2005. He became the first-choice goalkeeper in the under-21 squad almost immediately, fending off contenders like Jayson Leutwiler and Orkan Avci, and was third-choice for the senior squad behind Franco Costanzo and Louis Crayton.

During the summer of 2007, Sommer signed a new contract lasting until 2011, and was loaned out to Liechtensteiner club Vaduz to gain first-team experience in an environment somewhat more competitive than the reserves in the Swiss 1. Liga. He was made the first-choice goalkeeper and played 33 matches over the course of the 2007–08 Swiss Challenge League season, playing a major part in Vaduz's promotion to the Swiss Super League. His loan deal was then extended to last until January 2009. He made his Super League debut for Vaduz on 20 July 2008 in the 2–1 away win against Luzern. Sommer was recalled to Basel on 7 January 2009 because the club's first-choice goalkeeper, Franco Costanzo, was injured.

Sommer made his Super League debut for Basel in a 3–2 defeat to Young Boys at the Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf, on 7 February 2009. He played six matches for Basel up until the end of the season. On 16 June, he joined Grasshoppers on a one-season-long loan. During his season there, he played 33 league matches.

On 14 June 2010, Sommer signed a five-year contract with Basel. He served as second-choice goalkeeper behind Franco Costanzo. In March 2011, Basel announced it would not offer Costanzo a contract extension, therefore making Sommer the club's first-choice goalkeeper. Sommer played five Super League matches during the 2010–11 season and so was part of the championship-winning team.

Sommer in a Europa League match against Salzburg in March 2014

Sommer made his UEFA Champions League debut on 14 September 2011 in the 2–1 home win against Oțelul Galați. He was first-choice goalkeeper in the 2011–12 season, after the end of which he won the double of the league and Swiss Cup.

At the end of the 2012–13 season, Sommer won the league title for the third consecutive time, having played in all 36 league matches. Basel also finished as runners-up in the Swiss Cup. In the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, Basel advanced to the semi-finals, where they were matched against reigning Champions League holders Chelsea. Basel was eliminated 2–5 on aggregate.

At the end of the 2013–14 season, Sommer won the league championship with Basel. They also reached the final of the 2013–14 Swiss Cup, but were beaten 2–0 by Zürich after extra time. In the 2013–14 Champions League, Basel finished the group stage in third position to qualify for Europa League knockout phase, where they advanced as far as the quarter-finals. In their 2013–14 season, Basel played a total of 68 matches: 36 Swiss League fixtures, six Swiss Cup, six Champions League, ten Europa League and ten test matches. Sommer totaled 58 appearances: 35 League, two Cup, six Champions League and six Europa League, as well five in the test games.

However, Sommer managed to keep 65 clean sheets in 170 appearances in all competitions with Basel.

Borussia Mönchengladbach

Sommer with Gladbach in 2015

On 10 March 2014, Sommer signed a five-year contract with Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach, effective from 1 July. He was signed to replace Marc-André ter Stegen, who had joined Barcelona. In Sommer's first season at Mönchengladbach, 2014–15, Gladbach finished in third place in the Bundesliga, club's highest league finish since 1978. The club also managed to beat its record of consecutive matches without defeat, exceeding the record of 17 matches it had set during the 1970–71 season.

Sommer's debut came against Homburg in the DFB-Pokal, where Gladbach won 3–1. Sommer played against VfB Stuttgart on the opening day in a 1–1 draw. He was famously lobbed from long range by teammate Christoph Kramer against Borussia Dortmund in a 1–0 defeat, but Gladbach went on to secure qualification for the UEFA Champions League with one match remaining. At the season's conclusion, Sommer was named Gladbach's player of the season.

The 2015–16 season began poorly: Gladbach lost its opening match 4–0 to Borussia Dortmund, with Sommer being blamed for the first goal. The club was reported to be in large trouble, and before its first Champions League match of the season, the club's players held crisis talks to discuss their problems. After losing 3–0 to Sevilla, Sommer was heavily criticized for his play. After a fifth-straight Bundesliga defeat, against rivals 1. FC Köln, coach Lucien Favre resigned. In contrast to the previous year, it was the worst start to a season Gladbach had ever suffered.

Under new interim boss André Schubert, the club's dramatically improved with four wins from four matches, resulting in Schubert's permanent appointment. Sommer was forced to sit out against VfL Wolfsburg due to a broken nose, having injured it against Manchester City in the Champions League. He was replaced for the Wolfsburg match by Tobias Sippel. Sommer eventually played in all of the remaining Bundesliga matches, with his performances leading to interest from Manchester City.

However, Borussia Mönchengladbach finished fourth in the 2015–16 season, and qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, in which they finished third in their group which had Barcelona, Manchester City and Celtic, then reached the Europa League round of 16, before being knocked out by Schalke 04 on the away goal rule after a 3–3 draw on aggregate.

In November 2019, Sommer extended his contract until 2023. In the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, Borussia Mönchengladbach reached the round of 16, where they lost against Manchester City. On 27 August 2022, Sommer made 19 saves in a 1–1 away draw against Bayern Munich, to be a Bundesliga record.

Bayern Munich

In December 2022, Bayern's longtime keeper Manuel Neuer suffered a lower leg fracture during a ski trip and was out until the end of the season, necessitating the signing of a replacement. On 19 January 2023, Sommer left Gladbach, having spent eight and a half years playing for Die Fohlen, and joined Bayern Munich on a contract until July 2025. He was sold for 8 million Euros. On 20 January, he made his debut for Bayern in a 1–1 away draw against RB Leipzig.

Inter Milan

On 7 August 2023, Sommer joined Italian club Inter Milan, signing a contract until 2026. He was sold to Inter for 6.75 million Euros. Sommer won his first Derby della Madonnina against AC Milan, as Inter thrashed their rivals 5–1. Sommer was the starting goalkeeper for Inter Milan the entire season, as the team won the Italian League title for a landmark 20th time in their history. He finished the season as the goalkeeper with the most clean sheets and in the league's team of the season.

International career

Youth

Sommer has represented Switzerland at various age levels, including at under-16, -17, -19 and -21 levels. He made his Swiss U-16s debut on 26 August 2003, but the match ended in a 0–5 defeat against Germany. His U-17s debut was on 20 November 2003 in the 1–1 draw against England.

Sommer made his professional debut for the Swiss under-21s on 22 August 2007, as he was substituted in at half-time during the 2–1 away win against Belgium. He was goalkeeper and captain of the Swiss U-21 team which competed in the final tournament of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, hosted by Denmark between 11 and 25 June 2011. The Swiss team reached the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final on 25 June without conceding a goal, but lost 2–0 to Spain. This was Sommer's final match for the under-21s.

Senior

Sommer playing for Switzerland in November 2015

Sommer made his debut for the Switzerland senior side on 30 May 2012 at the Swissporarena, Lucerne, in a 0–1 defeat against Romania in a friendly match. On 13 May, he was named in Switzerland's 23-man squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where he served as back-up goalkeeper to Diego Benaglio.

Alongside Bundesliga colleagues Roman Bürki and Marwin Hitz, Sommer was one of three goalkeepers included in Switzerland's UEFA Euro 2016 squad. Sommer was Switzerland's first-choice goalkeeper, playing all four of the nation's matches. Sommer was unable to prevent Switzerland being eliminated by Poland in the round of 16, losing 5–4 on penalties, after a 1–1 draw.

He was included in the Switzerland's 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup and made his World Cup debut in the team's 1–1 draw with Brazil in the opening match of Group E.

In May 2019, he played in 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals, where his team finished fourth.

Sommer was included in the 26-man Swiss squad for the postponed UEFA Euro 2020. On 28 June 2021, Sommer saved a penalty from Kylian Mbappé during the penalty shoot-out, in which Switzerland won 5–4 against France in the round of 16, after a 3–3 draw. On 2 July 2021, he made eight saves in extra time alone against Spain in the Euro 2020 quarter-finals; however, Switzerland lost 1–3 on penalties, after a 1–1 draw.

In 2022, Sommer was chosen to be a member of the Swiss squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He was named Man of the Match in his team's opening group game against Cameroon, which his team won 1–0.

In June 2024, Sommer was selected in the Switzerland squad for UEFA Euro 2024. He was the starting goalkeeper in all his country's matches, helping them reach the quarter-finals.

Later that year, on 19 August, he announced his retirement from the national team.

Personal life

Sommer married Alina in August 2019, whom he began dating in 2016. Their daughter, Mila, was born on 4 November 2019.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

FC Vaduz

• Swiss Challenge League: 2007–08
• Liechtenstein Cup: 2007–08

FC Basel

• Swiss Super League: 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14
• Swiss Cup: 2011–12

Bayern Munich

• Bundesliga: 2022–23

Inter Milan

• Serie A: 2023–24
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2023

Individual

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2011
• Swiss Super League Team of the Year: 2013–14
• Credit Suisse Player of the Year: 2016, 2018, 2021
• Bundesliga Fantasy Team of the Season: 2019–20
• Serie A Team of the Season: 2023–24
• The Athletic European Men's Team of the Season: 2023–24

See also

In Spanish: Yann Sommer para niños