Yann Sommer (born 17 December 1988) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Inter Milan and the Switzerland national team. Sommer completed his apprenticeship at Basel, where he won the Swiss Super League on four consecutive occasions, before transferring to Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2014, where he remained for nine years. He also won the Swiss Challenge League and two Liechtenstein Football Cups while on loan to Vaduz.
Sommer made his debut for the Switzerland national team in 2012. He represented the nation at the FIFA World Cup in 2014, 2018 and 2022, and the UEFA European Championship in 2016 and 2020.
Club career
Basel
Born in Morges, Vaud, Sommer played as a child in the youth teams of FC Herrliberg and later of Concordia Basel. He moved to the Basel youth setup in 2003. He signed his first professional contract with Basel in 2005. He became the first-choice goalkeeper in the under-21 squad almost immediately, fending off opposition like Jayson Leutwiler and Orkan Avci, and was third-choice for the senior squad behind Franco Costanzo and Louis Crayton.
During the summer of 2007, Sommer signed a new contract lasting until 2011, and was loaned out to Liechtensteiner club Vaduz to gain first-team experience in an environment somewhat more competitive than the reserves in the Swiss 1. Liga. He was made the first-choice goalkeeper and played 33 matches over the course of the 2007–08 Swiss Challenge League season, playing a major part in Vaduz's promotion to the Swiss Super League. His loan deal was then extended to last until January 2009. He made his Super League debut for Vaduz on 20 July 2008 in the 2–1 away win against Luzern. Sommer was recalled to Basel on 7 January 2009 because the club's first-choice goalkeeper, Franco Costanzo, was injured.
Sommer made his Super League debut for Basel in a 3–2 defeat to Young Boys at the Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf, on 7 February 2009. He played six matches for Basel up until the end of the season. On 16 June, he joined Grasshoppers on a one-season-long loan. During his season there, he played 33 league matches.
On 14 June 2010, Sommer signed a five-year contract with Basel. He served as second-choice goalkeeper behind Franco Costanzo. In March 2011, Basel announced it would not offer Costanzo a contract extension, therefore making Sommer the club's first-choice goalkeeper. Sommer played five Super League matches during the 2010–11 season and so was part of the championship-winning team.
Sommer made his UEFA Champions League debut on 14 September 2011 in the 2–1 home win against Oțelul Galați. He was first-choice goalkeeper in the 2011–12 season, after the end of which he won the double of the league and Swiss Cup.
At the end of the 2012–13 season, Sommer won the league title for the third consecutive time, having played in all 36 league matches. Basel also finished as runners-up in the Swiss Cup. In the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, Basel advanced to the semi-finals, where they were matched against reigning Champions League holders Chelsea. Basel was eliminated 2–5 on aggregate.
At the end of the 2013–14 season, Sommer won the league championship with Basel. They also reached the final of the 2013–14 Swiss Cup, but were beaten 2–0 by Zürich after extra time. In the 2013–14 Champions League, Basel finished the group stage in third position to qualify for Europa League knockout phase, where they advanced as far as the quarter-finals. In their 2013–14 season, 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. Sommer totaled 58 appearances: 35 League, 2 Cup, 10 Champions League and 6 Europa League, as well 5 in the test games.
However, Sommer managed to keep 65 clean sheets in 170 appearances in all competitions with Basel.
Borussia Mönchengladbach
On 10 March 2014, Sommer signed a five-year contract with German Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach, effective from 1 July. He was signed to replace Marc-André ter Stegen, who had joined Barcelona. In Sommer's first season at Mönchengladbach, 2014–15, Gladbach finished in third place in the Bundesliga, club's highest league finish since 1978. The club also managed to beat its record of consecutive matches without defeat, exceeding the record of 17 matches it had set during the 1970–71 season.