Early career Swab was born in Saalfenten on 27 September 1990. From an early age he enjoyed sports, and, in addition to football, he was involved in
biathlon, skiing, and
ski jumping. His love for football prevailed, and at the age of 13 he decided to dedicate himself there entirely.
Red Bull Salzburg and Lustenau Initially in the local team and from the age of 14 at the Salzburg Academies, where he stayed from 2004 to 2011, reaching in 2009 the Second Team with which he played in the second division of the
Austrian Football Bundesliga, while he also participated in training sessions of the first team. In 2010 he was loaned to
Lustenau and counted 24 appearances, six goals and seven assists. He returned but did not stay long, as he left with a new loan for
Admira Wacker, with whom he celebrated his rise in the big category.
Admira Wacker Admira Wacker activated the purchase option entered into the loan agreement and Swab moved there permanently. He stayed at the club until 2014 and took a leading role from the beginning and many responsibilities within the four lines. He played in a total of 114 games, scored 20 goals, served another 14 and naturally aroused the interest of the bigger teams.
Rapid Wien 2014–15 season In June 2014,
Rapid Wien bought him from
Admira Wacker for just 400,000 euros and finally found one of its leaders in his person for the next three years. Stefan took his place in the Starting XI from the beginning of the
season alongside
Thanos Petsos making a perfect match together in the midfield for the club. Schwab at age 23 made overall 36 appearances scoring five goal and serving seven. Rapid Wien finished 2nd at the end of the
league behind
Red Bull Salzburg and reached the quarter-finals of the
Austrian Cup.
2015–16 season Good start at the beginning for the club in the league with six matches without losing and winning over
Ajax in
Champions League Qualifying rounds, everything was great for Schwab and his club. Next Qualifying round with
Shakhtar Donetsk and the dream is over 1–0 lose in
Ernst-Happel-Stadion with massive fan support, was enough to break the spirit of the team. Next stop
UEFA Europa League, very good come back for Stefan Schwab and the
Hütteldorfer in a very strong group stage finishing first and reaching the stage of 32.
Valencia was the next opponent with two matches disaster for Rapid two loses and early exclusion. Same
season for Rapid Wien finishing second again with no trophies but better performance for Stefan, making excellent appearances in
Austria and
Europe. Total 50 matches nine goals and six assist.
2016–17 season After three years
Zoran Barisic was no more for
The Green-Whites and
Mike Büskens was hired. On 7 November 2016, after a 0–1 defeat at home against
Wolfsberger AC both manager Mike Büskens and Director of Football
Andreas Müller were sacked. Four days later
Damir Canadi was presented as the new manager, joining Rapid from league rival
SCR Altach. On 11 December, Fredy Bickel was presented as the new Director of Football. On 9 April 2017, after a 0–3 defeat in
Ried manager
Damir Canadi was sacked and replaced by his former assistant coaches
Goran Djuricin and Martin Bernhard until end of season. Djuricin was later appointed as manager for the following season. It was a tough season for Rapid overall finishing 5th in the league and 3rd in the Europa League group stage. Schwab was for one more time stable and unreplaceable for his team with 39 appearances winning coaches trust and becoming captain of the club.
2017–18 season New start new beginning for Rapid,
Goran Djuricin making a good season finishing 3rd in the league and Stefan winning the top goalscorer award with 12 goals and 13 overall. In November 2017 Schwab was called to represent
Austria on a friendly match against
Uruguay playing only for a minute entering the game as a sabtitute by German coach
Franco Foda.
2018–19 season Record season for Stefan Schwab with 50 appearances and 4291 minutes of playing time in all competitions. Great comeback in Eureapean competition entering and promoting the group stage of
Europa League but losing by
Inter in both Knockout games. A poor season for
Goran Djuricin's club in the league, sacked after losing a game against
St. Pölten by 2–0 in
Allianz Stadion and replaced by
Dietmar Kühbauer signing a contract for the next upcoming years.
2019–20 season Stefan decided not to renew his contract with Rapid to search for a new challenge in his life. For one more season Schwab was one of the main protagonists beside
Taxiarchis Fountas. Schwab in Rapid excelled in domestic and European competitions. He wore the
captain's armband, played in 241 games, scored 51 goals and provided as many assists and even reached the National team of his country.
PAOK 2020–21 season On 1 August 2020,
PAOK officially announced the signing of the Austrian midfielder on two-year contract, with an option for a third year. On 5 November 2020, he scored in a 4–1 home win
2020–21 UEFA Europa League group stage game against
PSV Eindhoven helping PAOK to increase the possibility of qualifying for the next phase of the
UEFA Europa League. Throughout the
season he was the key player in the center of the team. He played in a total of 48 games, offering 9 goals and 9 assists. In the final of the season, he celebrated the
Greek Cup. PAOK faced
OSFP and prevailed with a score of 2–1. Schwap played throughout the match, while he was the one who won the penalty with which PAOK opened the score.
2021–22 season On 12 August 2021, he scored in a crucial 2–0 home win game against
Bohemian F.C., helping PAOK to qualify for the next
UEFA Europa Conference League play-off round. On 9 December, he scored in a 2–0
UEFA Europa Conference League home win game against
Lincoln Red Imps, sealing the qualification of the club in the phase of knockout round play-offs, for the first time in the last five years.
Holstein Kiel On 21 June 2025, Schwab signed with
2. Bundesliga club
Holstein Kiel. ==International career==