Swiss footballers have never been among the largest foreign groups in Turkish football, but a number of them have left a substantial mark on the Süper Lig. From midfield generals and attacking full-backs to prolific international forwards, Switzerland has produced players who have contributed to some of Turkey’s most successful clubs.
Ranking the best Swiss players in Süper Lig history is not simply a matter of counting goals. Longevity, influence, club success, international pedigree and the quality of individual performances all matter. On that basis, Mysportwetten.de/ch has singled out these five players.
1. Gökhan Inler – The Swiss Midfield General
If there is one Swiss player who combines longevity, quality and influence in the Süper Lig, it is Gökhan Inler.
Inler arrived in Turkey in 2016 after an impressive career in Serie A and the Premier League. He joined Beşiktaş and subsequently played for İstanbul Başakşehir and Adana Demirspor. Across his Turkish Süper Lig career, he made 116 appearances and scored four goals, according to WorldFootball’s career statistics.
The raw goal figures do not tell the story of Inler’s importance. A defensive midfielder, he was primarily responsible for controlling the tempo, protecting the defence and distributing possession. His technical qualities had already been tested at the highest European level: before moving to Turkey, he accumulated 259 Serie A appearances and 15 goals.
His Beşiktaş spell also produced one of the major achievements of his Turkish career. He was part of the club’s 2016–17 squad, which won the Süper Lig title. Inler therefore combines an unusually long Turkish career with experience at a title-winning Istanbul giant.
He also brought considerable international experience. Inler won 89 caps and scored seven goals for Switzerland, serving as national-team captain for a significant part of his career.
2. Eren Derdiyok – The Most Productive Swiss Forward
For attacking output, Eren Derdiyok has a strong claim to being the most successful Swiss forward in Süper Lig history.
Derdiyok first arrived in Turkey with Kasımpaşa in 2014. He spent two seasons there before moving to Galatasaray in 2016 and later having a short spell at Göztepe. His league record is impressive: 108 Süper Lig appearances and 35 goals, according to his career statistics.
His first Turkish club, Kasımpaşa, saw him score 15 goals in 40 appearances. At Galatasaray, he added another 20 goals in 63 appearances.
That production is particularly notable given that Derdiyok was competing for places at one of Turkey’s biggest clubs. His physical profile—standing at 1.91 metres—made him an effective target forward, while his technical ability allowed him to contribute beyond simply finishing crosses.
His Galatasaray period also gave him a major domestic honour. The club won the Süper Lig title in 2018–19, although Derdiyok’s role varied during his time in the squad.
Derdiyok was also an established Swiss international, earning 60 caps and scoring 11 goals for Switzerland.
3. Kubilay Türkyılmaz – The Early Swiss Star
Any historical ranking needs to account for Kubilay Türkyılmaz, who was one of the earliest Swiss stars to make a major impact in Turkish football.
Türkyılmaz joined Galatasaray in 1993 and remained with the Istanbul club until 1996. Transfermarkt records 61 Galatasaray appearances and 22 goals for the striker.
Those numbers become even more impressive when placed in historical context. Türkyılmaz was not merely a foreign squad player: he was an important attacking figure for Galatasaray during a period when the club was establishing itself as Turkey’s dominant force.
His international record reinforces his credentials. Türkyılmaz scored 34 goals in 64 appearances for Switzerland, making him one of the country’s all-time leading scorers.
The forward’s combination of international pedigree and productivity at Galatasaray makes him one of the most significant Swiss players ever to appear in the Süper Lig.
4. Reto Ziegler – Longevity and the Left Flank
Reto Ziegler offers a different type of contribution. Rather than being judged primarily on goals, the former Swiss international made his mark as a versatile left-sided player.
Ziegler joined Fenerbahçe in 2011 and played an important role during the 2011–12 campaign. The Turkish Football Federation’s official season almanac records 38 Süper Lig appearances, 3,331 minutes and one goal for Ziegler that season.
He subsequently returned to Fenerbahçe on loan for the 2012–13 season. FBref records 26 league appearances, seven starts and 563 minutes in that campaign, although his role was considerably more limited.
That gives Ziegler 64 Süper Lig appearances and one goal across his two Fenerbahçe campaigns.
His importance was not measured by scoring. A left-back capable of contributing defensively while providing width and delivery, Ziegler fitted Fenerbahçe’s high-level squad during a particularly competitive period. He was also a Swiss international, winning 35 caps according to national-team records.
5. Mario Gavranović – A Short but Productive Turkish Spell
The final place goes to Mario Gavranović, whose Turkish career was shorter than those of Inler or Derdiyok but considerably more productive in front of goal.
Gavranović joined Kayserispor during the 2021–22 season after establishing himself as a prolific striker with Dinamo Zagreb. He made an immediate impact, scoring 10 goals in 26 Süper Lig appearances during his first season. He followed that with five goals in 22 appearances in 2022–23.
His final Süper Lig record was therefore 48 appearances, 35 starts and 15 goals, with 2,922 minutes played. FBref calculates his scoring rate at approximately 0.46 goals per 90 minutes.
Gavranović also produced an unusual piece of Kayserispor history. In February 2022, he scored the club’s 1,000th Süper Lig goal, against Trabzonspor.
Although his time in Turkey lasted only two seasons, a 15-goal return from 48 league appearances is enough to put him among the country’s most successful Swiss imports.
Honourable mentions
The list could easily have been expanded. Blerim Džemaili, for example, joined Galatasaray in 2014 after several excellent seasons in Serie A. He made 11 Süper Lig appearances during the 2014–15 title-winning campaign and contributed one league assist, according to FBref.
Admir Mehmedi also had a brief spell with Antalyaspor, recording 17 league appearances and one goal across two seasons.
Reto Ziegler’s predecessor in the Swiss-to-Turkey pipeline included players such as Adrian Knup and Hakan Yakin, while later generations have included several other Swiss-born players. But in terms of sustained contribution and overall significance, the five above have the strongest cases.
Taken together, the five demonstrate that Swiss football’s contribution to Turkish football has been broader than the numbers initially suggest. Their careers span several generations of the Süper Lig, from Türkyılmaz’s Galatasaray in the 1990s to Inler and Derdiyok’s title-contending teams and Gavranović’s productive Kayserispor spell.
