FC Winterthur

Winterthur
Full nameFussballclub Winterthur
Nickname(s)FCW
Rot-Weiss (Red and White)
Founded1896; 128 years ago (1896)
GroundSchützenwiese, Winterthur, Switzerland
Capacity8,550 (1,900 seated)
ChairmanMike Keller
LeagueSwiss Super League
2023–24Swiss Super League, 6th of 12
Websitehttp://www.fcwinterthur.ch
Current season

FC Winterthur is a Swiss football club based in Winterthur, Canton of Zürich. They play in the Swiss Super League, the first tier of Swiss football, and appeared regularly in the Nationalliga A during the 20th century. Their home is the Stadion Schützenwiese.

History

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Chart of FC Winterthur table positions in the Swiss football league system

The club was founded in 1896 by students of the local school of engineering and following a fusion with two local teams, it was called Vereinigte Fussballclubs Winterthur between 1929 and 1946.[1] They enjoyed their best success in the early part of the 20th century winning the Swiss Championship three times (in 1906, 1908 and 1917), before consecutive relegations in 1931 and 1934. They played in the lower leagues until regaining promotion to the Nationalliga B in 1950. They have since stayed in the second division for most of their history, except for several appearances in the Nationalliga A, from where they were most recently relegated in 1978 following a promotion ten years prior.[1] Notable managers from this period include Gabet Chapuisat, Wolfgang Frank, René Hüssy, Timo Konietzka, and Willy Sommer

They famously lost to West Auckland F.C., an English amateur team in what is thought to be the first international football club competition, the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy. The club have also reached the final of the Swiss League Cup in 1972 and 1973 and Swiss Cup in 1968 and 1975, however lost on every occasion.

In 2005–06 season the club finished 14th place in the Challenge League. Despite performing poorly in the league, they made it to the semi-finals of the Swiss Cup by defeating Grasshoppers, Lucerne and Servette, before losing to eventual winners Sion at home.

In the 2021–22 season, Winterthur were able to achieve a last round championship victory in the Swiss Challenge League, to gain their first promotion to the Swiss Super League. It will be the first time since 1982 that the team played in the top Swiss football league. It is their fourth victory in the second Swiss football league. Following their promotion, coach Alex Frei, who led the team during this successful season, departed the team to join FC Basel, along with assistant coach Davide Callà.[2] They're replaced by Bruno Berner and Aurélien Mioch.[3]

Due to the expansion of the Super League for the 2023–24 season, there would be no direct relegation in Winterthur's first season back in the top flight, as the last placed team would advance to the relegation playoff. The goal for the season therefore was clear: avoid the relegation and secure a spot in the Super League for the next year. This still proved to be a difficult task, as they initially struggled with the higher pace and efficient exploitation of weaknesses in the top flight, most exemplified by their 0–6 home loss to FC Luzern in the eight round.[4] Winterthur still managed to secure a spot in the Super League for the next season, as they narrowly avoided the relegation play-off, ending the season one point above FC Sion.[5] Despite this success and one year left on his contract, coach Berner departed to club following the conclusion of the season, to return to his boyhood club and cantonal rivals Grasshopper Club Zürich.[6] Former FC Basel and Switzerland U21 coach Patrick Rahmen was announced as his replacement on 14 June 2023.[7]

Players

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Current squad

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As of 9 September 2024[8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Greece GRE Stefanos Kapino
3 DF Switzerland SUI Tobias Schättin
4 DF Switzerland SUI Basil Stillhart
5 DF Germany GER Lukas Mühl
6 MF Switzerland SUI Randy Schneider
7 MF Switzerland SUI Luca Zuffi
8 MF Switzerland SUI Musa Araz
9 FW Switzerland SUI Roman Buess
10 MF Switzerland SUI Matteo Di Giusto
11 MF Switzerland SUI Fabian Frei
15 FW Senegal SEN Christian Gomis
16 MF Switzerland SUI Remo Arnold
17 FW Switzerland SUI Albin Krasniqi
18 DF Ivory Coast CIV Souleymane Diaby
19 FW Switzerland SUI Elias Maluvunu
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF Switzerland SUI Carmine Chiappetta
21 DF Switzerland SUI Loïc Lüthi
22 MF Switzerland SUI Adrian Durrer
23 DF Kosovo KOS Granit Lekaj (captain)
24 DF Switzerland SUI Silvan Sidler
26 DF Kosovo KOS Ledjan Sahitaj
27 MF Switzerland SUI Fabian Rohner
28 FW France FRA Antoine Baroan
29 FW France FRA Boubacar Fofana
30 GK Austria AUT Markus Kuster
45 MF Switzerland SUI Alexandre Jankewitz
75 GK Switzerland SUI Antonio Spagnoli
84 FW Switzerland SUI Labinot Bajrami (on loan from Zürich)
90 FW Switzerland SUI Josias Lukembila (on loan from Paris)
99 FW Switzerland SUI Nishan Burkart

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
MF Switzerland SUI Noe Holenstein (at Schaffhausen until 30 June 2025)
FW Switzerland SUI Laurin Vögele (at Cham until 30 June 2025)

Former players

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Stadium

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The club play at Stadion Schützenwiese, a short walk from the centre of Winterthur, having done so since their inception in 1896. The first grandstand was built in 1922, and then replaced in 1957 using sponsorship money.

In the 1980s the ownership was transferred to Winterthur council as the club faced financial problems. The council are responsible for any maintenance and upkeep.

While once boasting a capacity of 14,987 before 2009, the stadium now holds 8,550 seats, 1,900 of which are seated. The more hardcore supporters of the club stand at one end, which is known as the Bierkurve. They also have a small stand for younger supporters known as the Sirupkurve. Away supporters are housed at the opposite end of the stadium to the Bierkurve.

Honours

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Former coaches

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Coaching staff

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Position Name
Head coach TBD
Assistant coaches Austria Dietmar Eichner
Switzerland Reto Wiesmann
Switzerland Florian Kühn
Goalkeeper coach Switzerland Thomas Schnegg
Fitness coach Switzerland Dietmar Schneiderfeldt
Match analyst Switzerland Jens Gassmann
Performance coach Switzerland Florian Keller
Team doctors Switzerland Dr. Heidi Kunze
Switzerland Dr. Jakob Kerstenhardt
Physiotherapists Switzerland Fabian Werner
Switzerland Fritz Hofer
Switzerland Philipp Flick
Switzerland Torsten Krautzheimer
Team coordinator Switzerland Joachim Wolfinger
Sport director Switzerland Steffen Hoffmann
Press officer Switzerland Niklas Zimmermann

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "FC Winterthur – Winterthur Glossar". winterthur-glossar.ch. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Alex Frei ist der neue FCB-Trainer" [Alex Frei is the new FCB coach]. FC Basel (in German). 23 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Bruno Berner neuer Trainer des FC Winterthur" [Bruno Berner is the new coach of FC Winterthur]. FC Winterthur (in German). 30 May 2022. Archived from the original on 30 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Matchdetail". Swiss Football League. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  5. ^ "FC Winterthur bleibt in der Super League – Sion muss in Barrage". nau.ch. 9 June 2023.
  6. ^ "GC: Bruno Berner wird neuer Trainer von GC". nau.ch. 9 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Patrick Rahmen wird neuer Cheftrainer". FC Winterthur. 14 June 2023.
  8. ^ "Kader der laufenden Meisterschaft" [Squad of the current championship] (in German). FC Winterthur. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Rahmen zu YB, Zaric neuer FCW-Cheftrainer" (in Swiss High German). FC Winterthur. 14 May 2024. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  10. ^ "FCW trennt sich von Ognjen Zaric" (in Swiss High German). FC Winterthur. 17 December 2024. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
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