Euros youngest ever scorer beat Wayne Rooney’s report however retired aged simply 26
Johan Vonlanthen, the youngest-ever goal scorer at the European Championships, had to hang up his boots prematurely.
The Swiss winger was a mere 18 years and 141 days old when he set the record by scoring in Switzerland’s 3-1 loss to France at Euro 2004, and despite Switzerland being knocked out of the tournament after finishing fourth in their group, the competition remains a significant memory for Vonlanthen.
What makes this record even more extraordinary is that the previous record was set just four days prior by Wayne Rooney. The Manchester United legend made headlines when he scored twice in England’s 3-0 victory over Switzerland at the tender age of 18 years and 237 days, breaking Cristiano Ronaldo’s record (19 years and 128 days) from earlier in the same tournament.
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However, life wasn’t always rosy for Vonlanthen, who was forced to retire from football at 26 due to injury. While playing for Colombian Primera Division side Itagui, he confessed: “Football does not mean the same to me now as it did before.”
Vonlanthen made his way through the BSC Young Boys academy before signing his first professional contract at the age of 16. His big break would come in signing for PSV Eindhoven in 2003, where he would manage five goals in 29 games despite being loaned out to Brescia and NAD Breda for the majority of his tenure.
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A move to Red Bull Salzburg in 2006 would see him net 11 in 85 appearances over the next five years – as well as 10 in 27 for Zurich during a loan spell between 2009 and 2010. In a massive shock to the footballing world, the Swiss forward would return to professional football the year after announcing that he was done with the game – signing for Zurich’s Grasshoppers.
It was seemingly never the same for Vonlanthen though, who only made five appearances for the side in total – instead spending 17 games on loan to Schaffhausen. He would make the move to Servette in 2014, going on to score 10 goals in 32 appearances, before rounding his career off at Wil between 2016 and 2018, scoring 11 goals in 66 games for the club.
Throughout his career, Vonlanthen would make 40 appearances in total for Switzerland, being called up for the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008.
