Fabian Schär

Fabian Lukas Schär (German pronunciation: [ʃɛːɐ̯]; born 20 December 1991) is a Swiss professional footballer who currently plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Newcastle United and the Switzerland national team. He is known for his powerful free-kicks and his long passes.

Fabian Schär
Schär training with Switzerland at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Fabian Lukas Schär[1]
Date of birth (1991-12-20) 20 December 1991[1]
Place of birth Wil, Switzerland
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s) centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Newcastle United
Number 5
Youth career
1999–2009 FC Wil 1900
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2012 FC Wil 1900 52 (9)
2012–2015 Basel 73 (9)
2015–2017 1899 Hoffenheim 30 (1)
2017–2018 Deportivo La Coruña 25 (2)
2018– Newcastle United 150 (10)
International career‡
2010–2011 Switzerland U20 3 (0)
2012 Switzerland U21 5 (1)
2012 Switzerland Olympic 2 (0)
2013– Switzerland 78 (8)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:17, 16 September 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:23, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

Beginning his career at his hometown club of Wil, Schär transferred to Basel in 2012, winning the Swiss Super League in all three of his seasons before his move to Hoffenheim.

After playing at the 2012 Olympics, Schär made his senior debut for Switzerland in 2013. He represented the nation at the FIFA World Cup in 2014, 2018 and 2022, as well as the UEFA European Championship in 2016 and 2020.

Club career

Wil

Born in Wil, Canton of St. Gallen, Schär began his playing career at hometown club Wil and rose through the youth ranks, soon playing regularly for Wil's reserve team. He eventually made his league debut on 29 November 2009 against FC Stade Nyonnais, coming on as a late substitute. He scored his first Swiss Challenge League goal in an away win against Yverdon-Sport on 30 October 2010.

Basel

On 4 July 2012, Schär transferred to Basel on a three-year contract with the option of a fourth.[3][4] He made his Swiss Super League debut on 29 September in a 1–1 away draw against Lausanne-Sport.[5] He scored his first goal for his new club on 7 October in the St. Jakob-Park during the 3–2 home win against Servette, heading an equaliser following a corner from Fabian Frei.[6]

At the end of the Swiss Super League season 2012–13 Schär won the Championship title[7] and was Swiss Cup runner up with Basel.[8] In the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, Basel advanced as far as the semi-finals, there being matched against the reigning UEFA Champions League holders Chelsea, but they were knocked out losing both matches and being beaten 2–5 on aggregate.[9]

At the end of the 2013–14 Super League season Schär won his second league championship with Basel.[10] They also reached the final of the 2013–14 Swiss Cup, but were beaten 2–0 by Zürich after extra time. During the 2013–14 Champions League season Basel reached the group stage and finished the group in third position. Thus they qualified for Europa League knockout phase and here they advanced as far as the quarter-finals.

The 2014–15 season was a very successful one for Basel and Schär. Basel won the championship for the sixth time in a row that season.[11] In the 2014–15 Swiss Cup they reached the final, but for the third season in a row, they finished as runners-up, losing 0–3 to Sion in the final. Basel entered the Champions League in the group stage and reached the knockout stages, with a 1–1 away draw against Liverpool enough to take them through.[12] Basel later lost to Porto in the Round of 16.[13]

Hoffenheim

On 4 June 2015, Schär signed for Hoffenheim.[14] On 16 April 2016, he scored his only goal at the club from a header in a 2–1 victory over Hertha BSC.[15]

Deportivo La Coruña

On 21 July 2017, Schär signed a four-year deal with Deportivo de La Coruña.[16] He made his La Liga debut on 20 August, starting in a 3–0 home loss against Real Madrid.[17] He scored two goals in the 2017–18 season, which ended in relegation for the Galician team.

Newcastle United

On 26 July 2018, following Deportivo de La Coruña's relegation from La Liga, Schär signed a three-year deal with Newcastle United after the club had activated his £3 million buy out clause in his contract.[18]

He made his debut for the club on 26 August 2018 in a 2–1 defeat to Chelsea. Schär scored his first goals for Newcastle against Cardiff City on 19 January 2019, netting twice in a 3–0 victory at St James' Park.[19] He scored his third Newcastle goal against Burnley in a 2–0 win, opening the scoring with a 30-yard strike that would win Premier League and Match of the Day's February Goal of the Month competition. His fourth goal came in the final game of the season, and eventual 4–0 win over Fulham.[20]

On 4 October 2023, Schär scored his first Champions League goal against Paris Saint-Germain in a 4–1 home victory during the 2023–24 season group stage.[21]

International career

Youth

Schär was a Switzerland youth international having played at under-20 and under-21 level. Schär made his international debut for the Swiss U-20 team in a game against Poland U-20 on 17 November 2011. He played his first game for the Swiss U-21 on 29 February 2012 in the 2–1 defeat against the Austrian U-21. He scored his first goal for the Swiss U-21 during his fourth appearance for them on 10 September 2012 in a match against Estonia U-21[22] This was the final game in the qualification to the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. Switzerland finished in second position and entered the play-offs. In the first leg of the qualification play-offs on 12 October 2012 against the German U-21 team Schär was shown the red card after he fouled Sebastian Polter as last man. Despite the goal from the penalty spot the game ended in a 1–1 draw.[23]

He was selected to represent Switzerland in the men's football tournament at the 2012 Summer Olympics as part of the Swiss under-23 team.[24] He played over 90 minutes in the first two games of the tournament, but the team were knocked out, finishing in fourth position of their Group.

Senior
Schär with Switzerland in 2015

On 8 August 2013, Schär was called up to Swiss senior team for the first time[25] and made his debut on the friendly match vs Brazil on 14 August 2013.[26][27]

On 6 September 2013, scored his first goal for the Swiss senior team in a 4–4 home draw against Iceland. Four days later, on 10 September, Schär scored two more goals in a 2–0 away win over Norway.[28]

On 13 May 2014, Schär was named in Switzerland's squad for the 2014 World Cup.[29] He made his tournament debut as a starter in the team's third match, replacing the injured Steve von Bergen and helping Switzerland to a clean sheet in a 3–0 defeat of Honduras.[30]

In Switzerland's first game of Euro 2016, Schär headed Xherdan Shaqiri's corner kick after five minutes for the only goal against Albania in Lens.[31]

He was included in the Swiss team 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup.[32]

In May 2019, he was named to the national team for the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League final matches and played in all two matches but finished 4th.[33]

In 2021, he was called up to the national team for the 2020 UEFA European Championship, where the team created one of the main sensations of the tournament reaching the quarter-finals.[34]

In November 2022, he was selected in the final squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[35]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 4 October 2023[36]
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
FC Wil 2009–10 Swiss Challenge League 2000——20
2010–11 24410——254
2011–12 26530——295
Total 52940——569
Basel 2012–13 Swiss Super League 21430—14[lower-alpha 3]4388
2013–14 22410—12[lower-alpha 4]2356
2014–15 30140—7[lower-alpha 5]0411
Total 73980—33611415
1899 Hoffenheim 2015–16 Bundesliga 24110——251
2016–17 6010——70
Total 30120——321
Deportivo La Coruña 2017–18 La Liga 25220——272
Newcastle United 2018–19 Premier League 2443010—284
2019–20 2224010—272
2020–21 1810010—191
2021–22 2521000—262
2022–23 3610050—411
2023–24 7000102[lower-alpha 5]1101
Total 1321080902115111
Career total 312312409035738038
  1. Includes Swiss Cup, DFB-Pokal, Copa del Rey, FA Cup
  2. Includes EFL Cup
  3. One appearance in UEFA Champions League, thirteen appearances and four goals in UEFA Europa League
  4. Ten appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International
As of match played 15 October 2023[37]
International statistics
National teamYearAppsGoals
Switzerland 201353
201451
201571
2016112
201770
2018120
201971
202040
2021110
202260
202330
Total788
As of match played 15 October 2023. Switzerland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Schär goal.[38]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 6 September 2013Stade de Suisse, Bern, Switzerland2 Iceland2–14–42014 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 10 September 2013Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway3 Norway1–02–0
3 2–0
4 15 November 2014AFG Arena, St. Gallen, Switzerland9 Lithuania2–04–0UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
5 27 March 2015Swissporarena, Lucerne, Switzerland11 Estonia1–03–0
6 11 June 2016Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France21 Albania1–01–0UEFA Euro 2016
7 10 October 2016Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella, Andorra27 Andorra1–02–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification
8 5 September 2019Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland51 Republic of Ireland1–01–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualification

Honours

Basel

Newcastle United

Individual

References
  1. "2018 FIFA World Cup: List of players" (PDF). FIFA. 24 June 2018. p. 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  2. "Fabian Schär: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  3. "Olympia-Teilnehmer Schär zum FCB". Schweizerischer Fussballverband (in German). 4 July 2012. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  4. "Der FCB verpflichtet Innenverteidiger Fabian Schär vom FC Wil 1900" (in German). FC Basel 1893. 4 July 2012. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  5. Weber, Dominik (29 September 2012). "FCB kommt bei Lausanne-Sport nicht über ein 1:1-Remis hinaus" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  6. Meister, Remo (7 October 2012). "Der FCB holt gegen Servette den fünften Liga-Sieg, Tor-Premiere für Schär" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
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  11. Marti, Caspar (2015). "Der Meisterfreitag im bunten Zeitraffer". FC Basel 1893. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015. (in German)
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  32. The Washington Post
  33. "Pickford the hero in England shootout win". BBC Sport.
  34. https://www.uefa.com / uefaeuro-2020 / match / 2024485 – switzerland-vs-spain / lineups /? iv = true
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  38. Fabian Schär at Soccerway
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