Loris Benito

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Loris Benito
SwitzerlandU21 03 Loris Benito 130606 Sve-Sch 3-2 170826 6200 (cropped).jpg
Benito playing for Switzerland U21 in 2013
Personal information
Full name Loris Benito Souto [1]
Date of birth (1992-01-07) 7 January 1992 (age 33) [1]
Place of birth Aarau, Switzerland
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) [1]
Position(s) Left-back, centre-back
Team information
Current team
Young Boys
Number 23
Youth career
2000–2009 FC Aarau
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2009–2012 FC Aarau 47 (2)
2012–2014 FC Zürich 58 (0)
2014–2015 Benfica 2 (0)
2015 Benfica B 3 (0)
2015–2019 Young Boys 71 (2)
2019–2021 Bordeaux 55 (1)
2022 Sion 13 (0)
2022– Young Boys 50 (2)
International career
2010–2011 Switzerland U19 12 (1)
2011–2012 Switzerland U20 6 (0)
2014 Switzerland U21 7 (0)
2018– Switzerland 13 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:20, 15 February 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:44, 4 June 2023 (UTC)

Loris Benito Souto (born 7 January 1992) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a left-back or centre-back for Young Boys and the Switzerland national team.

Contents

Club career

Benito was born in Aarau, Switzerland. A product of local FC Aarau youth ranks, he made his professional debut on 1 November 2009 at age 17 under then-coach Martin Andermatt. His performances led to a move in 2012 to FC Zürich. [2]

Benito playing for BSC Young Boys in 2017 Loris Benito Dynamo Kiew vs. BSC Young Boys (cropped).jpg
Benito playing for BSC Young Boys in 2017

On 10 March 2013, in an away match against FC Thun, Benito was bitten on the finger by a beech marten he had caught after it invaded the pitch. [3]

After solid performances in the Swiss league, news started about a potential move abroad. [4] On 22 June 2014, Benito signed a five-year deal with Portuguese champions Benfica for an unconfirmed fee of around €2.5 million. [5]

On 18 October 2014, Benito made his debut for Benfica in a win at S.C. Covilhã (2–3) in the third round of Taça de Portugal. [6] On 6 December 2014, he debuted in Primeira Liga in a home win (3–0) against Belenenses.

On 22 February 2015, Benito debuted for Benfica B against Oriental in Segunda Liga. [7]

On 23 June 2015, he returned to Swiss football, signing a four-year contract with BSC Young Boys. [8] [9] His first two seasons back in Switzerland were spent mostly on the sidelines with injuries including a metatarsal fracture and torn ligaments in his knee.

He also played for French club FC Girondins de Bordeaux between 2019 and 2021.

Benito with Bordeaux in 2020 Lens - Girondins de Bordeaux (19-09-2020) 60.jpg
Benito with Bordeaux in 2020

On 30 January 2022, Benito signed a 1.5-year contract with Sion. [10]

On 4 July 2022, he returned to Young Boys on a three-year contract. [11] He scored a late own goal against Celtic on 22 January 2025, to put Celtic in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League. [12]

International career

In May 2019, Benito played in the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals, where his team finished fourth. [13]

In 2021, he was called up to the national team for the 2020 UEFA European Championship, where the team created one of the main sensations of the tournament reaching the quarter-finals. [14]

Personal life

He is the nephew of Ivan Benito. [15] Of Galician descent, Benito is fluent in German, Italian, Spanish, English, Portuguese (Galician), and French. [16]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 15 February 2025 [17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [a] League cup [b] ContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Aarau 2009–10 Swiss Super League 700070
2010–11 Swiss Challenge League 26020280
2011–12 Swiss Challenge League13220152
Total46240502
Zürich 2011–12 Swiss Super League20000020
2012–13 Swiss Super League2802100301
2013–14 Swiss Super League280202 [c] 0320
Total580412000641
Benfica 2014–15 Primeira Liga 2020101 [d] 00060
Benfica B 2014–15 Liga Sabseg 3030
Young Boys 2015–16 Swiss Super League100101 [d] 0120
2016–17 Swiss Super League70002 [c] 090
2017–18 Swiss Super League231305 [e] 0311
2018–19 Swiss Super League311308 [d] 0421
2019–20 Swiss Super League00000000
Total71270160942
Bordeaux 2019–20 Ligue 1 2312020271
2020–21 Ligue 131000310
2021–22 Ligue 1100010
Total5512020591
Sion 2021–22 Swiss Super League13000130
Young Boys 2022–23 Swiss Super League190414 [f] 0271
2023–24 Swiss Super League162207 [d] 0252
2024–25 Swiss Super League150205 [d] 0220
Total50281160743
Career total297727270340003639
  1. Includes Swiss Cup, Coupe de France, Taça de Portugal
  2. Includes Taça da Liga, Coupe de la Ligue
  3. 1 2 Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  5. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
  6. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played 20 June 2021 [18]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Switzerland 201820
201931
202050
202130
Total131
Scores and results list Switzerland's goal tally first. [18]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.16 November 2019 Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar Flag of Gibraltar.svg  Gibraltar 4–16–1 UEFA Euro 2020 qualification

Honours

Benfica

FC Zürich

Young Boys

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Loris Benito" (in German). Swiss Football League. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  2. "Loris Benito at FC Zurich". FC Zurich.
  3. "Marten runs wild on field, bites player during soccer match in Switzerland" Archived 13 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine National Post . Retrieved on 11 March 2013.
  4. "Tottenham consider transfer swoop for Loris Benito of FC Zurich". Daily Mirror . 8 April 2014.
  5. "Der FC Zürich ist in Oberstaufen angekommen". FC Zurich. 22 June 2014.
  6. "Taça de Portugal: Benfica sofre mas segue em frente" (in Portuguese). FPF. 18 October 2014.
  7. "Benfica B - Oriental (Jornada 29 Segunda Liga 2014-2015) - Liga Portugal" (in Portuguese). LPFP. 22 February 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  8. "Loris Benito wechselt zu den Young Boys" [Loris Benito joins Young Boys] (in German). BSC Young Boys. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  9. "Loris Benito transferred to Young Boys". S.L. Benfica. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  10. "Loris Benito est sédunois !" (Press release) (in French). Sion. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  11. "LORIS BENITO KEHRT ZU YB ZURÜCK" (in German). Young Boys. 4 July 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  12. Walker, Mark (23 January 2025). "YB captain's misfortune: The own goal that changed the game for Celtic". The Herald. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  13. "Pickford the hero in England shootout win". BBC Sport.
  14. https://www.uefa.com / uefaeuro-2020 / match / 2024485 - switzerland-vs-spain / lineups /? iv = true
  15. Wiederkehr, David (4 August 2013). "Auf dem Lehrpfad nach oben". Tages-Anzeiger (in German). Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  16. admin (11 October 2019). "Football: Loris Benito looking for a new challenge … linguistics – News Sports: Football". News1 English. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  17. Loris Benito at Soccerway
  18. 1 2 "Loris Benito". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  19. Cunha, Pedro Jorge (17 May 2015). "Benfica bicampeão: 28 com as faixas e dois à espera" [Benfica back-to-back champion: 28 with the sashes and two await] (in Portuguese). Maisfutebol. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  20. "Super League: Kevin Mbabu élu joueur de l'année". RTSSport.ch (in French). 28 January 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2023.