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FC Lugano

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lugano
Full nameFootball Club Lugano
Nickname(s)Bianconeri(Black and White)
L'orgoglio del Ticino(The Pride ofTicino)
Founded28 July 1908;115 years ago(28 July 1908)
GroundCornaredo Stadium,
Lugano,Switzerland
Capacity6,330
OwnerJoe Mansueto
ChairmanPhilippe Regazzoni
ManagerMattia Croci-Torti
LeagueSwiss Super League
2023–24Swiss Super League, 2nd of 12
WebsiteClub website
Current season

FC Luganois a Swiss professionalfootballclub based inLugano.The club was refounded as AC Lugano in 2004 as a result of relegation and the financial situation of FC Lugano, which was founded in 1908. In 2008, the club reverted to its original name, FC Lugano. They play at theStadio Cornaredo.They have played in what is now theSwiss Super Leagueduring the periods of 1922–53, 1954–60, 1961–63, 1964–76, 1979–80, 1988–97, 1998–02, and from 2015 until present.

History

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Former club crest
Chart of FC Lugano table positions in the Swiss football league system

Football Club Lugano was formed on 28 July 1908 under the leadership of then-president Ernesto Corsini. Promotion to the highestSwiss Super Leaguecame for the first time in 1922, and after several years of relegations and promotions, the team won its firstSwiss Cupin 1931. The following decade, FC Lugano was able to win 3 national titles (1938, 1941 and 1949).

For the first fifty years of its existence, Lugano played at the Campo Marzio – which opened on 13 September 1908 – but its success prompted the city to build a new stadium, and so on 26 August 1951, theCornaredo Stadiumwas inaugurated, which has a capacity of 15,000.

In 1968, Lugano won theSwiss Cupand hence the team participated in the Cup Winners' Cup. Two years later the team took part in theUEFA Cup.

In 1993, Lugano won its third Cup againstGrasshoppers,later participating in the Cup Winners' Cup, in which it reached second qualifying round. In the 1995–96 season, Lugano participated in the UEFA Cup, eliminatingJeunesse Hautcharagein the first round andInter Milanin the second.

The club was declaredbankruptin 2003 and forcibly removed from the league. Due to the bankruptcy, the team was renamed AC Lugano and fielded under-21 players, having been forced to sell or release the senior team to pay off the club's debts. In 2004, the club merged withMalcantone Agno,and it was decided that Lugano would re-enter the Swiss football system in theSwiss Challenge League.[1]Morotti Joseph, the president ofMalcantone Agno,was entrusted with the leadership of the new club.

In 2007, the company was bought by a group led by Giambattista Pastorello. Luido Bernasconi became the new president. On 4 June 2008, the club's centenary year, the general meeting of shareholders voted on a name change. The historical name of Football Club Lugano was reinstated. In 2015 FC Lugano was promoted to theSwiss Super League.

On 18 August 2021, it was announced that American billionaire and owner of theChicago Fire FC,Joe Mansueto,had purchased FC Lugano and that the Fire and FC Lugano were to work together as sister clubs.[2]On 1 September 2021, assistant coachMattia Croci-Tortitook over coaching duties at the club, replacingAbel Braga.[3]The first season under new ownership would immediately prove successful, as they were able to win their first title after 29 years, winning the2021–22 Swiss Cup.[4]A year later,they failed to defend the cup title, losing 2–3 in the exciting final to Swiss championsYoung Boys.[5]

European record

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Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1968–69 European Cup Winners' Cup First Round SpainBarcelona 0–1 0–3 0–4
1971–72 UEFA Cup First Round PolandLegia Warsaw 1–3 0–0 1–3
1993–94 European Cup Winners' Cup Qualifying Round BelarusNeman Grodno 5–0 1–2 6–2
First Round SpainReal Madrid 1–3 0–3 1–6
1995–96 UEFA Cup Preliminary Round LuxembourgJeunesse Esch 4–0 0–0 4–0
First Round ItalyInter Milan 1–1 1–0 2–1
Second Round Czech RepublicSlavia Prague 1–2 0–1 1–3
2001–02 UEFA Champions League Second Qualifying Round UkraineShakhtar Donetsk 2–1 0–3 2–4
2002–03 UEFA Cup Qualifying Round LatviaFK Ventspils 1–0 0–3 1–3
2017–18 UEFA Europa League Group G IsraelHapoel Be'er Sheva 1–0 1–2 3rd
RomaniaSteaua București 1–2 2–1
Czech RepublicViktoria Plzeň 3–2 1–4
2019–20 UEFA Europa League Group B UkraineDynamo Kyiv 0–0 1–1 4th
DenmarkCopenhagen 0–1 0–1
SwedenMalmö FF 0–0 1–2
2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League Third Qualifying Round IsraelHapoel Be'er Sheva 0–2 1–3 1–5
2023–24 UEFA Europa League Play-off Round BelgiumUnion Saint-Gilloise 0–1 0–2 0–3
2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League Group D BelgiumClub Brugge 1–3 0–2 4th
NorwayBodø/Glimt 0–0 2–5
TurkeyBeşiktaş 0–2 3–2
2024–25 UEFA Champions League Second Qualifying Round TurkeyFenerbahçe

Players

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Current squad

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As of 13 July, 2024[6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules.Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK SwitzerlandSUI Amir Saipi
2 DF CanadaCAN Zachary Brault-Guillard
5 DF SwitzerlandSUI Albian Hajdari
6 MF GermanyGER Antonios Papadopoulos
7 MF Czech RepublicCZE Roman Macek
8 MF SwitzerlandSUI Anto Grgić
10 FW SwitzerlandSUI Mattia Bottani(captain)
11 MF SwitzerlandSUI Renato Steffen
13 GK SwitzerlandSUI Šerif Berbić
15 GK GreeceGRE Fotis Pseftis
17 DF GermanyGER Lars Lukas Mai
18 MF FranceFRA Hicham Mahou
19 FW KosovoKOS Shkelqim Vladi
20 MF Ivory CoastCIV Ousmane Doumbia
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 MF FranceFRA Yanis Cimignani
22 DF MoroccoMAR Ayman El Wafi
23 DF ArgentinaARG Milton Valenzuela
25 MF SwitzerlandSUI Uran Bislimi
26 DF PortugalPOR Martim Marques
27 MF SwitzerlandSUI Daniel Dos Santos
28 MF SloveniaSVN Abel Marc
29 MF TunisiaTUN Hadj Mahmoud
31 FW ArgentinaARG Ignacio Aliseda
34 FW SwitzerlandSUI Boris Babić
44 MF NigeriaNGA Johan Nkama
46 DF ItalyITA Mattia Zanotti
58 GK NigeriaNGA Sebastian Osigwe
93 FW PolandPOL Kacper Przybyłko

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules.Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF SwitzerlandSUI Allan Arigoni(atChicago Fireuntil 31 December 2024)

Honours

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Former coaches

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Coaching staff

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Position Name
Owner United StatesJoe Mansueto
Chairman SwitzerlandPhilippe Regazzoni
CEO SwitzerlandMichele Zanetti
Sporting director SwitzerlandBenito Martinelli
Press officer SwitzerlandLuca Di Tommasso
Team coordinator SwitzerlandRiccardo Rigamonti
Head coach SwitzerlandMattia Croci-Torti
Assistant coaches SwitzerlandPiercesare Gallo
SwitzerlandSaverio Valentini
Goalkeeper coach SwitzerlandEnrico Rossi
Fitness coach SwitzerlandMirko Antonelli
Match analyst SwitzerlandSalvatore Colucci
Performance coach SwitzerlandAndrea Giudici
Team doctors SwitzerlandDr. Giuseppe Montini
SwitzerlandDr. Giampaolo Golinucci
Physiotherapists SwitzerlandNicolò Giovanninni
SwitzerlandVittorio Silvestri
SwitzerlandFrancesco Vialli
SwitzerlandPietro Simonetti

References

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  1. ^"FC Lugano – Switzerland 2017-18"(PDF).LiberoGuide.Archived(PDF)from the original on 26 July 2022.Retrieved17 February2021.
  2. ^"Chicago Fire FC Owner and Chairman Joe Mansueto Purchases Swiss Super League Club FC Lugano | Chicago Fire FC".chicagofirefc.Archivedfrom the original on 4 June 2023.Retrieved15 May2022.
  3. ^Berger, Nicola."Super League: Mattia Croci-Torti neuer Lugano-Trainer".Archivedfrom the original on 15 March 2023.Retrieved15 May2022.
  4. ^"Der FC Lugano gewinnt den 97. Schweizer Cupfinal".SFV.15 May 2023.Archivedfrom the original on 15 May 2022.Retrieved5 June2023.
  5. ^"Schweizer Cup Männer: YB macht das Double perfekt".SFV.4 June 2023.Archivedfrom the original on 9 June 2023.Retrieved5 June2023.
  6. ^"Prima squadra"[First team] (in Italian). FC Lugano.Archivedfrom the original on 20 September 2019.Retrieved6 June2023.
  7. ^"Fair Play Trophys gehen nach Lugano und Thun"[Fair Play trophies awarded to Lugano and Thun]. 1 June 2022. Archived fromthe originalon 1 June 2022.Retrieved27 December2023.
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