FC Winterthur

Association football club from Winterthur

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Football club

Winterthur

Full name| Fussballclub Winterthur
Nickname(s)| FCW
Rot-Weiss (Red and White)
Founded| 1896; 129 years ago (1896)
Ground| Schützenwiese, Winterthur, Switzerland
Capacity| 8,550 (1,900 seated)
Chairman| Mike Keller
Manager| Uli Forte
League| Swiss Super League
2023–24| Swiss Super League, 6th of 12
Website| http://www.fcwinterthur.ch

Home colours

Away colours

Third colours

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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

[edit]

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

[edit]

### Current squad

[edit]

As of 7 January 2025[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

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1  | GK |  GRE | Stefanos Kapino
3  | DF |  SUI | Tobias Schättin
4  | DF |  SUI | Basil Stillhart
5  | DF |  GER | Lukas Mühl
6  | MF |  PHI | Randy Schneider
7  | MF |  SUI | Luca Zuffi
9  | FW |  SUI | Roman Buess
10  | MF |  SUI | Matteo Di Giusto
11  | MF |  SUI | Fabian Frei
15  | FW |  SEN | Christian Gomis
16  | MF |  SUI | Remo Arnold
17  | FW |  SUI | Albin Krasniqi
18  | DF |  CIV | Souleymane Diaby
19  | MF |  SUI | Dario Ulrich
| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

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21  | DF |  SUI | Loïc Lüthi
22  | MF |  SUI | Adrian Durrer
23  | DF |  KOS | Granit Lekaj (captain)
24  | DF |  SUI | Silvan Sidler
27  | MF |  SUI | Fabian Rohner
29  | FW |  FRA | Boubacar Fofana
30  | GK |  AUT | Markus Kuster
44  | MF |  SUI | Stéphane Cueni
45  | MF |  SUI | Alexandre Jankewitz
75  | GK |  SUI | Antonio Spagnoli
84  | FW |  SUI | Labinot Bajrami (on loan from Zürich)
90  | FW |  SUI | Josias Lukembila (on loan from Paris)
99  | FW |  SUI | Nishan Burkart

### Out on loan

[edit]

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

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-- | MF |  SUI | Carmine Chiappetta (at Schaffhausen until 30 June 2025)
-- | MF |  SUI | Noe Holenstein (at Schaffhausen until 30 June 2025)
-- | FW |  FRA | Antoine Baroan (at Ludogorets until 30 June 2025)
| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

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-- | FW |  SUI | Elias Maluvunu (at Schaffhausen until 30 June 2025)
-- | FW |  SUI | Laurin Vögele (at Cham until 30 June 2025)

### Former players

[edit]

See also: Category:FC Winterthur players

## Stadium

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Main article: Stadion Schützenwiese

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

[edit]

* Swiss Super League
* Winners (3): 1905–06, 1907–08, 1916–17
* runner-up (2): 1908–09, 1915–16,
* Swiss Challenge League
* Winners (4): 1965–66, 1967–68, 1981–82, 2021–22
* runner-up (): 1983–84,
* Swiss Cup
* runner-up (2): 1967–68, 1974–75,

## Former coaches

[edit]

* Martin Rueda (2000–2001)
* Walter Grüter (2001)
* Urs Schönenberger (2001–2002)
* Ivan Koritschan (2002–2003)
* Hans-Joachim Weller (2003)
* Gianni Dellacasa (2003–2004)
* Mathias Walther (2004–2009)
* Boro Kuzmanović (2009–2014)
* Jürgen Seeberger (2014–2015)
* Alex Frei (2021–2022)
* Bruno Berner (2022–2023)
* Patrick Rahmen (2023–2024)
* Ognjen Zarić[9][10] (2024)
* Uli Forte[11] (2024–)

## Coaching staff

[edit]

Position | Name

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

## See also

[edit]

* Category:FC Winterthur players

## References

[edit]

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.
11. ^ "Uli Forte neuer FCW-Trainer" (in Swiss High German). FC Winterthur. 24 December 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2024.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to FC Winterthur.

* Official website (in German)
* "Bierkurve Winterthur" supporters club (in German)
* "Laufpass" – Fanzine (in German) (archived)
* Team profile at Soccerway
* Football.ch profile (in German, French, and Italian)

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Football in Switzerland

* Swiss Football Association
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National teams|

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* National team
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Women|

* National team
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League system|

| Men|

* Super League (play-off)
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Women|

* Women's Super League
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* 1\. Liga
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Domestic cups|

| Men|

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2024–25 teams|

* Basel
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Former teams|

* Aarau
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Associated competitions|

* Swiss Cup
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Seasons|

* 2003–04
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*[No.]: Number
*[Pos.]: Position
*[GK]: Goalkeeper
*[DF]: Defender
*[MF]: Midfielder
*[FW]: Forward
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