FC Zürich
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| Full name | Fussballclub Zürich | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | FCZ | ||
| Short name | FCZ | ||
| Founded | 1896 | ||
| Ground | Letzigrund | ||
| Capacity | 26,105 | ||
| President | Ancillo Canepa | ||
| Trainer | Ricardo Moniz | ||
| League | Swiss Super League | ||
| 2023–24 | Swiss Super League, 4th of 12 | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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Fussballclub Zürich,commonly abbreviated toFC Zürichor simplyFCZ,is a Swiss professionalfootballclub based inZürich.The club was founded in 1896 and has won theSwiss Super League13 times and theSwiss Cupten times. Their most recent titles are the2022 Swiss Super Leagueand the2018 Swiss Cup.The club plays its home games at theLetzigrund,which reaches a capacity of 26,000 spectators for league games.[1]
FC Zürich is the only Swiss team to have reached the semi-finals of theEuropean Cupmore than once. This happened in 1964 and 1977, when the competition was played in its original format. FC Zürich co-founder, first captain, and honorary memberJoan Gamper,who grew up in Zurich, later moved toCataloniaand foundedBarcelonathere in 1899. Since the 1960s, FC Zürich plays in all-white, which is one of the city colours, but has been mainly inspired byReal Madrid.
The women's club,FC Zürich Frauen,is the most successful in Switzerland, with 22 championship titles and multipleChampions Leagueparticipations. The FC Zürich women's teams roots originate in the first Swiss women's football club, DFC Zürich.[2]It features a top-flight team playing in theSwiss Women's Super League,the only existing women's U21 team in Switzerland (competing in the top ranks of second tier Nationalliga B), and U19, U17, U15 and U14 teams. The U17, U15 and U14 teams compete in junior leagues against boys teams.
History
[edit]1896–1924
[edit]The club was founded in summer 1896 by former members of the two local clubs FC Turicum and FC Excelsior. Later, the official founding date was set at 1 August 1896. One of the founding members was the laterBarcelonafounder,Joan Gamper,coaching and playing for FC Excelsior and its successor from 1894 to 1897.[3]The new club played its first game on 30 August 1896 on Velorennbahn Hardau in Zürich against St. Gallen, which resulted in a 3–3 draw.[4]In 1898, FC Excelsior completely merged with FC Zürich and local club FC Victoria joined shortly thereafter.
The debut game was in 1896 with the colors blue and white.[5]The colors were changed to red and white; rivalsGrasshoppershad the same colors. When Grasshoppers temporarily retired from the championship in1909,FCZ returned to the colors blue and white which they continue to use.[6]Zürich won its first title in theSwiss Serie Ain1901–02,but did not win it again until1923–24.
Until the 1930s, the club's sporting remit includedrowing,boxing,athleticsandhandball,but football would become the focus of the club.
1925–1960
[edit]
Zürich struggled to overcome an unsuccessful record and was described as the "wilderness years" from 1925 to 1960.[7]They were relegated in1933–34,playing in the1. Ligato the 1941 season. In1940–41,they returned to theNationalliga,where they stayed until their relegation in1945–46.They were back in the Nationalliga A in1947–48and stayed in the top flight until relegated in1956–57.They were promoted from theNationalliga Bto contest the1958–59 Nationalliga A,finishing in third place.
1960–1981
[edit]This period was known as the "Golden Years"by the FCZ faithful. At this time, the club was run by the legendary PresidentEdwin Nägeliand had players such asKöbi Kuhn,Fritz Künzli,Ilija Katić,René Botteronand many more. Zürich won sevenchampionshipsin the years1963,1966,1968,1974,1975,1976and1981.They also won theSwiss Cupfive times in 1966, 1970, 1972, 1973, and in 1976. FCZ also had much success internationally in reaching the semi-finals of theEuropean Cup 1963–64,before losing toReal Madridand also reaching the semi-finals in theEuropean Cup 1976–77,where they lost toLiverpool.
1981–2005
[edit]Following the club'sleague title in 1981,the club went into a decline and in1988they were relegated to theNationalliga B.Zürich returned to the top league in 1990. The club did make it to last 16 of theUEFA Cup 1998–99,but were beaten byRoma.The club won the Swiss Cup in2000,beatingLausannein the final and also in2005beatingLuzern.
2006–2016
[edit]| Season | Rank | League | Ø Attendance[8][9] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 1/10 | SL | 10,008 |
| 2007 | 1/10 | SL | 10,870 |
| 2008 | 3/10 | SL | 12,186 |
| 2009 | 1/10 | SL | 9,829 |
| 2010 | 7/10 | SL | 10,700 |
| 2011 | 2/10 | SL | 11,750 |
| 2012 | 6/10 | SL | 10,511 |
| 2013 | 4/10 | SL | 10,741 |
| 2014 | 5/10 | SL | 9,564 |
| 2015 | 3/10 | SL | 9,389 |
| 2016 | 10/10 | SL | 8,701 |
| 2017 | 1/10 | CL | 9,702 |
| 2018 | 4/10 | SL | 10,726 |
| 2019 | 7/10 | SL | 10,660 |
| 2020 | 7/10 | SL | 6,422[10] |
| 2021 | 8/10 | SL | 91 |
| 2022 | 1/10 | SL | 13'396 |
| 2023 | 8/10 | SL | 15'387 |
| 2024 | 4/12 | SL | 15'710 |
On 13 May 2006, FCZ ended their 25 years effort to win Super League with a goal in the 93rd minute byIulian FilipescuagainstBasel.The goal gave FCZ a 2 – 1 victory based ongoal difference.They sustained the league title In2006–07.
In 2008, the local women's team FFC Zürich Seebach was combined with FC Zürich and would play under the nameFC Zürich Frauenin theSwiss national league.FC Zürich Frauen is Swiss record champion.
In the2007–08 season,FCZ (men's team) finished in third place. In a2008–09 seasonmatch, they edged passYoung Boysto win the league title. In 2009, they made their debut play for the group-stage of theUEFA Champions League.In the2010–11 seasonFCZ finished second. The following seasons, they finished mostly in mid-table positions. FCZ won theSwiss Cup 2014in extra time against Basel 2–0.
In the2015–16 seasonthe club finished last, one point behindLuganoand was relegated to theSwiss Challenge League.Four days after the final game of the season, FCZ won theSwiss Cup 2016beating Lugano 1–0.
Recent years
[edit]In the2016–17 season,FC Zürich won theChallenge Leagueahead ofNeuchâtel Xamax,and returned after one year to theSuper League.In the2017–2018 seasonthey finished fourth. On 27 May 2018 they won theSwiss Cupfor the tenth time, beating Young Boys 2–1.
In the2021–2022 season,FC Zürich won the Super League again after an interruption of 13 years. The club secured its 13th league title with a 2–0 away win overBasel,who finished second, on 1 May 2022 with five rounds to go. Despite this success, coachAndré Breitenreiterdeparted the club to joinBundesligasideTSG Hoffenheimon 24 May 2022.[11]On 8 June 2022, former Austrian national coachFranco Fodawas announced as the coach for the upcoming season.[12] Despite being able to guide Zürich into theEuropa Leaguegroup stages, an abysmal start to thedomesticcampaign saw the side gain only two points out of a possible twenty-four in their title defence. The dreadful league form, combined with a shock cup defeat to Challenge League sideLausanneon 18 September, proved the final straw and Foda was subsequently sacked on 21 September.[13]
Honours
[edit]- Super League/Nationalliga A
- Challenge League/Nationalliga B:
- Winner (4):1940–41, 1946–47, 1957–58,2016–17
- runner-up (2):1988–89, 1989–90,
- Swiss Cup
- Swiss League Cup
- Winners:1980–81
- runner-up:1974–75, 1975–76,
- European Cup/UEFA Champions League
Rivalries
[edit]
Grasshoppers,also from Zürich, andBaselare the main rivals of FCZ. Due to the intense rivalry, these matches are so-called high-risk fixtures, with an increasedpolicepresence in and around the stadium.
Zürich
[edit]Since its inception, FCZ has always had a fiery relationship with neighbouring club Grasshopper over sporting supremacy in the city.[citation needed]
To date, 251 official derbies have been held, with Grasshoppers leading with 121 wins to FC Zurich's 90, leaving 39 draws. However, since the reformation of theSwiss Super Leaguein 2003, FCZ has frequently gotten the better of their city rivals, winning 33 out of 68 games (GC won 20 and 15 draws).
TheOctober 2011 derbyat Letzigrund was abandoned by the referee after rioting by FC Zürich fans. Earlier in the day, Grasshopper Club Zürich fans stole FC Zürich fan banners and displayed them with a message mocking FC Zürich.[14]
Final vs. Basel, 13 May 2006
[edit]Before the last round of the 2005–06 Swiss Super League, Zürich were three points behindBaselin the league table. The last game of the season was contested by these two clubs vying for the league title atSt. Jakob Park,Basel.Alhassane Keitascored the match first goal, for Zürich. In the second half,Mladen Petrićequalised. Basel were seconds away from the title when, in the 93rd minute,Florian Stahelpassed the ball toIulian Filipescu,who scored. Zürich's success at 2 – 1 was attributed to their superiorgoal difference.Following the final whistle, Basel supporters stormed the pitch and attacked players on both teams.
Infrastructure
[edit]In 2010, the youth and women's teams of the club moved their homebase to the Heerenschürli sport park in the city quarter ofHirzenbachwhere the academy and women's teams play also their home matches. In June 2022, the club moved with the opening of a newly built "House of FCZ" also their Super League team and offices there in order to have the whole organisation under one roof.[15]
Players
[edit]Current squad
[edit]- As of 8 July 2024[16]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules.Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
[edit]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules.Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve squad/Zürich U21
[edit]- As of 14 August 2022[17]
The Zürich II/U21 team plays in theSwiss Promotion League.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules.Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable former players
[edit]- As of 15 March 2016[18]
Players and managers admitted to the FC Zurich Hall of Fame
Jakob Kuhn- Walter Bosshard
- Urs Fischer
- Fritz Künzli
Rosario Martinelli- Almen Abdi
- Lucien Favre
- Joan Gamper
- Karl Grob
- Daniel Gygax
- Daniel Jeandupeux
Timo Konietzka- Werner Leimgruber
- Louis Maurer
- Raimondo Ponte
Ike Shorunmu- Klaus Stürmer
Hannu Tihinen- René Botteron
- Frédéric Chassot
- Josip Drmić
- Blerim Džemaili
Iulian Filipescu
Jurica Jerković
Alhassane Keita
Shabani Nonda- Peter Risi
Wynton Rufer- Albert Schnorf
- Paul Sturzenegger
Players for theSwiss national football team
- Almen Abdi
- Heinz Bäni
- Heinz Barmettler
- Loris Benito
- Thomas Bickel
- René Botteron
- René Brodmann
- Patrick Bühlmann
- Sandro Burki
- Pierre-Albert Chapuisat
- Frédéric Chassot
- Davide Chiumiento
- Joël Corminbœuf
- Francesco Di Jorio
- Josip Drmić
- Blerim Džemaili
- Ruedi Elsener
- Nico Elvedi
- Urs Fischer
- Mario Gavranović
- Christoph Gilli
- Marco Grassi
- Karl Grob
- René Hasler
- Marc Hodel
- Josef Hügi
- Gökhan Inler
- Daniel Jeandupeux
- Sébastien Jeanneret
- Stephan Keller
- Fritz Kehl
- Jakob Kuhn
- Fritz Künzli
- Adrian Kunz
- August Lehmann
- Werner Leimgruber
- Johnny Leoni
- Heinz Lüdi
- Erni Maissen
- Ludovic Magnin
- Xavier Margairaz
- Peter Marti
- Giuseppe Mazzarelli
- Admir Mehmedi
- Severino Minelli
- André Muff
- Alain Nef
- Dimitri Oberlin
- Bećir Omeragić
- Marco Pascolo
- Yvan Quentin
- Peter Risi
- Alain Rochat
- Ricardo Rodríguez
- Ernst Rutschmann
- Marco Schönbächler
- Werner Schley
- Walter Schneiter
- David Sesa
- Simon Sohm
- Adolf Stelzer
- Jörg Stiel
- Pirmin Stierli
- Xavier Stierli
- Jürg Studer
- Scott Sutter
- Markus Tanner
- Sirio Vernati
- Steve von Bergen
- Johan Vonlanthen
- René Weiler
- Adrian Winter
- Rolf Wüthrich
- Gian-Pietro Zappa
- Hans-Peter Zwicker
Players withWorld Cupappearances for their national teams
Borislav Mihaylov
Jan Berger
Peter Møller
Jean-Marc Ferreri- Norbert Eder
- Roberto Di Matteo
Kanga Akale- Wynton Rufer
- Ike Shorunmu
- Rashidi Yekini
- Iulian Filipescu
- Adrian Ilie
Aleksandr Kerzhakov
Shaun Bartlett
Tomas Brolin- Roger Ljung
- Jonas Thern
- Conny Torstensson
Francileudo Santos- Yassine Chikhaoui
- Mirsad Baljić
- Jurica Jerković
Player record
[edit]Players inboldare still part of the club.
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Managers
[edit]
József "Csiby" Winkler(1920–22)
Johann Studnicka(1922–25)- Severino Minelli(1943–46)
- Willy Iseli(1946–48)
- Theodor Lohrmann(1948–53)
- Joksch Fridl(1953–55)
- Ossi Müller(1955–57)
- Fernando MolinaandMax Barras(1957–58)
- Karl Rappan(1958–59)
- Max Barras(1959–60)
- Georg Wurzer(1960–62)
- Louis Maurer(1962–66)
- László Kubala(July 1966 – Feb 67)
- René Brodmann(Feb 1967 – July 67)
- Lev Mantula(1967–69)
- Georg Gawliczek(1 July 1969 – 31 December 1970)
- Juan Schwanner(November 1970 – July 71)
- Friedhelm Konietzka(1971–78)
- Zlatko Čajkovski(July 1978 – March 80)
- Albert SingandR. Martinelli(29 Feb 1980 – 30 June 1980)
- Daniel Jeandupeux(1 July 1980 – March 83)
- Heini Glättli(March 1983 – April 83)
- Max Merkel(April 1983 – May 83)
- Köbi Kuhn(May 1983 – July 83)
- Hans Kodric(July 1983 – November 83)
- Köbi Kuhn(November 1983 – July 84)
- Vaclav Jezek(1984–86)
- Hermann Stessl(1 July 1986 – 1 November 1987)
- Friedhelm Konietzka(Sept 1987 – July 88)
- Hans Bongartz(1 July 1988 – 30 June 1989)
- Walter Iselin(July 1989 – October 89)
- Herbert Neumann(October 1989 –1 October 1991)
- Kurt Jara(1 October 1991 – 1 April 1994)
Bob Houghton(April 1994 – March 95)- Raimondo Ponte(March 1995 – 16 April 2000)
- Gilbert Gress(16 April 2000 – 30 June 2001)
- Georges Bregy(1 July 2001 – 27 March 2003)
- Walter Grüter(interim)(27 March 2003 – 30 June 2003)
- Lucien Favre(1 July 2003 – 30 June 2007)
- Bernard Challandes(1 July 2007 – 19 April 2010)
- Urs Fischer(interim)(19 April 2010 – 30 June 2010)
- Urs Fischer(1 July 2010 – 12 March 2012)
- Harald Gämperle(interim)(13 March 2012 – 8 June 2012)
- Urs Meier(interim)(14 April 2012 – 24 May 2012)
- Rolf Fringer(1 July 2012 – 26 November 2012)
- Urs Meier(interim)(26 November 2012 – 30 December 2012)
- Urs Meier(1 Jan 2013 – 3 August 2015)
- Massimo Rizzo(interim)(3 August 2015 – 31 August 2015)
- Sami Hyypiä(31 August 2015 – 12 May 2016)
- Uli Forte(13 May 2016 – 20 February 2018)
- Ludovic Magnin(20 February 2018 – 5 October 2020)
- Massimo Rizzo(interim)(5 October 2020 – 23 December 2020)
- Massimo Rizzo(24 December 2020 – 30 June 2021)
- André Breitenreiter(1 July 2021 – 24 May 2022)
- Franco Foda(9 June 2022 – 21 September 2022)
- Genesio Colatrella(interim)(22 September 2022 – 10 October 2022)
- Bo Henriksen(11 October 2022 – 13 February 2024)
- Murat UralandUmberto Romano(interim co-trainers)[21](13 February 2024 – 22 April 2024)
Ricardo Moniz(22 April 2024 –present)
FC Zürich in European football
[edit]As of 18 August 2022.
| Competition | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Cup/UEFA Champions League | 47 | 17 | 5 | 25 | 59 | 83 |
| UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League | 83 | 28 | 18 | 37 | 101 | 130 |
| UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 16 |
| Inter-Cities Fairs Cup | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 12 |
| Total | 153 | 52 | 27 | 74 | 189 | 236 |
References
[edit]- ^"Das Stadion Letzigrund in Zahlen und Fakten".stadionletzigrund.ch.Archivedfrom the original on 9 May 2023.Retrieved17 August2021.
- ^Saro Pepe."Football for all – but only for the last 50 years".nationalmuseum.ch.Archivedfrom the original on 12 January 2024.Retrieved17 August2021.
- ^"Biography on fcwinterthur1896.com".fcwinterthur1896.com.Archived fromthe originalon 15 August 2018.Retrieved15 September2017.
- ^"Erinnerung an unser erstes Matsch".fcz.ch.Archived fromthe originalon 29 July 2021.Retrieved8 February2019.
- ^"Erinnerung an unser erstes Matsch".fcz.ch.Archived fromthe originalon 29 July 2021.Retrieved8 February2019.
- ^Lütscher, Michael (2010).Eine Stadt, ein Verein, eine Geschichte.Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung. p. 47.ISBN9783038236436.
- ^"wilderness years - Political Dictionary".31 May 2023.Archivedfrom the original on 12 January 2024.Retrieved6 June2023.
- ^"Schweiz" Super League "Zuschauer".weltfussball.at.Archivedfrom the original on 17 August 2016.Retrieved8 September2016.
- ^"Zuschauerzahlen Super League".sfl-org.ch.Archivedfrom the original on 1 August 2022.Retrieved1 August2022.
- ^"COVID-19 outbreak: Swiss Super League to admit 1,000 fans".coliseum-online.com.Archivedfrom the original on 22 August 2020.Retrieved18 August2020.
- ^"Personal statement on the departure of André Breitenreiter".FC Zürich(in German). 24 May 2022. Archived fromthe originalon 19 June 2022.Retrieved3 June2022.
- ^"Der FC Zürich stellt Franco Foda als neuen Trainer vor".bluewin.ch(in German). 8 June 2022.Archivedfrom the original on 26 December 2022.Retrieved8 June2022.
- ^"Football: Franco Foda n'est plus l'entraîneur du FC Zurich".lematin.ch(in French). 21 September 2022.Archivedfrom the original on 3 December 2022.Retrieved21 September2022.
- ^"02.10.11: Schande von Zürich: FCZ-Fan wirft Fackel in GC-Sektor und erzwingt Spielabbruch".watson.ch(in German).Retrieved25 June2024.
- ^"FC Zürich weiht sein schmuckes 'House of FCZ' ein".nau.ch.Archivedfrom the original on 12 January 2024.Retrieved11 October2022.
- ^FC Zürichat Swiss Football League
- ^"U21".FC Zürich.Retrieved14 August2022.
- ^"dbFCZ: Die Spiele des FC Zürich"[dbFCZ: The games of FC Zurich].dbFCZ(in German).Archivedfrom the original on 12 January 2024.Retrieved15 March2016.
- ^"Top 10 Einsätze für den FCZ"[Top 10 appearances for the FCZ].dbFCZ(in German).Archivedfrom the original on 28 January 2017.Retrieved15 May2017.
- ^"Top 10 Tore für den FCZ"[Top 10 goals for the FCZ].dbFCZ(in German).Archivedfrom the original on 28 January 2017.Retrieved15 May2017.
- ^"Trainerwechsel in die Bundesliga"(in Swiss High German). FC Zürich. 13 February 2024.Retrieved13 February2024.
External links
[edit]
- FC Zürich stats(in German)
- Archive FC Zürich(in German)
- Copa90: Zurich On Fire! – FC Zürich vs GrasshoppersonYouTube
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