Imagine being just 18 years old, already playing for one of the greatest football clubs in the world, and representing your country at a major international tournament. That’s exactly the story of Sydney Joy Schertenleib, the Swiss midfield talent turning heads across Europe.
Sydney was born on 30 January 2007 in Zurich, Switzerland, to an American father and a Swiss mother. Through her father, she not only holds U.S. citizenship, but also inherited a deep love for football. He himself played in the American college system before later competing in the lower Swiss leagues.
Already now, at not yet 19 years of age, Sydney has surpassed her father in many ways — but let’s take it step by step. Her passion for football became evident at a very young age in her local club FC Wädenswil. When she was ten, she pulled on the shirt of FC Zürich and joined the club’s youth academy.
At the time, girls’ teams were still relatively rare. Until the age of fifteen, Sydney therefore played alongside boys — something she never minded. “I loved the looks on the boys’ faces when I dribbled past them. That always spurred me on to keep playing,” she recalls of her early footballing years.
It quickly became clear that the tall, agile teenager possessed exceptional talent. At just 15, she made her debut for FC Zürich’s senior team, scoring two goals in eight matches. A year later, Grasshopper Club Zürich took notice. There, she found the net three times in 16 appearances — impressive numbers for a sixteen-year-old.
Her talent did not go unnoticed by national team coach Pia Sundhage, and a call-up to the Swiss senior national team soon followed. Sydney made her debut in the national jersey just one month after turning seventeen and became an important part of the squad during the home European Championship in 2025, where Switzerland reached the quarter-finals, their best result in years.
Scouts from FC Barcelona, one of the best teams in the world, were also paying close attention. They identified her while she was still playing for Grasshopper, but the then-17-year-old midfielder did not yet have an agent — so they contacted her via Instagram. At first, Sydney didn’t take the message seriously, assuming it was a fake account. Only after verifying its authenticity did she reply.
Thankfully, she did. Despite her young age, she began her journey in Spain with Barcelona B, but soon earned the opportunity to play alongside Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí. In February 2025, she scored her first league goal — and many more are sure to follow. Together with Vicky López, Sydney Schertenleib represents a truly exceptional new generation of talent.
