Willi Steffen was a Swiss

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 international

Switzerland national football team

The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...

 footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 who played as a left-back.

Steffen started out as an amateur

Amateur

An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....

 with Cantonal Neuchâtel

Neuchâtel Xamax

Neuchâtel Xamax Football Club is a Swiss football club, based in Neuchâtel. It was created in 1970 through a merger between FC Cantonal and FC Xamax . The club plays in red shirts, black shorts and red socks and are currently in the Axpo Super League, the highest Swiss football league. They play...

 and later became the first Swiss footballer to play in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 when he signed for Chelsea

Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

. He had only journeyed to England to learn the language

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, having been sent by his parents in preparation for him joining the family's fruit

Fruit

In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

 and vegetable

Vegetable

The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....

 business, but his teacher turned out to be the wife of then-Chelsea manager, Billy Birrell

Billy Birrell

William "Billy" Birrell was a Scottish football player and manager.He played for Raith Rovers and Middlesbrough, winning the Second Division title with the latter in 1927, before moving into management. He returned to Raith to become manager before leaving for Bournemouth in 1930 and then Queens...

. He was given a trial and signed for the club in July 1946.

Steffen was a cultured and dedicated full back, tall and pacy, who quickly became a crowd favourite at Chelsea, while his blonde hair and good looks also won him admirers. He made his debut in a 3-1 loss against Derby County

Derby County F.C.

Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

 and played 20 league and cup games for Chelsea during the 1946-47 season

1946-47 in English football

The 1946–47 season was the 67th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The 1946–47 season was the first to feature a full football programme since the 1938–39 campaign. Eighty-eight teams competed over four divisions. Liverpool went top of the First Division with a 2–1 away win over...

, including a memorable FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 win over Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 at Highbury

Arsenal Stadium

Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, North London, which was the home ground of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006...

, during which he expertly marked winger Ian McPherson

Ian McPherson

Ian Buchanan McPherson was a Scottish football player.A native of Glasgow, McPherson first joined Rangers as a youth player, although World War II intervened during the early part of his career, and all competitive football was suspended. McPherson left Rangers to serve in the RAF, and was awarded...

. Steffen returned to Switzerland at the end of the season to finish his national service

National service

National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...

 and was made club captain in his final game for Chelsea, also against Derby.

Upon his return to Switzerland he re-joined Cantonal before moving to Young Boys Bern

BSC Young Boys

Berner Sport Club Young Boys 1898 is a Swiss sporting club based in the capital city of Bern. The name is often abbreviated to YB . Abroad, YB is often referred to as Young Boys Bern. The club's colors are yellow and black....

 in 1950. With them, he won the Swiss Super League

Swiss Super League

The Swiss Super League or Axpo Super League is the top tier of the Swiss Football League. The Swiss Super League is currently ranked 16th according to UEFA's ranking of league coefficients, which is based upon Swiss team performances in European competitions.-Names:-Participating clubs:The teams...

 four years in succession from 1957-60 as well as the Schweizer Cup

Schweizer Cup

The Swiss Cup is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1926 by the Swiss Football Association . The winner is allowed to take part in the UEFA Europa League. Between 2003 and 2008 the cup has been sponsored and known as the Swisscom Cup.-Finals:All played...

 in 1953 and 1958.

A former fighter pilot, Steffen played for Switzerland at the 1950 FIFA World Cup

1950 FIFA World Cup

The 1950 FIFA World Cup, held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July, was the fourth FIFA World Cup. It was the first World Cup since 1938, the planned 1942 and 1946 competitions having been canceled owing to World War II...

, though they went out in the group stages. He also played in a 1-0 win over an England

England national football team

The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 side containing Stanley Matthews

Stanley Matthews

Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers'...

, Tommy Lawton

Tommy Lawton

Thomas "Tommy" Lawton was an English association footballer who rose to fame a short time before the outbreak of the Second World War and enjoyed a successful career which lasted until well into the 1950s....

 and Billy Wright in Zurich

Zürich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

 in 1947. He won 28 international caps for his country.

He died in Bern in 2005, aged 80.