Fussball-Club Luzern, commonly known as FC Luzern or simply abbreviated to FCL, is a professional Swiss football club based in Lucerne. The club colours are blue and white, derived from the City of Lucerne and Canton of Lucerne coats of arms. The club plays its home games at Swissporarena which was newly built in 2011 at the place of the old Stadion Allmend.
The club was founded in 1901 and has won the Swiss Super League once and the Swiss Cup twice.
History
FC Luzern was officially founded on 12 August 1901 in Lucerne. After two years, FCL joined the Swiss Football League and started its first championship season in the third division. In the following years, FC Luzern was playing in various leagues. After the introduction of a new league system in 1944 (consisting of Nationalliga A and Nationalliga B as the two top tiers) FCL was allotted into Nationalliga B. The club remained in the second division until it was promoted in 1953. In the following years, FCL mainly played in the Nationalliga A. In 2003, after several seasons with financial and sporting troubles, the club got relegated to the renamed Challenge League, the former Nationalliga B. In 2006, after three seasons in the second division, FC Luzern celebrated its return into the top division (Super League) of Swiss football. In 2012 the club finished second in the Super League, securing its best league finish in 23 years.
FC Luzern's greatest success was winning the Swiss Championship in 1989. FCL have also won the Swiss Cup twice (1960 and 1992) and finished runners-up four times (1997, 2005, 2007, 2012).
Fans and rivalries
Although the club has only won three important national trophies, FC Luzern is one of the traditional football clubs in the country with a strong local supporter base. The club draws its support predominantly from Central Switzerland, leading the number of sold season tickets in the cantons of Lucerne, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Uri, Zug as well as in some parts of Aargau and Schwyz.[1] In the 2013/14 season, FCL boasted the fourth highest average attendance in the Swiss Super League with an average crowd of 11.291.[2]
The local derby is played with SC Kriens, whose stadium is located less than one kilometer from FC Luzern's facilities at Allmend. Due to the restructuring of the Swiss football league system in the past years, the two clubs are currently separated by two leagues and have not played each other in an official contest since 2006.
Although there are no traditional and deep rooted rivalries, periods of intensified sporting competition have sparked rivalries between FC Luzern and FC Basel in the mid-90s and with FC Sion in the mid-2000s. A majority of the fans, particularly Ultra groups, view FC St. Gallen as a major rival. Matches with FC Aarau are also by many considered as a local derby.
Stadium
Between 1934 and 2009, the club played its home games at the Stadion Allmend,[3] which had a theoretical capacity of 25,000. For security reasons however, the Swiss Football Association did not allow more than 13,000 to attend in the final years of its existence. Until a new stadium was completed, FC Luzern temporarily played its home games in the Gersag Stadion located in Emmenbrücke.
In August 2011, the club moved into the newly built Swissporarena which is located at the place of the old ground. The opening game ended with a 0-0 draw against FC Thun.[4]
Honours
European appearances
Recent seasons
Current squad
- As of 05 February 2015.
Players out on loan
Transfers 2014/15
Coaching staff
| Name | Function |
| Markus Babbel | Manager |
| Roland Vrabec | Assistant manager |
| Daniel Böbner | Goalkeeper coach |
| Christian Schmidt | Fitness coach |
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Former notable players
- See also Category:FC Luzern players.
Head coaches
- See also Category:FC Luzern managers.
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 Egon Coordes (Sept 27, 1998–Nov 1, 1998) André "Bigi" Meyer (Nov 1998–Dec 98)- Andy Egli (Jan 1, 1999–June 30, 2001)
 Ryszard Komornicki (July 1, 2001 – July 28, 2001)- Raimondo Ponte (Aug 3, 2001–June 30, 2002)
- Bidu Zaugg (July 1, 2002 – June 30, 2003)
- Urs Schönenberger (July 1, 2003–Nov 1, 2003)
 René van Eck (July 1, 2003 – June 30, 2006)- Friedel Rausch (2004–06)
- Ciriaco Sforza (July 1, 2006–Aug 10, 2008)
- Jean-Daniel Gross (interim) (Aug 11, 2008–Aug 17, 2008)
- Roberto Morinini (Aug 17, 2008–Oct 27, 2008)
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 Rolf Fringer (Oct 27, 2008–May 2, 2011)
- Christian Brand (interim) (May 2, 2011 – June 30, 2011)
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 Murat Yakin (July 1, 2011–Aug 19, 2012)
- Ryszard Komornicki (Aug 20, 2012–April 2, 2013)
- Gerardo Seoane (interim) (April 4, 2013 – April 8, 2013)
- Carlos Bernegger (April 8, 2013 – October 6, 2014)
- Markus Babbel (October 12, 2014–)
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References
External links
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| | 2014–15 teams | |
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| | Former teams | |
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| | Associated competitions | |
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| | Seasons | |
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Seasons of Swiss Football League |
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| Serie A era, 1897–1931 | | | Seasons | |
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| | Nationalliga era, 1931–1944 | | | Seasons | |
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| | Nationalliga A era, 1944–2003 | | | Seasons | |
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| | Super League era, 2003–present | | | Seasons | |
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