François Affolter

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 (age 33)
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	39	(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 26 October 2023

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]

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
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Young Boys II	2008–09		2	0	–		–		–		2	0
Young Boys	2008–09	Swiss Super League	22	0	3	0	–		1	0	26	0
	2009–10		34	1	2	0	–		1	0	37	1
	2010–11		33	0	4	0	–		12	0	49	0
	2011–12		5	0	2	1	–		2	0	9	1
	2012–13		4	0	–		–		–		4	0
	2013–14		2	1	1	1	–		–		3	2
	Total		100	2	12	2	0	0	16	0	128	4
Werder Bremen (loan)	2011–12	Bundesliga	13	0	–		–		–		13	0
Werder Bremen II (loan)	2012–13	Regionalliga Nord	5	1	–		–		–		5	1
FC Luzern	2013–14	Swiss Super League	10	0	1	0	–		–		11	0
	2014–15		31	1	3	0	–		2	0	36	1
	2015–16		32	1	4	0	–		–		36	1
	2016–17		11	0	3	0	–		–		14	0
	Total		84	2	11	0	0	0	2	0	97	2
FC Luzern	2014–15		1	0	–		–		–		1	0
San Jose Earthquakes	2017	MLS	6	0	1[a]	0	–		–		2	0
	2018		9	0	1[a]	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
	2019		1	0	2[a]	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	Total		16	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	20	0
FC Aarau	2019–20	Swiss Challenge League	12	0	0	0	–		–		12	0
Career total			233	5	27	2	0	0	18	0	278	7

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. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. 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. Archived from the original on 26 January 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
6. "François Affolter verlässt YB für Luzern" [François Affolter leaves YB for Luzern]. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). 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.