FC Zürich

FC Zürich
Full name Fussball-Club Zürich
Founded 1896
Ground Letzigrund, Zürich
(Capacity: 25,000)
Chairman Ancillo Canepa
Manager Urs Fischer
League Swiss Super League
2010–11 Swiss Super League, 2nd
Home colours
Away colours

Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to just FC Zürich, is a Swiss football club from the city of Zürich. The club was founded in 1896 and have won the Swiss Super League 12 times and the Swiss Cup 7 times. The club won the 2009 Swiss Super League and last won the Swiss Cup in 2005. They play their home games at the Letzigrund in Zürich, which seats 25,000.

Contents

History

1896–1924

The club was founded on 1 August 1896 by former members of the three local clubs (FC Turicum, FC Viktoria, and FC Excelsior). Zürich won its first title in the Swiss Super League in 1901–02, but did not win it again until 1923–24.

Until the 1930s, the club's sporting remit also included rowing, boxing, athletics, and handball, but later focused solely on football.

1925–1960

Between 1925 and 1960, Zürich were in the "wilderness years," devoid of success. The club struggled to keep in the top flight and were relegated from the Super League in 1933–34, playing in the Challenge League until 1941. In 1940–41, they returned to the Super League, where they stayed until their relegation in the 1945–46. They were back in the Super League in 1947–48 and stayed in the top flight until relegated once more in 1956–57. They were promoted from the Challenge League to contest the Swiss Super League 1958-59, finishing in third place.

1960–1981

This period was known as the "Golden Years" by the FCZ faithful. At this time, the club was run by the legendary President Edwin Nägeli and had players such as Köbi Kuhn, Fritz Künzli, Ilija Katić, René Botteron, and many more. Zürich won seven championships in they years 1963, 1966, 1968, 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1981. They also won the Swiss Cup five times in 1966, 1970, 1972, 1973, and in 1976. FCZ also had some success in Europe getting to the semi-finals of the European Cup 1963–64, before losing to Real Madrid and also reaching the semi-finals in the European Cup 1976–77, where they lost to Liverpool.

1981–2005

Following the club's league title in 1981, the club went into a decline and in 1988, the club was relegated to the Challenge League. Zürich returned to the top league in 1990. The club did make it to last 16 of the UEFA Cup 1998–99, but were beaten by Roma. The club won the Swiss Cup in 2000, beating Lausanne in the final and also in 2005 beating Luzern.

Recent years

On 13 May 2006, FCZ ended their 25 years wait for a league title with a dramatic final day victory against Basel to win the Super League. They won thanks to a goal scored in the 93rd minute by Iulian Filipescu. The goal gave FCZ a 2 – 1 victory and secured the title on goal difference over Basel. In 2006–07, they also won the league.

In the 2007–08 season, FCZ finished in third place. In the 2008–09 season, they won the league, edging out BSC Young Boys. In the 2010–11 season FCZ finished second.

Honours

Rivalries

Local club Grasshopper, along with Basel, are the main rivals of FCZ. Due to the intense rivalry, these matches are s-called "High Risk Games," with an increased police presence in and around the stadium.

Zürich Derby

Since its inception, FCZ has always had a fiery relationship with neighbouring club Grasshopper over sporting supremacy in the city. Grasshoppers are known as the club of the elite and FCZ are known as the club of the workers. The matches between the two clubs are the only true local derby in the Swiss Super League.

Final vs. Basel, 13 May 2006

Before the last round of the 2005–06 Swiss Super League, Zürich were three points behind Basel in the league table. The last game of the season was contested by these two clubs vying for the league title at St. Jakob Park, Basel. Alhassane Keita scored the first goal for Zürich. In the second half, Mladen Petrić equalised. Basel were seconds away from the title when in the 93rd minute, Florian Stahel passed the ball to Iulian Filipescu, who scored and made it 2 – 1 for Zürich. Zürich won the league title due to their superior goal difference. After the final whistle, the field was stormed by Basel supporters who also attacked Zürich players (see 2006 Basel Hooligan Incident).

Current squad

As of 16th august 2011 Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 GK Johnny Leoni
2 DF Jorge Teixeira
3 DF Ricardo Rodríguez
4 DF Raphael Koch
5 MF Xavier Margairaz
6 MF Chaker Zouaghi
7 MF Silvan Aegerter
8 MF Stjepan Kukuruzović
9 FW Amine Chermiti
11 MF Adrian Nikci
12 FW Alexandre Alphonse
14 MF Dušan Djurić
15 MF Oliver Buff
No. Position Player
16 DF Philippe Koch
17 MF Yassine Chikhaoui
18 GK Yannick Brecher
20 MF Milan Gajić
21 DF Heinz Barmettler
23 DF Ludovic Magnin
24 MF Maurice Brunner
25 FW Admir Mehmedi
27 FW Marco Schönbächler
28 DF Mathieu Béda
31 FW Josip Drmić
32 GK Andrea Guatelli

Out on loan

Notable former players

See also Category:FC Zürich players.

Managers

See also Category:FC Zürich managers.
Manager Years Record
József "Csibi" Winkler 1920–22  ?-?-?
Studnicka 1943–46  ?-?-?
Severino Minelli 1948–50  ?-?-?
Willy Iseli 1946–48  ?-?-?
Theodor Lohrmann 1948–53  ?-?-?
Joksch Fridl 1953–55  ?-?-?
Ossi Müller 1955–57  ?-?-?
Fernando Molina and Max 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  ?-?-?
Law Mantula 1967–69  ?-?-?
Georg Gawliczek July 1969-Nov. 70  ?-?-?
Juan Schwanner Nov. 1970 – July 71  ?-?-?
Friedhelm Konietzka 1971–78  ?-?-?
Zlatko Čajkovski 1978 – March 80  ?-?-?
Albert Sing and Rosario Martinelli March 1980 – July 80  ?-?-?
Daniel Jeandupeux July 1980 – March 83  ?-?-?
Heini Glättli March 1983  ?-?-?
Max Merkel April 1983 – May 83  ?-?-?
Köbi Kuhn May 1983 – July 83  ?-?-?
Hans Kodric July 1983-Nov. 83  ?-?-?
Köbi Kuhn Nov. 1983 – July 84  ?-?-?
Vaclav Jezek 1984–86  ?-?-?
Hermann Stessl 1986-Sept. 87  ?-?-?
Friedhelm Konietzka Sept. 1987 – July 88  ?-?-?
Hans Bongartz 1988–89  ?-?-?
Walter Iselin July 1989-Oct. 89  ?-?-?
Herbert Neumann Oct. 1989-Oct. 91  ?-?-?
Kurt Jara Oct. 1991 – April 94  ?-?-?
Bob Houghton April 1994 – March 95  ?-?-?
Raimondo Ponte March 1995 – April 00  ?-?-?
Gilbert Gress April 2000–01  ?-?-?
Georges Bregy 2001 – March 03  ?-?-?
Walter Grüter March 2003 – July 03  ?-?-?
Lucien Favre 2003 – June 07 69–33–37
Bernard Challandes June 2007 – April 10 50–26–27
Urs Fischer April 2010–  ?-?-?

FC Zürich in Europe

Season Competition Round Country Club Score
1963–64 European Cup Q Dundalk 3 – 0, 1 – 2
1/8 Galatasaray 2 – 0, 0 – 2, 2 – 2
1/4 PSV 0 – 1, 3 – 1
1/2 Real Madrid 1 – 2, 0 – 6
1966–67 European Cup 1R Celtic 0 – 2, 0 – 3
1967–68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1R Barcelona 3 – 1, 0 – 1
2R Nottingham Forest 1 – 2, 1 – 0
1/8 Sporting CP 3 – 0, 0 – 1
1/4 Dundee 0 – 1, 0 – 1
1968–69 European Cup 1R AB 1 – 3, 2 – 1
1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1R Kilmarnock 3 – 2, 1 – 3
1970–71 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar 7 – 1, 7 – 0
1/8 Club Brugge 0 – 2, 3 – 2
1972–73 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R Wrexham 1 – 1, 1 – 2
1973–74 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R Anderlecht 2 – 3, 1 – 0
1/8 Malmö FF 0 – 0, 1 – 1
1/4 Sporting CP 0 – 3, 1 – 1
1974–75 European Cup 1R Leeds United 1 – 4, 2 – 1
1975–76 European Cup 1R Újpest 0 – 4, 5 – 1
1976–77 European Cup 1R Rangers 1 – 1, 1 – 0
1/8 Turun Palloseura 2 – 0, 1 – 0
1/4 Dynamo Dresden 2 – 1, 2 – 3
1/2 Liverpool 1 – 3, 0 – 3
1977–78 UEFA Cup 1R CSKA Sofia 1 – 0, 1 – 1
2R Eintracht Frankfurt 0 – 3, 3 – 4
1979–80 UEFA Cup 1R Kaiserslautern 1 – 3, 1 – 5
1981–82 European Cup 1R Dynamo Berlin 0 – 2, 3 – 1
1982–83 UEFA Cup 1R Pezoporikos Larnaca 2 – 2, 1 – 0
2R Ferencváros 1 – 1, 1 – 0
1/8 Benfica 1 – 1, 0 – 4
1983–84 UEFA Cup 1R Antwerp 1 – 4, 2 – 4
1998–99 UEFA Cup 2Q Shakhtar Donetsk 4 – 0, 2 – 3
1R Anorthosis Famagusta 4 – 0, 3 – 2
2R Celtic 1 – 1, 4 – 2
1/8 Roma 0 – 1, 2 – 2
1999–00 UEFA Cup Q Sliema Wanderers 3 – 0, 1 – 0
1R Lierse 1 – 0, 4 – 3
2R Newcastle United 1 – 2, 1 – 3
2000–01 UEFA Cup 1R Racing Genk 1 – 2, 0 – 2
2005–06 UEFA Cup 2Q Legia Warsaw 1 – 0, 4 – 1
1R Brøndby 0 – 2, 2 – 1
2006–07 Champions League 2Q Red Bull Salzburg 2 – 1, 0 – 2
2007–08 Champions League 3Q Beşiktaş 1 – 1, 0 – 2
2007–08 UEFA Cup 1R Empoli 1 – 2, 3 – 0
2R Sparta Prague 2 – 1
2R Toulouse 2 – 0
2R Spartak Moscow 0 – 1
2R Bayer Leverkusen 0 – 5
1/16 Hamburg 1 – 3, 0 – 0
2008–09 UEFA Cup 2Q Sturm Graz 1 – 1, 1 – 1
1R Milan 1 – 3, 0 – 1
2009–10 Champions League 3Q Maribor 2 – 3, 3 – 0
4Q Ventspils 3 – 0, 2 – 1
Group Stage Real Madrid 2 – 5, 0 – 1
Group Stage Milan 1 – 0, 1 – 1
Group Stage Marseille 0 – 1, 1 – 6
2011–12 Champions League 3Q Standard Liège 1 – 1, 1 – 0
PO Bayern Munich 0 – 2, 0 – 1
2011–12 Europa League Group Stage Sporting CP 0 – 2, 0 – 2
Group Stage FC Vaslui 2 – 2, 2 – 0
Group Stage S.S. Lazio 1 – 1, 0 – 1

External links