Leonidas Stergiou

Leonidas Stergiou
Personal information
Date of birth (2002-03-03) 3 March 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth Wattwil, Switzerland[1]
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 VfB Stuttgart
Number 20
Youth career
Wil
2015–2019 St. Gallen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 St. Gallen II 5 (0)
2019–2024 St. Gallen 139 (1)
2023–2024 → VfB Stuttgart (loan) 15 (1)
2024– VfB Stuttgart 4 (0)
International career‡
2016–2017 Switzerland U15 6 (0)
2017–2018 Switzerland U16 8 (0)
2018–2019 Switzerland U17 9 (1)
2019–2020 Switzerland U19 4 (0)
2020– Switzerland U21 18 (1)
2022– Switzerland 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:25, 15 December 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 29 June 2024

Leonidas Stergiou (Greek: Λεωνίδας Στεργίου; born 3 March 2002) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for German Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart and the Switzerland national team.[2]

Club career

Stergiou initially made his competitive debut for the senior St. Gallen side on 6 February 2019, participating in a 3–1 victory against FC Zürich.[3]

On 22 August 2023, Stergiou joined VfB Stuttgart in Germany on loan.[4] Stergiou played just 39 minutes in the first half of the season, but made his first start in February and then became a regular starter.[5] On 4 May 2024, he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 3–1 win over Bayern Munich.[6]

On 15 May 2024, the loan deal was made permanent and Stergiou signed a contract until June 2028 with VfB Stuttgart.[7]

International career

Stergiou played four games for Switzerland U15[8] and five for Switzerland U16.[9] He was the captain of Switzerland U21 at the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, where they reached quarter-finals.[10]

Stergiou made his debut for the Switzerland senior national team on 12 June 2022 in a Nations League game against Spain. He replaced Ricardo Rodriguez in the 79th minute as Switzerland won 1–0.[11]

In June 2024, he was named in the Swiss squad for UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany. He replaced Silvan Widmer as a substitute in the 68th minute of the team's opening Group A match against Hungary.[12]

Personal life

Stergiou was born in Wattwil in the Toggenburg area of Switzerland, to a Serbian mother and a Greek father. After joining the FC St. Gallen academy at a young age he progressed through the ranks to the first team.[13][1]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 15 December 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[a] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
St. Gallen II 2018–19 Swiss 1. Liga 5 0 — — — 5 0
St. Gallen 2018–19 Swiss Super League 11 0 0 0 — — 11 0
2019–20 Swiss Super League 34 1 2 0 — — 36 1
2020–21 Swiss Super League 32 0 4 0 1[b] 0 — 37 0
2021–22 Swiss Super League 27 0 3 0 — — 30 0
2022–23 Swiss Super League 35 0 4 0 — — 39 0
Total 139 1 13 0 1 0 — 153 1
VfB Stuttgart (loan) 2023–24 Bundesliga 15 1 3 0 — — 18 1
VfB Stuttgart 2024–25 Bundesliga 4 0 0 0 2[c] 0 — 6 0
Career total 163 2 16 0 3 0 0 0 182 1
  1. ^ Includes Swiss Cup and DFB-Pokal
  2. ^ Appearance in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 29 June 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Switzerland 2022 1 0
2024 5 0
Total 6 0

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b St. Gallens Juwel im Interview - Leonidas Stergiou: «Irgendwann zum Fuchs werden», srf.ch, 16 December 2019
  2. ^ Leonidas Stergiou at Soccerway
  3. ^ "Portrait Leonidas Stergiou: Der stille Schaffer in der Innenverteidigung" (in German). FC St. Gallen. 16 December 2020.
  4. ^ "VfB sign Leonidas Stergiou". VfB Stuttgart. 22 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  5. ^ Christenson, Marcus; Bloor, Steven; Blight, Garry. "Euro 2024: complete guide to all 622 players". the Guardian. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Stuttgart 1–3 Bayern München". BBC Sport. 4 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Leonidas Stergiou signs long-term VfB deal". VfB Stuttgart. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  8. ^ Schweizerischer Fussballverband - U-15, football.ch
  9. ^ Schweizerischer Fussballverband - U-16, football.ch
  10. ^ "Spain U21 v Switzerland U21 game report". UEFA. 1 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Switzerland v Spain game report". UEFA. 12 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Hungary 1-3 Switzerland LIVE: UEFA Euro 2024 - score, updates & reaction". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  13. ^ Leonidas Stergiou, die Perle aus dem Toggenburg, nzz.ch, 6 February 2019