Alisha Lehmann

Alisha Debora Lehmann (born 21 January 1999) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Juventus and the Switzerland national team. She played in the past for BSC YB Frauen of the Nationalliga A, and for West Ham United, Everton and Aston Villa of the WSL.

BSC YB Frauen
After beginning her career at age nine with FC Konolfingen, where she played from 2008 to 2011, Lehmann joined the U14 BSC YB team as a 12-year-old. She also trained with the U13 to U15 boys' teams three times a week and played in two matches on the male junior teams.

Lehmann started her senior professional career at Swiss club BSC YB at age 17. In her first season, she scored a hat-trick in a 3–0 win against FC Staad. She was top scorer for her team that season with nine goals. She went on to score 25 goals in 52 league appearances during her time at the club.

West Ham United
Newly-professional FA Women's Super League club West Ham United signed Lehmann from BSC YB Frauen in August 2018. It was reported that West Ham manager Matt Beard had been impressed by Lehmann's performances at the 2018 U-19 European Championship, which Switzerland hosted.

Lehmann scored both goals in a 2–1 win over Reading on 20 February 2019. In April 2019 West Ham extended Lehmann's contract after she scored nine goals in 30 appearances in all competitions and helped the club reach the FA Cup final by scoring the equalising goal in the semi-final match against Reading on 14 April 2019.

On 3 November 2019, Lehmann scored in the 75th minute against Reading for a 1–0 win that helped her team advance to the knockout stage of the 2019–20 Conti Cup. On 19 January 2020, when West Ham was behind 1–0 to Brighton, Lehmann scored two goals in the 80th and 83rd minute to give her team a 2–1 victory. She was shortlisted for the BBC Super League Young Player of the Season award for the 2019–20 season.

Everton (loan)
On 27 January 2021, it was announced that Lehmann had moved to Everton on loan until the end of the season. She earned her first start for the team on 14 February against Reading. She scored her first goal on 11 March against Birmingham City.

Aston Villa
Lehmann then joined Aston Villa for the 2021–22 season. She scored her first two goals for Aston Villa on 2 December 2021 against Sunderland. In the match against Leicester City on 23 January 2023, the score was 1–1 until Lehmann scored a winner in the 93rd minute. She was named Women's Supporters' Player of the Season for 2021–22.

In July 2022, she signed a one-year contract extension with Aston Villa for the 2022–23 season, having made 23 appearances and scoring four goals during her first season at the club.

On 26 March 2023, she made two goals and an assist in a 5–0 win against Leicester City. In this game she completed 100 percent of her dribbles and earned Player of the Match. At the end of the 2022–23 season, having made 54 appearances for Aston Villa, Lehmann extended her contract until June 2026, with the option of extending for a further year after that date.

In the final away game of the 2023–24 season, Lehmann scored in the 1–0 victory against Brighton & Hove Albion and was awarded Player of the Match.

Juventus
On 6 July 2024, Lehmann joined Italian side Juventus by signing a contract until 2027.

Youth
Lehmann made her debut for the Swiss U-17 national team on 11 April 2015, defeating Serbia 8–1 during the elite qualifying round of the 2015 U-17 European Championship. She scored her first goal five days later, sealing the score with opponents Finland at 4–0 in the 61st minute. In the final tournament, she played in five out of six games. She scored the goal in a 1–0 win against the Republic of Ireland and helped her team finish first in their group. Switzerland reached the final but lost 5–2 to Spain.

Lehmann was called up by Monica Di Fonzo for the 2016 U-17 European Championship qualifiers, where she played all three preliminary phase matches, scoring against both Serbia and Lithuania, and all of the next three elite phase matches, where Switzerland was eliminated.

Selected by coach Nora Häuptle for the qualifying phases of the 2017 U-19 European Championship, Lehmann made her U19 national team debut on 18 October 2016 against Estonia and scored her first U19 goal in this match. Lehmann then scored a hat-trick in the following match against Croatia, and another hat-trick in a 3–3 draw with Czechia. She played in all the remaining matches of the elite phase, but Switzerland did not qualify.

At the U-19 European Championship at home in Switzerland in July 2018, Lehmann scored the equalizer in the 80th minute making it 2–2 against France. After a 2–0 loss to Spain, she scored again in a 3–1 win over Norway. With a win, a draw, and a loss, the Swiss retired in the preliminary round. Lehmann played in all three games.

Senior
Lehmann won her first cap for the senior Switzerland national team on 22 October 2017 in a friendly against Japan, coming on as a substitute for Eseosa Aigbogun in the 55th minute. She scored her first international goal on 2 March 2018 against Finland at the 2018 Cyprus Cup. She played her first official international match on 5 April 2018 in a 1–0 victory over Scotland for qualification to the 2019 World Cup. In May 2019, she sustained an ankle injury during national camp training and underwent surgery.

Lehmann was part of the team that qualified for the 2022 UEFA European Championship. She scored a goal in a 2–1 victory against Belgium. In the final must-win match for Switzerland, Lehmann helped her team reach the Euros during the penalty shootout against Czechia when she stepped up as the third shooter and successfully made it 1–1. She was eventually not available for the 2022 Euros because she felt she was not "mentally ready" to be involved in the tournament. On 3 July 2023, she was selected for the 2023 World Cup. She played in two out of three group stage matches, coming on as a substitute both times. Switzerland were eliminated by eventual champions Spain in the Round of 16.

Personal life
Lehmann is openly bisexual. She formerly identified as lesbian. She previously dated Swiss national teammate Ramona Bachmann. Although they were believed to have split in 2022, as of June 2024, Lehmann was in a relationship with Brazilian Juventus midfielder Douglas Luiz.

In popular culture
In 2019, Lehmann was featured in the BBC Three series Britain's Youngest Football Boss with her then girlfriend Ramona.

As of 29 December 2023, she has more than 16 million followers on Instagram, making her the world's most-followed women's footballer.

International

 * Scores and results list Switzerland goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lehmann goal.

Honours
West Ham United
 * Women's FA Cup runner-up: 2018–19

Switzerland U17
 * UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship runner-up: 2015