Yann Sommer speaks cheerfully about his retirement from the national team.Image: keystone
A month after Xherdan Shaqiri, another significant Swiss player retires from the national team. Goalkeeper Yann Sommer steps back after 94 international matches to make room for Gregor Kobel.
19.08.2024, 12:1219.08.2024, 13:22
In a good mood and with emotional words, Yann Sommer bid farewell to the national team. Those who expected to see a downcast former national goalkeeper were pleasantly surprised. Sommer shared that national coach Murat Yakin couldn’t guarantee him a starting spot for the future, but he accepted that as part of the business. There was no resentment from the long-time goalkeeper of the Swiss national team, who has always stood for positivity. On the contrary: “The communication with the coaching staff was honest. I appreciated that.”
“I could not be assured of the number one role anymore, but that was not the reason for my retirement. The reason was that I have been fortunate to play for the national team for a long time. Now I want to have a bit more time for other things: for my family, but also for the goals I want to achieve with Inter Milan.”
In a hotel at Zurich airport, Sommer spoke passionately about his experiences – both recent ones, like the European Championship in Germany, and further back to his first international matches twelve years ago and the beginning of his era as the successor to Diego Benaglio. He felt pride and excitement back then. “It was a wonderful journey,” he concluded. National team director Pierluigi Tami praised him in a video message as “an example for all,” both as a goalkeeper and as a person.
Video: instagram/yann sommer
Over 150 times for Switzerland
With only a few international matches as experience, Sommer became indispensable after the 2014 World Cup, where he was a backup goalkeeper. Since then, he has missed only a few international matches, and just one of those at one of the last five major tournaments. His early competitors, Roman Bürki and Marwin Hitz, went into early retirement from the national team after several years of being backup due to the clear hierarchy.
“There is no regret. I live my whole life like this: I always go all-in. I have always done everything to achieve the best possible success.”
With his 94 international matches, Sommer ranks in the top 10 of Swiss national players with the most appearances. No goalkeeper has represented the national team more often than the 35-year-old, who was often the first to give his analysis before the TV cameras after matches. Including his appearances in the junior national teams, he has over 150 matches in the Swiss jersey. With the U21 team, he played in the 2011 European Championship final. “I had to remind myself again: Since I was 15 years old, I have been the Swiss national team goalkeeper.”
“On one hand, the family was sad because the nice national team trips are over. On the other hand, there was a lot of positive feedback. They are looking forward to spending more time with me.”
With the senior national team, Sommer passed the group stage in every major tournament played. At the European Championships 2021 and 2024, he was eliminated only in the quarter-finals. His unforgettable save in the round of 16 in Bucharest against Kylian Mbappé won the penalty shootout against France. He played his 94th and last international match in July during the penalty shootout loss against England in the Euro quarter-finals. He felt it was now the right time to say goodbye to the national team.
Sommer made the decision to retire from the national team after his vacation and before discussions with the coaching staff, including goalkeeping coach Patrick Foletti and coach Murat Yakin. That Yakin reportedly did not make great efforts to dissuade him from retiring does not bother the keeper: “That’s part of it. We have been lucky in Switzerland to have many good goalkeepers for many years.”
Big shoes to fill
Gregor Kobel is available as a successor, who has only played five times for the national team but has already proven himself sufficiently at the club level. The player from Borussia Dortmund has been regarded as the best goalkeeper in the Bundesliga for several seasons and is accordingly looking impatiently at the number one spot in the Swiss national team.
“I do not rule anything out, but at the moment that is not a topic. I am very happy at Inter Milan and have a great task to stand in goal for a big club. I have always said I will play football for as long as I enjoy it. When I walk onto the pitch in San Siro, I get goosebumps. That tells me I’m in the right place.”
Despite his impressive credentials, the Zurich native will have to achieve a lot to make people forget his predecessor. Yann Sommer was a crucial factor in the most successful decade of the Swiss national team, and he will continue to write his own story. His contract with Inter Milan runs until 2026. He is not ready to talk about a complete farewell from football: “I still get goosebumps when I walk onto the pitch in Milan. That tells me: ‘You are doing the right thing!’” (abu/sda)
The press conference live ticker to read:
Yann Sommer will travel back to Milan today.
“That’s just part of it, it’s part of the business. We have been fortunate in Switzerland that we have always had very good goalkeepers in recent years. It was good for me that the situation was communicated to me honestly. And indeed, that’s just part of it.”
“I do not rule anything out, but at the moment that is not a topic. I am very happy at Inter Milan and have a great task to stand in goal for a big club. I have always said I will play football for as long as I enjoy it. When I walk into San Siro, I get goosebumps. That tells me I’m in the right place. As long as I still have this ambition, I will continue to play football.”
“It was an extremely beautiful moment, a big goal that was fulfilled. I greatly appreciated the joint training with Diego Benaglio; I learned a lot there as a young goalkeeper. When he then retired, my dream came true. At that point, it was more excitement than pressure. The pressure is part of it.”
“No, there was no contact.”
“Yes, there was. But it is normal that the first talks – whether at the club level or in the national team – first take place with the goalkeeping coach. However, I also personally informed Murat Yakin about the decision. I have known him for a long time; it was a good exchange.”
“No, I did not speak, for example, with Diego Benaglio; I was his successor. It was a personal matter. The most important thing for me was to find the right moment, and I believe I have succeeded. Of course, I will miss the locker room and the guys. But it is the right moment. I will be a big fan of the national team in the future.”
Adrian Arnold adds: “We will officially say goodbye to Sommer and Shaqiri. At which game is still open.”
“I had already made the decision before the discussions with the federation. But the talks were still important. I could not be assured of being number 1 anymore, but that was not the reason for my retirement. The reason was the long time I have been able to play for the national team and wanting to have a bit more time for other things in the future.”
Image: keystone
“There were mixed reactions. On one hand, they were sad because the nice national team trips are over. On the other hand, there was a lot of positive feedback. The family is looking forward to spending more time with me. The absences were not always easy as a father. The environment is very grateful for the moments; I find that very beautiful.”
“I haven’t even thought about that. No, there is none. I live my whole life like this: I always go all-in. I have always done everything to achieve the best possible success. You may regret a loss sometimes, but that’s part of the sport. You learn from it too. Every elimination in a tournament hurts. But with some distance, only the good moments remain.”
“The penalty shootout against France was one of the biggest highlights. The entire history of that game was so incredible with the 3:1 deficit against a great football nation. It was a big moment for Switzerland as a football nation. The penalty from Mbappé, the celebrations with the fans, and the videos of Switzerland partying afterwards. There are so many beautiful moments in my twelve years with the national team. Overall, it was a beautiful, emotional journey.”
National team director Pierluigi Tami also addressed Yann Sommer through a video message. Unfortunately, my Italian is not good enough to translate. He will also thank Sommer.
Yann Sommer also thanks the media for the years of collaboration and adds a little reprimand: It was unnecessary to announce last Thursday that Kobel would become the new number 1.
“I would like to thank my teammates. I would like to thank the staff and the association – also the workers who are behind the scenes. I would like to thank my family. And last but not least, also my, our fans. We have always experienced extreme support. Especially at the last European Championship, it was very loud; it was really nice.”
“It was important for me to inform those close to me beforehand. It was important to me that I did not publish this before the season started in Milan. It was also important for me to be able to communicate my retirement properly. It feels right; I believe it is a good decision. In these 20 years, I have missed few gatherings. It has been a beautiful journey that meant a lot to me. I have also been away from the family for many days, and in the future, I will have more time. I also have goals with Inter Milan that I can focus on more.”
“I had already decided to go on vacation and think about the future of the national team. It is an important and special decision for me; I have been the national goalkeeper since I was 15. It has always meant a lot to me. I came back from vacation and discussed with the staff and goalkeeping coach Foletti that we would talk again in August. We did that. It was a good and honest conversation. He confirmed to me that retiring is the right decision. That was about two weeks ago. After that, I definitively decided to retire from the national team.”
“It is very important to me to be here in person. I want to take you into my emotional world from the point after the European Championship. It was important for me not to think about the future before the European Championship. I wanted to put my full focus on the tournament. The European Championship was an extremely beautiful and emotionally wonderful time for us. I have experienced a lot already, and it was one of the tournaments where everything fit. Great camp, great atmosphere from our fans; we were successful. I absorbed all of it, and it made me extremely proud. It meant a lot to me to represent our country.”
Before the goalkeeper speaks, SFV spokesperson Adrian Arnold thanks Sommer for his achievements.
The podium is still empty.
With his 94 international matches, Sommer ranks in the top 10 of Swiss national players with the most appearances. No goalkeeper has represented the national team more often than the 35-year-old, who was often the first to give his analysis before the TV cameras after matches. Including his appearances in the junior national teams, he has over 150 matches in the Swiss jersey. With the U21 team, he played in the 2011 European Championship final.
Image: keystone
The announcement by the current keeper of Inter Milan in a hotel at Zurich airport was not a surprise anymore. Speculation had been ongoing for several days that national coach Murat Yakin desired a change in the goalkeeper position for the upcoming cycle of the Swiss national team, culminating in the 2026 World Cup. This has now come to fruition: the eight years younger Gregor Kobel takes over.
The 35-year-old goalkeeper from Inter Milan has played 94 international matches over the last twelve years. Since the summer of 2014, he has been the starting goalkeeper in three European Championships and two World Cups. He informs about his reasons on Monday morning.
We will report from 10:30 AM in the live ticker and stream.
🧤 12 years of excellence, reliability, and always good vibes
94x Thank you, Merci, Grazie, Yann Sommer 🙏 pic.twitter.com/TafrCvcaiX
— 🇨🇭 Nati (@nati_sfv_asf) August 19, 2024
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source: keystone / alexander hassenstein / pool
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