FC Zürich

History

1896–1924

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 later Barcelona founder Joan Gamper, who coached and played for FC Excelsior and its successor from 1894 to 1897. The new club played its first game on 30 August 1896 on Velorennbahn Hardau in Zurich against St. Gallen, which resulted in a 3–3 draw. In 1898, FC Excelsior merged with FC Zürich, and local club FC Victoria joined shortly thereafter.

The debut game was in 1896 with the colours blue and white. The colours were changed to red and white because rivals Grasshopper Club Zurich had the same colours. When Grasshoppers temporarily retired from the championship in 1909, FCZ returned to the colors blue and white, which they continue to use. Zürich won its first title in the Swiss Serie A in 1901–02, but did not win it again until 1923–24.

Until the 1930s, the club's sporting remit included rowing, boxing, athletics and handball, but football would become the focus of the club.

1925–1960

Zürich struggled to overcome an unsuccessful record and was described as the "wilderness years" from 1925 to 1960. They were relegated in 1933–34, playing in the 1. Liga until the 1941 season. In 1940–41, they returned to the Nationalliga, where they stayed until their relegation in 1945–46. They were back in the Nationalliga A in 1947–48 and stayed in the top flight until relegated in 1956–57. They were promoted from the Nationalliga B to contest the 1958–59 Nationalliga A, 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 president Edwin Nägeli and had players such as Köbi Kuhn, Fritz Künzli, Ilija Katić, René Botteron and many more. Zürich won seven championships in the years 1963, 1966, 1968, 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1981. They also won the Swiss Cup five times: in 1966, 1970, 1972, 1973 and 1976. FCZ also had much success internationally in reaching 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 they were relegated to the Nationalliga B. 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. They won it again in 2005, beating Luzern.

2006–2016

On 13 May 2006, FCZ ended their 25-year effort to win Super League with a goal in the 93rd minute by Iulian Filipescu against Basel. The goal gave FCZ a 2–1 victory based on goal difference. They retained the title in 2006–07.

In 2008, the local women's team, FFC Zürich Seebach, was combined with FC Zürich and played in the Swiss national league under the name FC Zürich Frauen.

In the 2007–08 season, FCZ finished in third place. In a 2008–09 season match, they edged past Young Boys to win the league title. In 2009, they made their debut play in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. In the 2010–11 season, FCZ finished second. The following seasons, they finished mostly in mid-table positions. FCZ won the Swiss Cup 2014 in extra time against Basel 2–0.

In the 2015–16 season, the club finished last, one point behind Lugano, and was relegated to the Swiss Challenge League. Four days after the final game of the season, FCZ won the Swiss Cup 2016, beating Lugano 1–0.

Recent years

In the 2016–17 season, FC Zürich won the Challenge League ahead of Neuchâtel Xamax, and returned after one year to the Super League. In the 2017–2018 season they finished fourth. On 27 May 2018, they won the Swiss Cup for the tenth time, beating Young Boys 2–1.

In the 2021–2022 season, FC Zürich won the Super League again after an interruption of thirteen years. The club secured its thirteenth league title with a 2–0 away win over Basel, who finished second, with five rounds to go. Despite this success, coach André Breitenreiter departed the club to join Bundesliga side TSG Hoffenheim. On 8 June 2022, former Austrian national coach Franco Foda was announced as the coach for the upcoming season. Despite being able to guide Zürich into the Europa League group stages, the domestic campaign saw the side gain only two points out of a possible 24 in their title defence. The league form, combined with a shock cup defeat to Challenge League side Lausanne on 18 September, proved the final straw and Foda was sacked on 21 September.

In 2024, Ricardo Moniz was appointed head coach on a two-year contract. He was dismissed on 27 May 2025. He was replaced four days later by Mitchell van der Gaag. Van der Gaag was sacked on 23 October, with club president Ancillo Canepa stating that he felt the team had "become stagnant".

Dennis Hediger was named head coach on 1 January 2026, having led the team in the interim since van der Gaag's departure.

Honours

National

• Super League/Nationalliga A
  • Champions (13): 1901–02, 1923–24, 1962–63, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1980–81, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2021–22
  • Runners-up (9): 1902–03, 1910–11, 1931–32, 1951–52, 1963–64, 1966–67, 1971–72, 1978–79, 2010–11
• Challenge League/Nationalliga B:
  • Champions (4): 1940–41, 1946–47, 1957–58, 2016–17
  • Runners-up (2): 1988–89, 1989–90
• Swiss Cup
  • Winners (10): 1965–66, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1999–2000, 2004–05, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–18
  • Runners-up (1): 1980–81
• Swiss League Cup
  • Winners (1): 1980–81
  • Runners-up (2): 1974–75, 1975–76

International

• European Cup/UEFA Champions League
  • Semi-finalists: 1963–64, 1976–77

Rivalries

Grasshoppers, also from Zürich, and Basel are the main rivals of FCZ. Due to the intense rivalry, these matches are so-called high-risk fixtures, with an increased police presence in and around the stadium.

Zürich

Main article: Zurich derby

Since its inception, FCZ has always had a fiery relationship with neighbouring club Grasshopper over sporting supremacy in the city. 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 the Swiss Super League in 2003, FCZ has frequently got the better of their city rivals, winning 33 out of 68 games (GC won 20 and 15 draws).

The October 2011 derby at Letzigrund was abandoned by the referee after rioting by FC Zürich fans. Earlier in the day, Grasshopper Club Zurich fans stole FC Zürich fan banners and displayed them with a message mocking FC Zürich.

Final vs. Basel, 13 May 2006

Main article: 2006 Basel hooligan incident

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 match 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. Zürich's success at 2–1 was attributed to their superior goal difference. Following the final whistle, Basel supporters stormed the pitch and attacked players on both teams.

Infrastructure

In 2010, the youth and women's teams of the club moved their homebase to the Heerenschürli sport park, in the Hirzenbach quarter of the city, where 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.

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Notable former players

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 the Swiss 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 with World Cup appearances for their national teams

;Bulgaria

• Borislav Mihaylov

;Czechslovakia

• Jan Berger

;Denmark

• Peter Møller

;France

• Jean-Marc Ferreri

;Germany

• Norbert Eder

;Italy

• Roberto Di Matteo

;Ivory Coast

• Kanga Akale

;New Zealand

• Wynton Rufer

;Nigeria

• Ike Shorunmu
• Rashidi Yekini

;Romania

• Iulian Filipescu
• Adrian Ilie

;Russia

• Aleksandr Kerzhakov

;South Africa

• Shaun Bartlett

;Sweden

• Tomas Brolin
• Roger Ljung
• Jonas Thern
• Conny Torstensson

;Tunisia

• Francileudo Santos
• Yassine Chikhaoui

;Yugoslavia

• Mirsad Baljić
• Jurica Jerković

Player records

Players in bold are still part of the club.

Managers

• Hungary József "Csiby" Winkler (1920–22)
• Austria Johann Studnicka (1922–25)
• Switzerland Severino Minelli (1943–46)
• Switzerland Willy Iseli (1946–48)
• Switzerland Theodor Lohrmann (1948–53)
• Switzerland Joksch Fridl (1953–55)
• Switzerland Ossi Müller (1955–57)
• Switzerland Fernando Molina and Switzerland Max Barras (1957–58)
• Austria Karl Rappan (1958–59)
• Switzerland Max Barras (1959–60)
• Germany Georg Wurzer (1960–62)
• Switzerland Louis Maurer (1962–66)
• Hungary László Kubala (July 1966 – Feb 67)
• Switzerland René Brodmann (Feb 1967 – July 67)
• Yugoslavia Lev Mantula (1967–69)
• Germany Georg Gawliczek (1 July 1969 – 31 December 1970)
• Hungary Juan Schwanner (November 1970 – July 71)
• Germany Friedhelm Konietzka (1971–78)
• Yugoslavia Zlatko Čajkovski (July 1978 – March 80)
• Switzerland Albert Sing and Italy R. Martinelli (29 Feb 1980 – 30 June 1980)
• Switzerland Daniel Jeandupeux (1 July 1980 – March 83)
• Switzerland Heini Glättli (March 1983 – April 83)
• Germany Max Merkel (April 1983 – May 83)
• Switzerland Köbi Kuhn (May 1983 – July 83)
• Germany Hans Kodric (July 1983 – November 83)
• Switzerland Köbi Kuhn (November 1983 – July 84)
• Czech Republic Vaclav Jezek (1984–86)
• Austria Hermann Stessl (1 July 1986 – 1 November 1987)
• Germany Friedhelm Konietzka (Sept 1987 – July 88)
• Germany Hans Bongartz (1 July 1988 – 30 June 1989)
• Switzerland Walter Iselin (July 1989 – October 89)
• Germany Herbert Neumann (October 1989 –1 October 1991)
• Austria Kurt Jara (1 October 1991 – 1 April 1994)
• England Bob Houghton (April 1994 – March 95)
• Switzerland Raimondo Ponte (March 1995 – 16 April 2000)
• France Gilbert Gress (16 April 2000 – 30 June 2001)
• Switzerland Georges Bregy (1 July 2001 – 27 March 2003)
• Switzerland Walter Grüter (interim) (27 March 2003 – 30 June 2003)
• Switzerland Lucien Favre (1 July 2003 – 30 June 2007)
• Switzerland Bernard Challandes (1 July 2007 – 19 April 2010)
• Switzerland Urs Fischer (interim) (19 April 2010 – 30 June 2010)
• Switzerland Urs Fischer (1 July 2010 – 12 March 2012)
• Switzerland Harald Gämperle (interim) (13 March 2012 – 8 June 2012)
• Switzerland Urs Meier (interim) (14 April 2012 – 24 May 2012)
• Austria Rolf Fringer (1 July 2012 – 26 November 2012)
• Switzerland Urs Meier (interim) (26 November 2012 – 30 December 2012)
• Switzerland Urs Meier (1 Jan 2013 – 3 August 2015)
• SUI Massimo Rizzo (interim) (3 August 2015 – 31 August 2015)
• FIN Sami Hyypiä (31 August 2015 – 12 May 2016)
• SUI Uli Forte (13 May 2016 – 20 February 2018)
• SUI Ludovic Magnin (20 February 2018 – 5 October 2020)
• SUI Massimo Rizzo (interim) (5 October 2020 – 23 December 2020)
• SUI Massimo Rizzo (24 December 2020 – 30 June 2021)
• GER André Breitenreiter (1 July 2021 – 24 May 2022)
• GER Franco Foda (9 June 2022 – 21 September 2022)
• SUI Genesio Colatrella (interim) (22 September 2022 – 10 October 2022)
• DEN Bo Henriksen (11 October 2022 – 13 February 2024)
• SUI Murat Ural and SUI Umberto Romano (interim co-trainers) (13 February 2024 – 22 April 2024)
• NED Ricardo Moniz (22 April 2024 – 27 May 2025)
• NED Mitchell van der Gaag (27 May 2025 – present)

FC Zürich in European football

As of 18 August 2022.

References

References

1. "Das Stadion Letzigrund in Zahlen und Fakten".
2. Saro Pepe. "Football for all – but only for the last 50 years".
3. . ["Biography on fcwinterthur1896.com"](https://fcwinterthur1896.com/gamper/).
4. "Erinnerung an unser erstes Matsch".
5. "Erinnerung an unser erstes Matsch".
6. Lütscher, Michael. (2010). "Eine Stadt, ein Verein, eine Geschichte". Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
7. (2023-05-31). "wilderness years - Political Dictionary".
8. . ["Schweiz " Super League " Zuschauer"](http://www.weltfussball.at/zuschauer/sui-super-league-2010-2011/1/).
9. . ["Zuschauerzahlen Super League"](https://www.sfl-org.ch/archiv-statistiken/super-league/zuschauer/league/super-league-20222023/).
10. . ["COVID-19 outbreak: Swiss Super League to admit 1,000 fans"](https://www.coliseum-online.com/swiss-super-league-to-admit-1000-fans/).
11. (24 May 2022). "Personal statement on the departure of André Breitenreiter".
12. (8 June 2022). "Der FC Zürich stellt Franco Foda als neuen Trainer vor".
13. (21 September 2022). "Football: Franco Foda n'est plus l'entraîneur du FC Zurich".
14. "News".
15. (27 May 2025). "Veränderungen im Trainerstab des FC Zürich". FC Zürich.
16. (31 May 2025). "Mitchell van der Gaag wird neuer Cheftrainer des FC Zürich". FC Zürich.
17. "News".
18. "02.10.11: Schande von Zürich: FCZ-Fan wirft Fackel in GC-Sektor und erzwingt Spielabbruch".
19. "FC Zürich weiht sein schmuckes 'House of FCZ' ein".
20. "Profis - Erste Mannschaft".
21. "dbFCZ : Die Spiele des FC Zürich".
22. "Top 10 Einsätze für den FCZ".
23. "Top 10 Tore für den FCZ".
24. (13 February 2024). "Trainerwechsel in die Bundesliga". FC Zürich.