Valentin Stocker

Valentin Stocker

Valentin Stocker[1]
Personal information
Full name Valentin Stocker
Date of birth (1989-04-12) 12 April 1989
Place of birth Lucerne, Switzerland
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Left midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Hertha BSC
Number 14
Youth career
1996–2005 SC Kriens
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2008 Basel U21 37 (13)
2008–2014 Basel 162 (41)
2014– Hertha BSC 54 (6)
National team‡
2005 Switzerland U16 5 (1)
2005–2006 Switzerland U17 11 (6)
2006 Switzerland U18 1 (0)
2006–2008 Switzerland U19 13 (3)
2007–2009 Switzerland U21 7 (2)
2008– Switzerland 34 (6)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 October 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 8 October 2016

Valentin Stocker (born 12 April 1989 in Lucerne) is a Swiss footballer who plays as a left midfielder for Hertha BSC in the German Bundesliga.

Club career

Stocker began his youth career with SC Kriens, playing there between 1996 and December 2005. As of January 2006 he transferred to Basel and played for their Under-21 team in the Swiss 1. Liga. He was called into the first team squad during the 2007–08 season after becoming one of the best midfielders in the reserve squad. He signed his first professional contract on his 18th birthday.[2]

Stocker made his first team debut for FC Basel in the Swiss Cup semi-final tie at home to FC Thun at St. Jakob Park on 27 February 2008 as Basel won 1–0.[3] He played his League debut on 2 March 2008 in the 3–1 away win also against Thun. In his third league game, on 16 March, he scored his first Super League goal against FC Sion, but he could not hinder the 4–2 away defeat. At the end of the 2007–08 Swiss Super League season and after the Swiss Cup Final, on 6 April, FC Basel won the national Double. In the league Stocker played eleven games, scoring three goals. In the last game of the season he and Marco Streller scored the two goals in Basel's 2–0 home win over BSC Young Boys and they won the championship by four points.[4]

During the 2008–09 Swiss Super League season Stocker played 32 games, scoring five goals, but Basel finished just third in the League table, qualifying for the Europa League. In the 2009–10 season Stocker played 31 League games, scoring 12 goals, and Basel again won the Double. In the Cup Final Stocker scored two goals as Basel won 6-0 against FC Lausanne-Sport.

In the 2010–11 season Stocker played 26 League games, marking seven goals, and he won his third championship medal with the club. But Stocker injured himself on 23 April in the game against BSC Young Boys.[5] This was his 100th Super League match. The injury was a cruciate ligament rupture and was operated two days later.[6] His recovery times was estimated at six to seven months.

In the 2011–12 season he returned into the team on 3 December 2011 during the 1-0 home victory against FC Luzern and on the same day it was announced that his contract had been extended until the end of June 2016.[3] He was substituted in during the group stage of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League 2–1 home win against Manchester United, as Basel qualified for the Knockout phase, sending United out of the competition. During the first leg match in the Round of 16 on 22 February 2012 against Bayern Munich he was substituted in and scored the winning goal.[7] At the end of the 2011–12 Swiss Super League season Stocker won his fourth League Championship title with Basel,[8] the third in a row. this was also his third Double because Basel also won the Swiss Cup[9]

During the 2012–13 season Stocker had another highlight in his football career. Due to an injury Marco Streller and due an illness Alexander Frei were both unable to play the Europa League knockout phase match against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk on 21 February 2013. Therefore, Stocker was nominated as team captain for the very first time and he led the Basel team to a 1-1 away draw and they qualified for the round of 16.[10] At the end of the Swiss Super League season 2012–13 Stocker won his fifth Championship title[11] (fourth in a row) and won the Swiss Cup runner-up silver medal.[12] 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 were knocked out being beaten 2–5 on aggregate.[13]

Basel's 2013–14 Super League season was very successful. Stocker won his sixth league championship title with Basel.[14] They also reached the final of the 2013–14 Swiss Cup, but were beaten 2–0 by Zürich after extra time.[15] 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. In their season 2013–14 Basel played a total of 68 matches (36 Swiss League fixtures, 6 Swiss Cup, 6 Champions League and 10 Europa League and 10 test matches). Stocker totaled 55 appearances, 30 League, 4 Cup, 10 Champions League and 5 Europa League as well 6 in the test games. He scored a total of 19 goals and gave 14 assists in these matches.[16]

On 18 May 2014, Hertha BSC officially announced the signing of Stocker.[17] Stocker reportedly received a four-year contract after Hertha and FC Basel agreed on a transfer fee of around €5 million.[18]

International career

Stocker has played international football at various age levels, including Swiss U19 and Swiss U21. He made his debut for the Switzerland U16 team on 25 April 2005, being substituted in, in the 2–0 away defeat against Scotland U16. In 2008 and 2009 he played 7 games for the Switzerland U21 team. His debut for the U21 was on 26 March 2008 in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification Group 5 2–1 away defeat against Macedonia Under-21.

He made his debut for Switzerland in Ottmar Hitzfeld's first match as manager, on 20 August 2008 against Cyprus at Stade de Genève. He scored the opening goal of the 4–1 friendly win.

Stocker was included in Switzerland's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, making one appearance, starting in the opening match against Ecuador before being substituted at halftime.

International goals

Scores and results list Switzerland's goal tally first.
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1. 20 August 2008 Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland  Cyprus
1–0
4–1
Friendly
2. 12 October 2010 St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland  Wales
1–0
4–1
UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
3.
4–1
4. 31 March 2015 Letzigrund, Zürich, Switzerland  United States
1–1
1–1
Friendly
5. 5 September 2015 St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland  Slovenia
2–2
3–2
UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
6. 7 October 2016 Groupama Arena, Budapest, Hungary  Hungary
3–2
3–2
2018 World Cup qualification

Honours and titles

Basel
Individual
Basel

References

  1. ↑ "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 11 June 2014. p. 30. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  2. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2007). "Profivertrag für FCB-Nachwuchsspieler Valentin Stocker" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
  3. 1 2 Meister, Remo (2011). "Vertragsverlängerung mit Valentin Stocker bis 2016" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
  4. ↑ "Der FC Basel ist Schweizer Meister" (in German). Tagesanzeiger. 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
  5. 1 2 Meister, Remo (2011). "Der FCB setzt ein starkes Zeichen" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  6. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2011). "Valentin Stocker nach Kreuzbandriss erfolgreich operiert" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2011-04-25.
  7. ↑ James, Andy (2012). "Stocker secures Basel narrow lead over Bayern". eufa.com. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  8. ↑ "Jetzt hat Basel den Titel auf sicher" (in German). football.ch. 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-29.
  9. ↑ "Matchtelegram FC Basel 1893 5:3 FC Luzern" (in German). football.ch. 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  10. ↑ Marty, Caspar (2013). "Fantastisch! Der FCB spielt 1:1 und steht im Achtelfinal der Europa League" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
  11. ↑ Schifferle, Michael (2013). "Season review: Switzerland". Eufa. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
  12. ↑ SFV (2013). "Telegramm Schweizer Cup Final" (in German). Schweizerischer Fussballverband. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  13. ↑ Haylett, Trevor (2013). "Basel take heart after Chelsea defeat". Eufa. Retrieved 2013-05-03.
  14. ↑ Grossenbacher, Sacha (2014). "Fotos vom Spiel gegen Lausanne sowie den anschliessenden Feierlichkeiten" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  15. ↑ Wanner, Rudi (2014). "Season review: Switzerland". Eufa. Retrieved 2014-06-09.
  16. ↑ Zindel, Josef (2014). Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2014/2015. FC Basel Marketing AG. ISBN 978-3-7245-2027-6.
  17. ↑ "Sali Vali" (in German). Hertha BSC. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  18. ↑ "Königstransfer vor dem Abschluss: Stocker in Berlin" (in German). Kicker. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  19. ↑ "Zwei weitere Titel für FCB-Nachwuchs" (in German). FC Basel 1893. 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-18.
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