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Johan Vonlanthen
Personal information
Full name	Johan Vonlanthen Benavídez
Date of birth	February 1, 1986 (1986-02-01) (age 24)
Place of birth	Santa Marta, Colombia
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Right winger
Club information
Current club	FC Zürich
Number	8
Youth career
1998–1999 1999–2001	FC Flamatt BSC Young Boys
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2001–2003 2003–2006 2005 2005–2006 2006– 2009	BSC Young Boys PSV → Brescia (loan) → NAC Breda (loan) Red Bull Salzburg → FC Zürich (loan)	37 0(6) 29 0(6) 09 0(0) 32 0(6) 830(11) 17 0(7)
National team2
2004–	Switzerland	40 0(7)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 May 2009. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 19 February 2010. * Appearances (Goals)

Johan Vonlanthen Benavídez (born 1 February 1986 in Santa Marta, Colombia) is a Swiss international footballer. Vonlanthen is a right winger currently playing for FC Zürich on loan from Red Bull Salzburg and for Switzerland. His stepfather is a Swiss national, giving him the right to play for that country.

Club career

Vonlanthen at Salzburg

Vonlanthen played as a junior for BSC Young Boys in Switzerland. In the 2001–02 season, he made his debut as a 16 year-old in the Swiss Super League starting eight games and appearing once as a substitute. In the summer of 2003, he was transferred to the Dutch Eredivisie where he would play for PSV Eindhoven. He made a good impression and qualified for the UEFA Champions League.

After a year on loan at Brescia in Italy, Vonlanthen moved on to NAC Breda in the Dutch Eredivisie where he would play on loan for the 2005–06 season.

In the summer of 2006, Vonlanthen was transferred away from PSV Eindhoven, having completed loan spells at Brescia and NAC Breda, he then went on to play for Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga. On 13 July 2009 FC Zürich had signed the Swiss forward on loan from FC Red Bull Salzburg for one season.

International career

On 6 June 2004, Vonlanthen made his senior debut for the Swiss National Team against Liechtenstein. He came on as a substitute in the 81st minute to replace Alexander Frei. Switzerland went on to beat Liechtenstein 1-0.

In the Euro 2004, Vonlanthen became the second youngest player to play in the tournament when he came on as a substitute against England. On 21 June 2004, Vonlanthen became the youngest scorer ever in the championship when he equalised against France, beating the record (set only four days earlier by Wayne Rooney in the England-Switzerland match) by three months.^[1]

Since the European Championships in Portugal, Vonlanthen has managed to hold a regular position in the national team and as well as playing frequently in the under 21's side. He was part of the squad that very narrowly lost out to Spain on a place in the 2009 European Championships. He had scored the equalizer in the first leg in a 2-1 win but the Spanish came back to win 3-1 in the second leg and 4-3 on aggregate.

Vonlanthen was called up to the Swiss squad to play in 2006 World Cup, however, he was not able to participate due to a hamstring injury. He was also called up for the Euro 2008.

Career statistics

References

1. ^ Euro 2008 team preview No1: Switzerland | Football | guardian.co.uk

External links

• Vonlanthen's official website
• News about Vonlanthen in the Swiss Newspapers
• National Football Teams

Switzerland squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 Stiel • 2 Haas • 3 Berner • 4 Henchoz • 5 Murat Yakin • 6 Vogel • 7 Cabanas • 8 Wicky • 9 Frei • 10 Hakan Yakin • 11 Chapuisat • 12 Zuberbühler • 13 Zwyssig • 14 Magnin • 15 Gygax • 16 Celestini • 17 Spycher • 18 Huggel • 19 Barnetta • 20 Müller • 21 Rama • 22 Vonlanthen • 23 Roth • Coach: Kuhn

Switzerland squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Benaglio • 2 Djourou • 3 Magnin • 4 Senderos • 5 Lichtsteiner • 6 Huggel • 7 Cabanas • 8 Inler • 9 Frei • 10 Yakin • 11 Streller • 12 Derdiyok • 13 Grichting • 14 Gygax • 15 Gelson • 16 Barnetta • 17 Spycher • 18 Zuberbühler • 19 Behrami • 20 Müller • 21 Jakupović • 22 Vonlanthen • 23 P. Degen • Coach: Kuhn