FC Luzern

FC Luzern

Full name	Fussball-Club Luzern
Nickname(s)	Die Leuchten(The Lights)
Founded	12 August 1901(1901-08-12)
Ground	Swissporarena,Lucerne
Capacity	17,000
President	Stefan Wolf
Head coach	Mario Frick
League	Swiss Super League
2023–24	Swiss Super League, 7th of 12
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Fussball-Club Luzern(German pronunciation:[ɛfˈt͡seːluˈtsɛrn]), or simply abbreviated toFCL,is a Swisssports clubbased inLucerne(German:Luzern). It is best known for its professionalfootballteam, which plays in theSuper League,the top tier of theSwiss football league system,and has won thenational titleonce and thenational cupthree times.

The club colours are blue and white, derived from the City of Lucerne andCanton of Lucernecoats of arms. The club plays its home games atSwissporarenawhich was newly built in 2011 at the place of the oldStadion Allmend.

FC Luzern was founded in 1901. It has non-professional departments forwomen's football,volleyball,bocciaandgymnastics.

History

Chart of FC Luzern table positions in the Swiss football league system

FC Luzern's greatest success was winning the Swiss Championship in 1989. The club has also won theSwiss Cupthree times (1960, 1992, 2021) and finished runners-up four times (1997, 2005, 2007, 2012).

With a total of 17 "moves", FC Luzern has the highest number of promotions and relegations to and from the national first tier since the establishment of a single nationwide top division in 1933.

Promotions	Relegations
9x (1936, 1953, 1958, 1967, 1970, 1974, 1979, 1993, 2006)	8x (1944, 1955, 1966, 1969, 1972, 1975, 1992, 2003)

The club's birth

The first known attempt to found a football club in Luzern dates back to 6 May 1867 when an announcement was published in the newspaperLuzerner Tagblattadvertising a meeting regarding the foundation of "FC Luzern" and invited "additional members". Even though the call did not have great resonance, this loose group of football friends can be described as a forerunner to FC Luzern.

In 1901, a second attempt was initiated by friends Adolf Coulin, Ernst Haag and Hans Walter, who knew football from the Romandie, where the game was already very popular. They met on 8 July 1901 with other football enthusiasts at Floragarten – a restaurant at Seidenhofstrasse near the train station – to arrange the establishment of FC Luzern. Only four days later on 12 July 1901, the first training was held atAllmend,a large green space south of the city centre that would later become the club's home. The official foundation took place on 12 August 1901.

The first match was held on 13 April 1902 away againstSC Zofingen.In the 1–2 defeat, Albrik Lüthy became the first ever goal scorer for the club. The first match played on home ground was on 25 May 1902 with Zofingen as the opponent again. It ended with a 4–0 victory for the away side.

Slow start (1903–1918)

On 13 September 1903, FC Luzern became an official member of theSwiss Football Association(SFA). At the time, clubs were allowed to freely choose the division to play in and the club decided to compete in the third tier Serie C. Despite winning only one match in its first season, the club chose to start in the Serie B for the 1904–05 season. After finishing second for three consecutive years from 1906 until 1909, Luzern was incorporated into the Serie A by the SFA in 1909. However, the task proved to be too big for the side, and Luzern finished the season at the bottom of the league table.

Under new management, things turned to the better. For the first time, international matches were held, the first against Unione Sportiva Milanense in 1911, a 2–3 loss inChiasso.In the second international encounter, Luzern drew 1–1 againstMulhouse,then won their first international match 4–2 over SV Stuttgart in 1912.After disappointing performances in the domestic league, Luzern finished bottom of the table in 1912 and 1913 and lost its right to play in the Serie A.

Luzern also struggled in Serie B and was threatened to become the second club in the city. Between 1913 and 1915, Luzern was defeated five times by city rival FC Kickers. For a time, even a merger with 1907 founded Kickers was a realistic scenario, but the merger was rejected by only one vote.

Almost champion and back to Serie B (1918–1936)

After five years in the second division Luzern returned to Serie A in 1918 after beatingFC Baden.Dionys Schönecker, who joined FC Luzern from Austrian clubRapid Wien,became the first professional manager for the club in 1921. His appointment was an instant success as Luzern went on to win the central Swiss group of the Serie A and qualified for the final round of the championship. After defeating eastern Swiss championsBlue Stars Zürich2–1, Luzern facedServette Genevain a title decider on 25 June 1922 inBasel.The hotly favoured and experienced Genevans won 2–0, even though the match could not be played to the end after Servette fans stormed the pitch due to a false signal by the referee. The followers could not be persuaded to leave the pitch and the Luzern side agreed to end the match to avoid further incidents.

Luzern fell back into old patterns and only narrowly escaped relegation in the two subsequent seasons, but was unable to avoid relegation in 1925. From 1925 to 1930, the club played in the second division and was often close to promotion. Within the SFA, the late 1920s and early 1930s were marked by failed attempts for league reform and chaotic association meetings. After formally securing promotion with its third consecutive second division title in 1929, Luzern was barred from participating in the national first tier until the spring of 1931. However, in 1931, a drastic reduction of clubs in the top division was implemented, meaning forced relegation for no less than 15 clubs, including Luzern.

Barren years (1936–1959)

A change in fortune saw Luzern promoted to the newly created Nationalliga in 1936. Despite sanctions by the SFA, the club managed to finish the 1936–37 season fourth, the side's best final league position until 1976. In the following years (which were heavily affected by World War II), FCL was not able to build on this success. Managers came and went but the club never ranked higher than the bottom four. When acclaimed internationalSirio Vernatileft Luzern in 1943, the team was deprived of its best player and was relegated in the spring of 1944.

In the 1940s, Luzern became a typical second division club. In 1952–53, Luzern again had a bad start to the campaign, but improved significantly as the season progressed. Promotion could be secured in the final match against local rivalSC Zug.

The boom only lasted for two years and Luzern was relegated again in 1955. The club board appointed young German managerRudi Gutendorf,whose managerial career would later span the entire planet. While Gutendorf saw the first years as a consolidation period, the team almost got instantly promoted after just one year in the second division. Promotion eventually came in 1958.

The first trophy and the yo-yo years (1960–1979)

While league performances in the Nationalliga A were erratic throughout the first half of the 1960s, Luzern won its first major national trophy by winning theSwiss Cupin 1960. The final was played againstFC Grenchen.Luzern then participated in the first edition of theUEFA Cup Winners' Cupin 1960–61, but was comfortably defeated byFiorentina(0–3, 2–6).

The success did not last long and the chronically poor financial situation and average league performances led to many managerial changes. The club was relegated once again in 1966, and Luzern developed a reputation as a "yo-yo team". Promotion in 1967 was followed by relegation in 1969, promotion in 1970, relegation in 1972, promotion in 1974, once again relegation in 1975 and finally promotion in 1979. Eleven different managers stood at the sideline during this time, among them the 1960 cup winner, local legend and later manager of theSwitzerland national team,Paul Wolfisberg.His second managerial spell from 1978 to 1982 marked the beginning of one of the most successful periods in the club's history.

The golden years (1980–1992)

Luzern signedOttmar Hitzfeldin the summer of 1980. (It was Hitzfeld's last station as a player before he started his successful managerial career in 1983.) With several mid-table finishes throughout the early 1980s, the club consolidated its position in the league.Friedel Rauschtook over as a manager in 1985 and guided Luzern to their most successful era. In 1986, the club finished third and qualified for theUEFA Cupfor the first time in club history. After a remarkable 0–0 away draw againstSpartak Moscow,the home leg was lost 0–1 through a late winner for the Soviet side.

With a fifth-place finish in 1987 and 1988, Luzern, being widely viewed as an underdog team, sensationally won the Swiss championship in 1989. It is the single biggest success in the club's history to date. Luzern clinched the title race with a 1–0 home win against Servette in front of 24,000 fans. The deciding goal was scored by German striker Jürgen Mohr.

The league triumph entitled Luzern to participate in theEuropean Cup,the club's first (and so far only) appearance in this competition. However, Luzern was without a realistic chance against Dutch championsPSVand suffered another early halt to their European campaigns. Unable to defend the league title in 1990, Luzern qualified for the UEFA Cup and secured its first European win againstMTK Budapest,but lost toAdmira Wacker Viennain the next round.

In a sudden change of fortune in 1991–92, Luzern failed to qualify for the championship playoff group only due to goal difference and surprisingly suffered relegation after a hapless campaign in the relegation playoffs. Only days after the shock, Luzern won its third major trophy after beatingFC Lugano3–1 in the Swiss Cup final. Rausch left the club at the end of the season.

Decline and resurrection (1993–2006)

Having returned immediately to the Nationalliga A in 1993, the club could not live up to the earlier successes and played a mediocre role in the following years, with the exception of a cup final appearance in 1997 that was lost against championsFC Sion.The late 1990s and early 2000s were marked by frequent managerial changes and renewed financial struggles. The club's longstanding chairman, Romano Simioni (1975–1998), was forced to step down after a prolonged power struggle between different factions in the club. This was followed by a chaotic and scandal ridden period of financial and sporting instability. In 1999, the club avoided the withdrawal of its playing license only with a last-minute rescue campaign to raise funds. In 2001, Luzern's centenary year, the club's ownership entity, FC Luzern AG, enteredadministration.

After continuously precarious league performances, Luzern eventually got relegated in 2003. The fall went on and Luzern finished behind local rivalsSC Kriensfor the first time in club history in 2004. Luzern lost the Swiss Cup final in 2005 againstFC Zürich.In 2006, under the management of former centre-backRené van Eck,the team won theSwiss Challenge Leagueand secured promotion with a 31-match unbeaten run.

The Super League era (2006–present)

Luzern appointed former Swiss internationalCiriaco Sforzaas manager and qualified for another Swiss Cup final that was lost againstFC Baselin 2007. The Luzern board of directors fell out of patience with Sforza in 2008 after winning only one point in six matches. Luzern avoided relegation after appointingRolf Fringerand eventually beating FC Lugano 5–1 on aggregate in the relegation playoffs in 2009.

The signing of star playerHakan Yakinin summer 2009 transformed the team into a successful side that finished third. The subsequent UEFA Europa League qualifiers were lost againstUtrecht.After a mediocre 2010–11 season, Fringer was replaced with former Swiss internationalMurat Yakin,brother of Hakan Yakin. Luzern finished the 2011–12 season second – the highest finish since 1989 – but lost yet another Swiss Cup final for the fourth consecutive time. After a poor start to the 2012–13 season and the defeat toGenkin the UEFA Europa League playoff round, Murat Yakin was replaced withCarlos Bernegger.In similar fashion as his predecessor, Bernegger failed to confirm a good first season performance and was replaced by formerGerman internationalMarkus Babbelafter a poor season start and a disappointing Europa League qualifier defeat againstSt Johnstone.Under Babbel's management, the club's performances stabilised as it finished fifth (2014–15), third (2015–16) and fifth again (2016–17). However, Luzern continuously failed to advance in UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds after aggregate defeats toSassuoloin 2016 andOsijekin 2017.

After a disappointing first half of the 2017–18 season, Markus Babbel was replaced with U-21 managerGerardo Seoane.Seoane's appointment had an immediate positive impact and the club finished the season 3rd. Only weeks after the end of the season, Seoane joined new Swiss championYoung Boys Bernin a surprise move. On 22 June 2018, FC Luzern announced the appointment of formerAnderlechtandNurembergmanagerRené Weiler.In early 2019, following a sequence of bad results and atmospheric tensions between Weiler and the club's sporting directorRemo Meyer,Weiler was replaced by former Swiss internationalThomas Häberliwho lead the team to a 5th-place finish. Luzern progressed to the next round in a European qualifying encounter for the first time since 1992 by beating Faroese sideKÍ Klaksvik2–0 on aggregate but was subsequently eliminated byEspanyol.After a poor first half of the 2019-20 campaign, Häberli was replaced by formerMarseilleandGetafemidfielderFabio Celestini.

On 24 May 2021, Luzern won their thirdSwiss Cup,following a 3–1 win overFC St. Gallen.

Fans and rivalries

Although the club has only won four important national trophies, Luzern is one of the traditional football clubs in the country with a strong local supporter base. The club draws its support predominantly fromCentral Switzerland,leading the number of sold season tickets in the cantons ofLucerne,Obwalden,Nidwalden,Uri,Zugas well as in some parts ofAargauandSchwyz.Since moving to the new stadium in 2011, Luzern has always ranked within the top five in terms of average attendance in the Swiss Super League with an average crowd of 9,000 to 14,000.

The local derby is played with SC Kriens, whose stadium is located about 1.3 kilometres from FC Luzern's facilities at Allmend. On 12 August 2017, Luzern beat SC Kriens 1–0 in the opening round of the2017–18 Swiss Cup.It was the first encounter between the two sides in an official contest since 2006.

Although there are no traditional and deep rooted rivalries, periods of intensified sporting competition have sparked rivalries between Luzern and Basel in the mid-1990s and with Sion in the mid-2000s. A majority of the fans, particularly Ultra groups, viewFC St. Gallenas a major rival. Matches withFC Aarauare also by many considered as a local derby and attract big numbers of Luzern supporters, especially to away matches.

Stadium

Between 1934 and 2009, the club played its home games at theStadion Allmend,which had a theoretical capacity of 25,000. For security reasons however, theSwiss Football Associationdid not allow more than 13,000 to attend in the final year of its existence in 2009. Until a new stadium was completed in 2011, Luzern temporarily played its home matches at theGersag StadioninEmmenbrücke.

Swissporarena, home to FC Luzern.

In August 2011, the club moved into the newly builtSwissporarena,located at the former location of the old stadium. The opening match ended with a 0–0 draw againstFC Thun.

Honours

• Swiss Super League
  • Winners:1988–89
  • Runners-up:1921–22,2011–12
• Swiss Cup
  • Winners:1959–60,1991–92,2020–21
  • Runners-up:1996–97,2004–05,2006–07,2011–12

The greatest success in the club's history was winning the championship in 1989 under the management of German head coachFriedel Rausch.Furthermore, the club played in six Swiss Cup finals, winning two by defeatingFC Grenchen1–0 in 1960 andFC Lugano3–1 (after extra time) in 1992. Later, the club lost four cup finals in a row: in 1997 against Sion (4–5 on penalties), in 2005 against Zürich (1–3), and twice against Basel, in 2007 (0–1) and 2012 (2–4 on penalties). Reaching the cup final in 2005 as a second-tier club, the promotion back to the Super League in 2006, reaching the cup finals in 2007 and 2012 and winning the cup in 2021 rank as the club's most recent successes.

All-time league table

Luzern is ranked 9th in the all-time league table.

European appearances

Season	Competition	Round	Club	1st leg	2nd leg	Aggregate
1960–61	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	QF	Fiorentina	0–3	2–6	2–9
1986–87	UEFA Cup	1R	Spartak Moscow	0–0	0–1	0–1
1989–90	European Cup	1R	PSV	0–3	0–2	0–5
1990–91	UEFA Cup	1R	MTK Budapest	1–1	2–1	3–2
		2R	SCN Admira/Wacker	0–1	1–1	1–2
1992–93	European Cup Winners' Cup	1R	Levski Sofia	1–2	1–0	2–2 (a)
		2R	Feyenoord	1–0	1–4	2–4
1997–98	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1R	Slavia Prague	2–4	0–2	2–6
2010–11	UEFA Europa League	3Q	Utrecht	0–1	1–3	1–4
2012–13	UEFA Europa League	PO	Genk	2–1	0–2	2–3
2014–15	UEFA Europa League	2Q	St Johnstone	1–1	1–1 (aet)	2–2(4–5 p.)
2016–17	UEFA Europa League	3Q	Sassuolo	1–1	0–3	1–4
2017–18	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Osijek	0–2	2–1	2–3
2018–19	UEFA Europa League	3Q	Olympiacos	0–4	1–3	1–7
2019–20	UEFA Europa League	2Q	KÍ Klaksvík	1–0	1–0	2–0
		3Q	Espanyol	0–3	0–3	0–6
2021–22	UEFA Europa Conference League	3Q	Feyenoord	0–3	0–3	0−6
2023–24	UEFA Europa Conference League	2Q	Djurgårdens IF	1–1	2–1	3–2
		3Q	Hibernian	2–2	1–3	3–5

Source:

Recent seasons

As of 25 May 2024.

The season-by-season performance of the club over the last years:

Season	Rank	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts	Cup	EL/ECL
2006–07	8	36	8	9	19	31	58	−27	33	Runner-up	-
2007–08	6	36	10	14	12	40	49	−9	44	R16	-
2008–09	9*	36	9	8	19	45	62	−17	35	SF	-
2009–10	4	36	17	7	12	66	55	+11	58	QF	-
2010–11	6	36	13	9	14	62	57	+5	48	R16	3Q
2011–12	2	36	14	12	8	46	32	+14	54	Runner-up	-
2012–13	8	36	10	12	14	41	52	−11	42	1R	PO
2013–14	4	36	15	6	15	48	54	−6	51	SF	-
2014–15	5	36	12	11	13	54	46	+8	47	R16	2Q
2015–16	3	36	15	9	12	59	50	+9	54	SF	-
2016–17	5	36	14	8	14	62	66	−4	50	SF	3Q
2017–18	3	36	15	9	12	51	51	0	54	QF	2Q
2018–19	5	36	14	4	18	56	61	−5	46	SF	3Q
2019–20	6	36	13	7	16	42	50	−8	46	QF	3Q
2020–21	5	36	12	10	14	62	59	+3	46	Winner	-
2021–22	9*	36	9	13	14	52	64	−12	40	SF	3Q in ECL
2022–23	4	36	13	11	12	56	54	2	50	R16	-
2023–24	7	38	13	10	15	47	53	−6	49	R16	3Q in ECL

Rank = Rank in theSwiss Super League;P = Played; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points; Cup =Swiss Cup;EL =UEFA Europa League.
in= Still in competition; – = Not attended; 1R = 1st round; 2R = 2nd round; R16 = Round of sixteen; QF = Quarter-finals; SF = Semi-finals; 2Q = 2nd qualifying round; 3Q = 3rd qualifying round; PO = play-off round.
^*Avoided relegation by beatingFC Lugano5 – 1 on aggregate in the relegation play-offs.
^*Avoided relegation by beatingFC Schaffhausen4 – 2 on aggregate in the relegation play-offs.

Players

Current squad

As of 13 July, 2024

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	SUI	Pascal Loretz
2	DF	SUI	Severin Ottiger
3	DF	SWE	Jesper Löfgren
4	DF	SUI	Luca Jaquez
5	DF	SUI	Stefan Knežević
7	MF	SUI	Kevin Spadanuda
8	MF	SRB	Aleksandar Stanković(on loan fromInter Milan)
10	FW	GER	Sinan Karweina
14	DF	LVA	Andrejs Cigaņiks
16	MF	SVK	Jakub Kadák
17	FW	TOG	Thibault Klidjé
18	MF	SUI	Nicky Beloko

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
19	FW	URU	Joaquín Ardaiz
20	DF	GER	Pius Dorn
22	MF	SUI	Dario Ulrich
24	MF	SUI	Tyron Owusu
27	FW	SUI	Lars Villiger
30	DF	KOS	Ismajl Beka
33	DF	SUI	Leny Meyer
34	FW	SUI	Luuk Breedijk
41	GK	SUI	Julian Bock
44	GK	SUI	Diego Heller
69	MF	FRA	Sofyan Chader
90	GK	SRB	Vaso Vasić

Out on loan

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

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	FRA	Teddy Okou(atLausanne-Sportuntil 30 June 2025)

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player

Personnel

As of 22 November 2021.

Current technical staff

Name	Function
Mario Frick	Head coach
Genesio Colatrella	Assistant coach
Lorenzo Bucchi	Goalkeeper coach
Christian Schmidt	Fitness coach
Remo Meyer	Director of Football

Source:

Head coaches since 2006

No.	Coach	from	until	days	Points per game
1	Ciriaco Sforza	1 July 2006	10 August 2008	771	1.15
2	Jean-Daniel Gross(interim)	11 August 2008	17 August 2008	6	-
3	Roberto Morinini	17 August 2008	27 October 2008	71	0.88
4	Rolf Fringer	27 October 2008	2 Mai 2011	917	1.51
5	Christian Brand(interim)	2 May 2011	30 June 2011	59	0.80
6	Murat Yakin	1 July 2011	19 August 2012	415	1.57
7	Ryszard Komornicki	20 August 2012	2 April 2013	225	1.00
8	Gerardo Seoane(interim)	4 April 2013	8 April 2013	4	-
9	Carlos Bernegger	8 April 2013	6 October 2014	546	1.44
10	Markus Babbel	13 October 2014	5 January 2018	1180	1.50
11	Gerardo Seoane	9 January 2018	1 June 2018	143	2.00
12	René Weiler	22 June 2018	17 February 2019	231	1.31
13	Thomas Häberli	21 February 2019	16 December 2019	298	1.36
14	Fabio Celestini	2 January 2020	22 November 2021	691
15	Sandro Chieffo(interim)	22 November 2021	20 December 2021	28
15	Mario Frick	20 December 2021			0

Head coaches until 2006

• Dionys Schönecker(1921–24)
• Franz Konya(July 1927 – 29 Dec)
• Otto Hamacek(Feb 1929 – 29 June)
• Albert Halter&Albert Mühleisen(1929)
• Karoly "Dragan" Nemes(1930 – 31 September)
• Horace Williams(October 1931–33)
• Josef Gerspach(1933–34)
• Karl Heinlein(1934 – November 35)
• Adolf Vögeli(November 1935–37)
• Josef Uridil(1937–38)
• Robert Lang(1938)
• Erwin Moser(1938–39)
• Wilhelm Szigmond(1939)
• Josef Winkler(May 1942–45)
• Gerhard Walter(Feb 1945 – May 46)
• Werner Schaer(1946–49)
• Fritz Hack(1949–51)
• Hermann Stennull(1951–55)
• Rudi Gutendorf(1955 – August 61)
• Josef Brun&Josef Weber(September 1961–62)
• Franz Linken(April 1962–64)
• Ernst Wechselberger(1964–69)
• Juan Schwanner(1970 – October 70)
• Werner Schley&Josef Brun(October 1970–71)
• Robert Meyer(1971 – September 71)
• Egon Milder&Josef Vogel(September 1971 – October 71)
• Josef Brun(October 1971 – November 71)
• Albert Sing(31 October 1971 – 30 June 1974)
• Ilijas Pašić(1974 – April 75)
• Paul Wolfisberg&Josef Vogel(April 1975–75)
• Otto Luttrop(1975–76)
• René Hüssy(1976)
• Albert Sing(31 December 1976 – 30 June 1978)
• Paul Wolfisberg&Josef Vogel(July 1978 – June 82)
• Milan Nikolić(1982–83)
• Bruno Rahmen(1983–85)
• Friedel Rausch(28 March 1985 – 30 June 1992)
• Bertalan Bicskei(July 1992 – December 93)
• Timo Konietzka(December 1993 – June 94)
• Jean-Paul Brigger(1 July 1994 – 10 March 1997)
• Kurt Müller(March 1997 – October 97)
• Martin Müller(November 1997 – September 98)
• Egon Coordes(27 September 1998 – 1 November 1998)
• André "Bigi" Meyer(November 1998 – December 98)
• Andy Egli(1 January 1999 – 30 June 2001)
• Ryszard Komornicki(1 July 2001 – 28 July 2001)
• Raimondo Ponte(3 August 2001 – 30 June 2002)
• Bidu Zaugg(1 July 2002 – 30 June 2003)
• Urs Schönenberger(1 July 2003 – 1 November 2003)
• René van Eck(1 July 2003 – 30 June 2006)

Source:

Owners and Leadership

Due to formal licensing requirements, the professional football operations of FC Luzern are consolidated under FC Luzern Innerschweiz AG, a company that is legally and financially separated from the club FC Luzern which retains the non-professional sections of the sports club.

FC Luzern Innerschweiz AG is ultimately owned by Bernhard Alpstaeg (52%) and Josef Bieri (48%) via their control of FCL Holding AG.

The current president is former playerStefan Wolf.

Former notable players

See also:Category:FC Luzern players

External links

• FC Luzern official website(in German)
• FC Luzern official web tv(in German)