François Affolter

François Affolter (born 13 March 1991) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a defender for Biel-Bienne in the Swiss Promotion League. He was part of the Swiss team at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[1]

François Affolter
Playing for San Jose Earthquakes in 2017
Personal information
Full name François Jacques Affolter
Date of birth (1991-03-13) 13 March 1991
Place of birth Biel/Bienne, Bern, Switzerland
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Team information
Current team
 Biel-Bienne
Number 2
Youth career
2000–2001 Etoile Biel
2001–2007 Biel-Bienne
2007–2008 Young Boys
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008 Young Boys II 2 (0)
2008–2014 Young Boys 100 (2)
2012 → Werder Bremen (loan) 13 (0)
2012 → Werder Bremen II (loan) 5 (1)
2014–2017 FC Luzern 101 (4)
2017–2019 San Jose Earthquakes 16 (0)
2020 FC Aarau 12 (0)
2020–2021 Chiasso 45 (1)
2022– Biel-Bienne 35 (0)
International career
2008 Switzerland U18 2 (0)
2009 Switzerland U19 3 (0)
2009–2012 Switzerland U21 17 (2)
2012 Switzerland U23 1 (0)
2010–2012 Switzerland 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 August 2023

Career

Young Boys

Born in Biel/Bienne, Bern, He made his senior debut for BSC Young Boys at the age of 17 years on 14 September 2008 in a 2–1 victory over AC Bellinzona, replacing Marc Schneider in the starting eleven due to suspension.[2] Since that match, he was a regular starter for the club in their three-man defence, alongside Saif Ghezal and Miguel Alfredo Portillo.[3]

Before he played with the first team, he played with the under 18 team.[4] They won the under 18 championship the same year. Then, he joined the first team for friendly matches in the summer of 2008 and the new Young Boys coach Vladimir Petkovic gave him his chance.

He signed his first professional contract with Young Boys in November 2008. After three seasons with Young Boys, he was loaned to German club Werder Bremen.[5]

After an unsuccessful half year at Young Boys, he decided to transfer to Swiss side FC Luzern for an undisclosed fee. His contract was set to expire in June 2018.[6]

San Jose Earthquakes

On 21 July 2017, Major League Soccer side San Jose Earthquakes announced it had signed Affolter to a multi-year contract on a free transfer from Luzern.[7] He made his first appearance for San Jose on 9 August, starting in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal against Sporting Kansas City and substituting out during extra time in the 103rd minute.[8] He made his first MLS start and appearance on 12 August in a 3–0 loss to the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium.[9]

FC Aarau

In February 2020, Affolter joined Swiss Challenge League side FC Aarau until the end of the 2019–20 season.[10]

Chiasso

In September 2020, free agent Affolter signed with FC Chiasso, also of the Swiss Challenge League.[11]

Return to Biel-Bienne

On 29 December 2021, Affolter returned to his youth club Biel-Bienne on a 2.5-year contract.[12]

Personal life

Affolter received his U.S. green card in July 2018, which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.[13]

Career statistics

Club
As of matches played 15 September 2020[14][15][16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Young Boys II 2008–09 20–––20
Young Boys 2008–09 Swiss Super League 22030–10260
2009–10 34120–10371
2010–11 33040–120490
2011–12 5021–2091
2012–13 40–––40
2013–14 2111––32
Total 1002122001601284
Werder Bremen (loan) 2011–12 Bundesliga 130–––130
Werder Bremen II (loan) 2012–13 Regionalliga Nord 51–––51
FC Luzern 2013–14 Swiss Super League 10010––110
2014–15 31130–20361
2015–16 32140––361
2016–17 11030––140
Total 8421100020972
FC Luzern 2014–15 10–––10
San Jose Earthquakes 2017 MLS 601[lower-alpha 1]0––20
2018 901[lower-alpha 1]00000100
2019 102[lower-alpha 1]0000030
Total 160400000200
FC Aarau 2019–20 Swiss Challenge League 12000––120
Career total 2335272001802787
  1. Appearances in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

References
  1. "François Affolter Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com". 14 January 2020. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  2. "BELLINZONA VS. YOUNG BOYS 1 - 2". Soccerway.com. 14 September 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  3. "Stats Centre: François Affolter Facts". Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  4. "BSC Young Boys >> Squad 2008/2009". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  5. "Werder verstärkt sich mit Affolter" [Werder strengthens itself with Affolter] (in German). DFL. 25 January 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  6. "François Affolter verlässt YB für Luzern" [François Affolter leaves YB for Luzern] (in German). Neue Zürcher Zeitung. 15 December 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  7. "NEWS: Earthquakes Sign Swiss Defender Francois Affolter". San Jose Earthquakes. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  8. "Sporting Kansas City vs San Jose Earthquakes 9 August 2017". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  9. "Houston Dynamo vs San Jose Earthquakes Aug 12 2017". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  10. Wendel, Sebastian (19 February 2020). "Eine Wundertüte für den FC Aarau: François Affolter soll die löchrige Abwehr stabilisieren". Aargauer Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  11. Mantegazzi, Elia (14 September 2020). "Rinforzo in difesa: il Chiasso ingaggia Affolter". tio.ch (in Italian). Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  12. "François Affolter verstärkt den FC Biel-Bienne 1896" (in German). Biel-Bienne. 29 December 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  13. "NEWS: Francois Affolter Obtains Green Card, No Longer Occupies International Spot". San Jose Earthquakes.
  14. "François Affolter » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  15. François Affolter at Soccerway. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  16. "Francois Affolter". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved 18 February 2018.


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