FC Zurich is mourning the loss of a club legend. The club announced the death of Werner Leimgruber on Thursday, January 2, at the age of 90.
03.01.2025, 11:35
03.01.2025, 11:43
SDA
Leimgruber played almost exclusively for the Zurich club during his career. Between 1954 and 1970, he played 395 competitive matches for FCZ, scoring 91 goals. As captain, the defender led the team to the 1966 and 1968 championship titles and the first cup victory in the club's history in 1966. In total, Leimgruber won the championship three times and the cup twice with FCZ. His highlight in the European Cup came in 1964 in the semi-final of the Champions Cup, the precursor to the Champions League, against Real Madrid.
Leimgruber made ten appearances for the Swiss national team, but is best remembered for a story off the pitch. At the 1966 World Cup, Leimgruber left the hotel in Sheffield with future national team coach Köbi Kuhn and Leo Eichmann on the eve of the first World Cup match. Because they returned around 30 minutes after the final whistle, they were suspended by national coach Alfredo Foni for the match against Germany (0:5). Leimgruber played the full distance in the second group match against Spain (1:2), which was to be his last appearance for Switzerland.
In addition to football, Leimgruber worked as a plumber until his retirement. After his career, he bequeathed various jerseys, which he had systematically kept, to the FCZ Museum.