Loris Benito Souto (born 7 January 1992) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a left-backorcentre-back for Young Boys and the Switzerland national team.
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 32)[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* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (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 | 35 | (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 07:22, 1 March 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:44, 4 June 2023 (UTC) | |||
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]
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 roundofTaça 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 OrientalinSegunda 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.
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]
In May 2019, Benito played in the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals, where his team finished fourth.[12]
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.[13]
He is the nephew of Ivan Benito.[14] Of Spanish descent, Benito is fluent in German, Italian, Spanish, English, Portuguese, and French.[15]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Aarau | 2009–10 | Swiss Super League | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| 2010–11 | Swiss Challenge League | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 28 | 0 | ||||
| 2011–12 | Swiss Challenge League | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 15 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 46 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 50 | 2 | |||||
| Zürich | 2011–12 | Swiss Super League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | Swiss Super League | 28 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 30 | 1 | |||
| 2013–14 | Swiss Super League | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | |||
| Total | 58 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 1 | |||
| Benfica | 2014–15 | Primeira Liga | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Benfica B | 2014–15 | Liga Sabseg | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Young Boys | 2015–16 | Swiss Super League | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[d] | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | Swiss Super League | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | Swiss Super League | 23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 5[e] | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | |||
| 2018–19 | Swiss Super League | 31 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 8[d] | 0 | — | 42 | 1 | |||
| 2019–20 | Swiss Super League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 71 | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | — | 94 | 2 | ||||
| Bordeaux | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 31 | 0 | ||||
| 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 55 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 59 | 1 | ||||
| Sion | 2021–22 | Swiss Super League | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| Young Boys | 2022–23 | Swiss Super League | 19 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 4[f] | 0 | — | 27 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | Swiss Super League | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 7[d] | 0 | — | 25 | 2 | |||
| Total | 35 | 2 | 6 | 1 | — | 11 | 0 | — | 52 | 3 | ||||
| Career total | 282 | 7 | 25 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 341 | 9 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 2018 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 13 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 16 November 2019 | Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar |  Gibraltar |
4–1 | 6–1 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
Benfica
FC Zürich
Young Boys
Individual
