Ciriaco Sforza

Sforza started his career in his hometown club FC Wohlen. He was signed by FC Aarau in 1989, where he impressed commentators and fans alike. Sforza's precocious talent was soon noticed, and he was signed by Swiss club Grasshoppers Zürich one year later. He represented Grasshoppers during three successful seasons, also setting a record for the club as the youngest player to make his debut in the Swiss Challenge League. He won the 1991 Swiss Super League championship with the club, and made his national team debut in August 1991. In 1993, after winning the "Swiss footballer of the Year" award, he moved abroad to Germany to play for 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Sforza became the general of the Kaiserslautern midfield and was recognised as one of the best midfielders in the German Bundesliga championship, also receiving a Ballon d'Or nomination in 1994, finishing in 21st place. After two seasons at Kaiserslautern, he was bought by German giants Bayern Munich in 1995. Sforza was signed at the same time as German superstar Jürgen Klinsmann, compared to the homely small-town club Kaiserslautern, Bayern was a team with many stars. Conflicts between Klinsmann and team captain Lothar Matthäus poisoned the atmosphere, and many scandals underlined why Bayern is nicknamed FC Hollywood. Bayern also missed out on the German championship for the second consecutive season, though Sforza was a part of the 1996 UEFA Cup winning Bayern team. Sforza initially had trouble settling in at Bayern, and…

Sforza was selected to play for Switzerland at the 1994 FIFA World Cup by national manager Roy Hodgson, putting on a notable performance and reaching the round of 16. He represented Switzerland at the UEFA Euro 1996 tournament in England, where they were eliminated in the first round. He also captained the Swiss national side. In total, he managed 79 appearances for Switzerland, scoring 7 goals.

Sforza went on to become manager of Swiss team FC Luzern, and was sacked after two more or less successful years managing the team. On 9 June 2009, he was named as the new manager of Grasshopper Club Zürich. signing a contract between 30 June 2011. On 13 April 2012, Sforza left the club after poor results. In February 2014, he was appointed as the new head coach of FC Wohlen, replacing David Sesa. On 1 April 2019, he became the manager of FC Wil. On 26 August 2020, Sforza became the head coach of Basel, signing a two-year contract. He took his assistant Daniel Hasler from Wil with him. Massimo Colomba was goalkeeper coach and on 21 September the club announced that they had hired Patrick Rahmen as second assistant coach to complete Sforza's coaching team. Sforza's first match was on 17 September in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round against Croatian team Osijek which ended with a 2–1 victory. On 6 April 2021 the club announced that, due to the lack of sporting success, FC Basel 1893 were separating themselves from head coach Ciriaco Sforza with immediate effect. They also announced that they separated themselves from assistant manager Daniel Hasler at the same time. On 14 June 2024, after three years away from coaching, he was confirmed as the new head coach of FC Schaffhausen, who play in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of Switzerland. He was dismissed from his position on 4 March 2025, with Schaffhausen in last place of the league and having…

Sforza was born Wohlen, in German-speaking Switzerland, where he was also raised, to an Italian father from Avellino. According to his website, he is married and has two children.