Fussball-Club Luzern (), or simply abbreviated to FCL, is a
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
sports club
A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports.
Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
based in
Lucerne
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
(german: Luzern). It is best known for its professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team, which plays in the
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
, the top tier of the
Swiss football league system
The Swiss football league system, is a series of interconnected leagues for association football clubs in Switzerland, with seven teams from Liechtenstein, and one each from exclaves of Germany and Italy, also competing. The system has a hierarchi ...
, and has won the
national title once and the
national cup The English National Cup is an annual basketball knock-out competition held between professional, semi-professional and amateur teams from the various divisions of the National Basketball League. For most of the competition's history, the draw has ...
three times.
The club colours are blue and white, derived from the City of Lucerne and
Canton of Lucerne
The canton of Lucerne (german: Kanton Luzern rm, Chantun Lucerna french: Canton de Lucerne it, Canton Lucerna) is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the centre of Switzerland. The population of the canton (as of ) is . , the populati ...
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
Stadion Allmend was a multi-purpose stadium in Lucerne, Switzerland. Its current primary use was for football matches. The stadium had a capacity of 25,000, although security concerns mandate limiting audiences to 15,000.
The stadium had been hom ...
.
FC Luzern was founded in 1901. It has non-professional departments for
women's football,
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
,
boccia
Boccia ( ) is a precision ball sport, similar to bocce, and related to bowls and pétanque. The name "boccia" is derived from the Latin word for "boss" – '. The sport is contested at local, national and international levels, by athletes ...
and
gymnastics
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...
.
History
FC Luzern's greatest success was winning the Swiss Championship in 1989. The club has also won the
Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...
three 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.
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 newspaper ''Luzerner Tagblatt'' advertising 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 at
Allmend, 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 against
SC Zofingen
SC Zofingen is a Swiss football club based in Zofingen, Canton Aargau which is a short distance from Zürich. It was founded on 10 August 1896. They currently play in the Swiss 1. Liga, the third tier of Swiss football.
History
In 1971 the c ...
. 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 the
Swiss Football Association
The Swiss Football Association (german: Schweizerischer Fussballverband, french: Association Suisse de Football, it, Associazione Svizzera di Football/Calcio, rm, Associaziun Svizra da Ballape) is the governing body of football in Switzerlan ...
(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 in
Chiasso
Chiasso (; lmo, Ciass ) is a municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.
As the southernmost of Switzerland's municipalities, Chiasso is on the border with Italy, in front of Ponte Chiasso (a frazione of Co ...
. In the second international encounter, Luzern drew 1–1 against
Mulhouse
Mulhouse (; Alsatian language, Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning ''Mill (grinding), mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department, in the Grand Est Regions of France, region, eastern France, close to the France–Switzerl ...
, 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 beating
FC Baden
FC Baden is a Swiss football club based in Baden, Canton Aargau, which is a short distance from Zürich. It was founded in 1897. FC Baden has a total of 22 different teams at age levels, including five women's teams. They play in the Swiss Promo ...
. Dionys Schönecker, who joined FC Luzern from Austrian club
Rapid Wien
Sportklub Rapid Wien (), commonly known as Rapid Vienna, is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the first title in the season 1911–12, ...
, 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 champions
Blue Stars Zürich 2–1, Luzern faced
Servette Geneva in a title decider on 25 June 1922 in
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
. 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 international
Sirio Vernati
Sirio Vernati (12 May 1907 – 22 February 1993) was a Swiss footballer who played for Switzerland in the 1938 FIFA World Cup.SC Zug
Zug 94 is a Swiss association football, football team based in Zug, in the Canton of Zug which competes in the 1. Liga Classic, 1. Liga. It was formed in 1994 after a merger between SC Zug and FC Zug.
During the summer of 1983, Ottmar Hitzfeld ...
.
The boom only lasted for two years and Luzern was relegated again in 1955. The club board appointed young German manager
Rudi Gutendorf
Rudolf Gutendorf (30 August 1926 – 13 September 2019) was a German football manager, renowned for managing the highest number of national teams – a total of 18 teams plus Iran's Olympic team in 1988 and the China Olympic team in 1992 ...
, 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 the
Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...
in 1960. The final was played against
FC Grenchen
FC Grenchen is a Swiss football club, based in Grenchen. They currently play in the 2. Liga, and play their matches at the Brühl Stadium.
History
FC Grenchen was founded in 1906. In 1937 they gained promotion to the top league of Swiss ...
. Luzern then participated in the first edition of the
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
in 1960–61, but was comfortably defeated by
Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...
(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 the
Switzerland 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 signed
Ottmar Hitzfeld
Ottmar Hitzfeld (; born 12 January 1949) is a German former professional football player ( striker) and manager. He accumulated a total of 18 major titles, mostly in his tenures with Grasshopper Club Zürich, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. ...
in 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 Rausch took over as a manager in 1985 and guided Luzern to their most successful era. In 1986, the club finished third and qualified for the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
for the first time in club history. After a remarkable 0–0 away draw against
Spartak Moscow Spartak Moscow may refer to the following teams based or formerly based in Moscow, Russia:
* FC Spartak Moscow, an association football club
* HC Spartak Moscow, a professional ice hockey team
* Spartak GM Moscow, a semi-professional rugby club
* WB ...
, 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 the
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
, the club's first (and so far only) appearance in this competition. However, Luzern was without a realistic chance against Dutch champions
PSV and 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 against
MTK Budapest
Magyar Testgyakorlók Köre is a multi-sports club from Budapest, founded in 1888. It has sections for football, handball, basketball, volleyball, futsal, ice hockey, water polo, cycling, gymnastics, athletics, fencing, canoeing, boxing, wrestlin ...
, but lost to
Admira Wacker Vienna in 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 beating
FC Lugano
FC Lugano is a Swiss football club based in Lugano. The club was refounded as AC Lugano in 2004 as a result of relegation and the financial situation of FC Lugano, which was founded in 1908. In 2008, the club reverted to its original name, FC Lu ...
3–1 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 champions
FC Sion
Football Club de Sion, commonly known as simply FC Sion or Sion, is a Swiss football team from the city of Sion. The club was founded in 1909, and play their home matches at the Stade Tourbillon. They have won the Swiss Super League twice, and ...
. 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, entered
administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...
.
After continuously precarious league performances, Luzern eventually got relegated in 2003. The fall went on and Luzern finished behind local rivals
SC Kriens
SC Kriens is a football club based in Kriens, Switzerland, who currently play in the Swiss Challenge League. They currently play at the Stadion Kleinfeld and form a local rivalry with FC Lucerne.
SC Kriens women's team plays in the Nationallig ...
for the first time in club history in 2004. Luzern lost the Swiss Cup final in 2005 against
FC Zürich
Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a Swiss football club based in Zürich. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League 13 times and the Swiss Cup 10 times. The most recent titles a ...
. In 2006, under the management of former centre-back
René van Eck
René van Eck (born 18 February 1966) is a Dutch former professional footballer who works as Ludovic Magnin's assistant at Swiss Super League side FC Zürich.
Playing career Club
Van Eck started his professional career at local side Excels ...
, the team won the
Swiss Challenge League and secured promotion with a 31-match unbeaten run.
The Super League era (2006–present)
Luzern appointed former Swiss international
Ciriaco Sforza as manager and qualified for another Swiss Cup final that was lost against
FC Basel
Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss football club based in Basel, in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been Swiss national champions 20 times, Swiss Cup winners 13 times, and ...
in 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 appointing
Rolf Fringer Rolf is a male given name and a surname. It originates in the Germanic name ''Hrolf'', itself a contraction of ''Hrodwulf'' ( Rudolf), a conjunction of the stem words ''hrod'' ("renown") + ''wulf'' ("wolf"). The Old Norse cognate is ''Hrólfr''. ...
and eventually beating FC Lugano 5–1 on aggregate in the relegation playoffs in 2009.
The signing of star player
Hakan Yakin
Hakan Yakin ( tr, Hakan Yakın; born 22 February 1977) is a Swiss football coach and a former player who played as a forward or midfielder. He is the manager of Schaffhausen. He was a member of the Swiss national team for eleven years.
Early ...
in summer 2009 transformed the team into a successful side that finished third. The subsequent UEFA Europa League qualifiers were lost against
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
. After a mediocre 2010–11 season, Fringer was replaced with former Swiss international
Murat Yakin
Murat Yakin ( tr, Yakın; born 15 September 1974) is a Swiss football coach and former player. He is the manager of the Switzerland national football team.
Playing career
Yakin spent the longest spell of his career playing for his hometown c ...
, 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 to
Genk
Genk () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the town of Genk itself. It is one of the most important industrial towns in Flanders, located on the Albert Canal, ...
in the UEFA Europa League playoff round, Murat Yakin was replaced with
Carlos Bernegger. In similar fashion as his predecessor, Bernegger failed to confirm a good first season performance and was replaced by former
German international Markus Babbel
Markus Babbel (; born 8 September 1972) is a German professional football coach and former player who last managed the Western Sydney Wanderers FC. He played as a defender for clubs in Germany and England. Babbel won the UEFA Cup twice, in 1996 ...
after a poor season start and a disappointing Europa League qualifier defeat against
St 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 to
Sassuolo
Sassuolo (; egl, label=Modenese dialect, Modenese, Sasól ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna.
Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town ...
in 2016 and
Osijek
Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...
in 2017.
After a disappointing first half of the 2017–18 season, Markus Babbel was replaced with U-21 manager
Gerardo Seoane
Gerardo Seoane Castro (born 30 October 1978) also known as Gerry Seoane, is a Swiss professional football coach and former player, who is the current manager of Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Managerial career
Seoane was appointed ...
. 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 champion
Young Boys Bern
BSC Young Boys (YB by short abbreviation ) are a Swiss sports club based in Bern, Switzerland. Its first team has won 15 Swiss league championships and six Swiss Cups. YB is one of the most successful Swiss football clubs internationally, rea ...
in a surprise move. On 22 June 2018, FC Luzern announced the appointment of former
Anderlecht
Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...
and
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
manager
René Weiler
René Weiler (born 13 September 1973) is a Swiss football coach and former player.
Playing career
Weiler started his career 1990 with FC Winterthur, the club of his hometown, playing in the Challenge League. In 1992, he moved to FC Aarau who at ...
. In early 2019, following a sequence of bad results and atmospheric tensions between Weiler and the club's sporting director
Remo Meyer, Weiler was replaced by former Swiss international
Thomas Häberli who 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 side
KÍ Klaksvik 2-0 on aggregate but was subsequently eliminated by
Espanyol
Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...
. After a poor first half of the 2019-20 campaign, Häberli was replaced by former
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
and
Getafe
Getafe () is a municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality.
Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city centre, within a flat ar ...
midfielder
Fabio Celestini
Fabio Celestini (born 31 October 1975) is a Swiss football manager and former player. A defensive midfielder, he started and finished his 15-year professional career with Lausanne, and also played for ten years in France and Spain, representing ...
.
On 24 May 2021, Luzern won their third
Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...
, following a 3-1 win over
FC St. Gallen
Fussballclub St. Gallen 1879, commonly known as St. Gallen, is a Swiss professional football club based in the city of St. Gallen, Canton of St. Gallen. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the Swiss Super League.
History
Founde ...
.
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 from
Central Switzerland
Central Switzerland is the region of the Alpine Foothills geographically the heart and historically the origin of Switzerland, with the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Lucerne and Zug.
Central Switzerland is one of the NUTS 2 Stat ...
, leading the number of sold season tickets in the cantons of
Lucerne
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
,
Obwalden
Obwalden, also Obwald (german: Kanton Obwalden, rm, Chantun Sursilvania; french: Canton d'Obwald; it, Canton Obvaldo), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of seven municipalities and the seat of the govern ...
,
Nidwalden
Nidwalden, also Nidwald (german: Kanton Nidwalden, ; rm, Chantun Sutsilvania; french: Canton de Nidwald; it, Canton Nidvaldo) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven municipalities and the seat of the ...
,
Uri Uri may refer to:
Places
* Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland
* Úri, a village and commune in Hungary
* Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province
* Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India
* Uri (island), an island off Malakula Islan ...
,
Zug
, neighboring_municipalities = Cham, Baar, Walchwil, Steinhausen, Unterägeri
, twintowns = Fürstenfeld (Austria), Kalesija (Bosnia-Herzegowina)
Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; french: Zoug it, Zugo r ...
as well as in some parts of
Aargau
Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capita ...
and
Schwyz
The town of Schwyz (; french: Schwytz; it, Svitto) is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.
The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the ' ...
. 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 the
2017–18 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, view
FC St. Gallen
Fussballclub St. Gallen 1879, commonly known as St. Gallen, is a Swiss professional football club based in the city of St. Gallen, Canton of St. Gallen. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the Swiss Super League.
History
Founde ...
as a major rival. Matches with
FC Aarau
FC Aarau is a Swiss football club based in Aarau. They play in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football after being relegated from Swiss Super League.
History
FC Aarau was formed on 26 May 1902 by workers from a local br ...
are 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 the
Stadion Allmend
Stadion Allmend was a multi-purpose stadium in Lucerne, Switzerland. Its current primary use was for football matches. The stadium had a capacity of 25,000, although security concerns mandate limiting audiences to 15,000.
The stadium had been hom ...
, which had a theoretical capacity of 25,000. For security reasons however, the
Swiss Football Association
The Swiss Football Association (german: Schweizerischer Fussballverband, french: Association Suisse de Football, it, Associazione Svizzera di Football/Calcio, rm, Associaziun Svizra da Ballape) is the governing body of football in Switzerlan ...
did 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 the
Gersag Stadion in
Emmenbrücke
Emmen is a village and municipality in the district of Hochdorf in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. The municipality Emmen consists of the village Emmen, the town Emmenbrücke, and several hamlets.
History
Emmen is first mentioned in 840 a ...
.
In August 2011, the club moved into the newly built
Swissporarena, located at the former location of the old stadium. The opening match ended with a 0–0 draw against
FC Thun
Fussballclub Thun 1898 is a Swiss football team from the Bernese Oberland town of Thun. The club plays in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of the Swiss football league system, following relegation from the Swiss Super League in the ...
.
Honours
*
Swiss Super League
The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 season ...
**Winners:
1988–89
*
Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...
**Winners: 1959–60, 1991–92,
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
**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 coach
Friedel Rausch. Furthermore, the club played in six Swiss Cup finals, winning two by defeating
FC Grenchen
FC Grenchen is a Swiss football club, based in Grenchen. They currently play in the 2. Liga, and play their matches at the Brühl Stadium.
History
FC Grenchen was founded in 1906. In 1937 they gained promotion to the top league of Swiss ...
1–0 in 1960 and
FC Lugano
FC Lugano is a Swiss football club based in Lugano. The club was refounded as AC Lugano in 2004 as a result of relegation and the financial situation of FC Lugano, which was founded in 1908. In 2008, the club reverted to its original name, FC Lu ...
3–1 (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
Source:
Recent seasons
.
The season-by-season performance of the club over the last years:
Rank = Rank in the Swiss Super League
The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 season ...
; P = Played; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points; Cup = Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...
; EL = UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
.
''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 beating FC Lugano
FC Lugano is a Swiss football club based in Lugano. The club was refounded as AC Lugano in 2004 as a result of relegation and the financial situation of FC Lugano, which was founded in 1908. In 2008, the club reverted to its original name, FC Lu ...
5 – 1 on aggregate in the relegation play-offs.
Players
Current squad
Other players under contract
Out on loan
Personnel
.
Current technical staff
Source:
Head coaches since 2006
Head coaches until 2006
*
Dionys Schönecker (1921–24)
*
Franz Konya (July 1927 – 29 Dec)
*
Otto Hamacek (Feb 1929 – 29 June)
*
Albert Halter
Albert may refer to:
Companies
* Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic
* Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands
* Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia
* Albert Productions, a record label
* Albert ...
&
Albert Mühleisen (1929)
*
Karoly "Dragan" Nemes (1930 – 31 September)
*
Horace Williams
Horace F. Williams (1900 – 29 October 1960) was a Welsh professional footballer.
Williams began his senior career in Scotland, playing for St Johnstone and then Hibernian. He joined Dundee Hibernian in July 1921 for a fee of £30. After sc ...
(October 1931–33)
*
Josef Gerspach (1933–34)
*
Karl Heinlein
Karl Henlein (25 April 1892 – 2 May 1960) was an Austrian football manager and former player.
Club career
Born in Austrian capital Vienna, Heinlein played with Wiener AC (also known as WAC) in the Austrian First Class since its first edition ...
(1934 – November 35)
*
Adolf Vögeli (November 1935–37)
*
Josef Uridil
Josef Uridil (nicknamed ''Pepi, der Tank'') (24 December 1895 – 20 May 1962), was an Austrian footballer and coach.
Biography
Pepi Uridil, third son of the taylor Kajetan Uridil, was born on Christmas Eve 1895 in the Vienna suburb of Ottakri ...
(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
Fritz originated as a German nickname for Friedrich (given name), Friedrich, or Frederick (given name), Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Frederick II of Prussia and Frederick III, German Emperor) as ...
(1949–51)
*
Hermann Stennull (1951–55)
*
Rudi Gutendorf
Rudolf Gutendorf (30 August 1926 – 13 September 2019) was a German football manager, renowned for managing the highest number of national teams – a total of 18 teams plus Iran's Olympic team in 1988 and the China Olympic team in 1992 ...
(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
Werner Schley (born 25 January 1935 – 30 May 2007) was a Swiss footballer who played as a goalkeeper during the 1950s and 1960s. Schley was born in Basel and he died whilst he was in Mallorca, Spain.
Football career Club career
Schley playe ...
&
Josef Brun (October 1970–71)
*
Robert Meyer
Robert Meyer (born October 2, 1945 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian art photographer, professor, photo historian, collector, writer and publicist. He is the son of journalist Robert Castberg Meyer and homemaker Edel Nielsen; and brother of the in ...
(1971 – September 71)
*
Egon Milder &
Josef Vogel (September 1971 – October 71)
*
Josef Brun (October 1971 – November 71)
*
Albert Sing
Albert Sing (7 April 1917 – 31 August 2008) was a German footballer and football manager.
He played for 1. FC Eislingen, Stuttgarter Kickers, VfR Mannheim and TSG Ulm 1846 and capped twice for Germany
Germany,, officially the Fe ...
(31 October 1971 – 30 June 1974)
*
Ilijas Pašić (1974 – April 75)
*
Paul Wolfisberg &
Josef Vogel (April 1975–75)
*
Otto Luttrop
Otto Luttrop (1 March 1939 – 21 November 2017) was a German football player and coach. As a player, he spent three seasons in the Bundesliga with TSV 1860 Munich.
He coached mainly in Switzerland. Luttrop died on 21 November 2017, aged 78.
H ...
(1975–76)
*
René Hüssy (1976)
*
Albert Sing
Albert Sing (7 April 1917 – 31 August 2008) was a German footballer and football manager.
He played for 1. FC Eislingen, Stuttgarter Kickers, VfR Mannheim and TSG Ulm 1846 and capped twice for Germany
Germany,, officially the Fe ...
(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
Egon Coordes (born 13 July 1944) is a German former professional football player and coach.
Playing career
Coordes was born in Wesermünde, Germany. He began his career at Regionalliga North side TuS Bremerhaven 93 but quickly moved to the Bun ...
(27 September 1998 – 1 November 1998)
*
André "Bigi" Meyer (November 1998 – December 98)
*
Andy Egli (1 January 1999 – 30 June 2001)
*
Ryszard Komornicki
Ryszard Komornicki (born 14 August 1959) is a former Polish footballer who played as a winger or an attacking midfielder. He is currently the sporting director of GKS Tychy.
Playing career
Born in Ścinawa, Lower Silesia, Komornicki played for ...
(1 July 2001 – 28 July 2001)
*
Raimondo Ponte
Raimondo Ponte (born 4 April 1955) is a Swiss former professional footballer. At international level, he made 34 appearances for the Swiss national team scoring 2 goals.
Career
Ponte joined Nottingham Forest from Grasshopper Club Zürich for ...
(3 August 2001 – 30 June 2002)
*
Bidu Zaugg (1 July 2002 – 30 June 2003)
*
Urs Schönenberger
Urs Schönenberger (born 21 February 1959) is a Swiss football manager and former player.
References
1959 births
Living people
Swiss footballers
FC Zürich players
AC Bellinzona players
FC Luzern players
SC Kriens players
FC Baden ...
(1 July 2003 – 1 November 2003)
*
René van Eck
René van Eck (born 18 February 1966) is a Dutch former professional footballer who works as Ludovic Magnin's assistant at Swiss Super League side FC Zürich.
Playing career Club
Van Eck started his professional career at local side Excels ...
(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 player
Stefan Wolf.
Former notable players
References
External links
FC Luzern official website
FC Luzern official web tv
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luzern
1901 establishments in Switzerland
Association football clubs established in 1901
Football clubs in Switzerland