FC Aarau

FC Aarau
Full name	Fussball-Club Aarau
Founded	1902; 119 years ago
Ground	Stadion Brügglifeld,; Aarau
Capacity	8,000
Chairman	Philipp Bonorand
Manager	Stephan Keller
League	Swiss Challenge League
2020–21	5th
Website	Club website
Home colours	Away colours

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[]

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

FC Aarau was formed on 26 May 1902 by workers from a local brewery. The early days of the club were a success and they won the Swiss championship in 1911–12 and then again in 1913–14. The club spent 25 years, from 1907 to 1933, in the top league but were relegated to the lower league and were unable to return to the top flight for a number of decades. In the 1980–81 season the club were able to return to the top league in the Swiss football pyramid after a 3–1 victory over Vevey-Sports. They have stayed there ever since and in the 1992–93 season they won the Swiss National League A managed by Austrian Rolf Fringer.

The club have also had success in the Swiss Cup finishing as runners up in 1930, 1989. In 1985 Aarau tasted their only victory in the Swiss Cup, coached by Ottmar Hitzfeld.

At the end of 2002 the club was almost in financial ruin. They were saved when the then Club President Michael Hunziker made 15,100 shares available to purchase. This succeeded in staving off the threat of liquidation.

FC Aarau is also known as a lucky team as they have been in the top flight since 1981 and barely escaped relegation on numerous occasions earning the club the nickname 'Die Unabsteigbaren' which translates into 'those that cannot be relegated.'

Club Structure[]

On 7 January 2003, with the club on the brink of financial ruin, a total of 15,100 shares were issued for a total of 1,510,000 Swiss francs. A new holding company, FC Aarau Ltd, was set up to administer the club. FC Aarau Ltd are responsible for the implementation, organization and management of professional football games of the 1st XI and the performance of teams in the junior area. Since 2006 the old club FC Aarau 1902 has only been in charge of children's and women's teams.

The current President of FC Aarau Ltd is local entrepreneur Philipp Bonorand, who has been in charge since 26 May 2020. FC Aarau 1902 is looked after by Marcel Meier and Philipp Bonorand.

Former manager Urs Schönenberger stood down in 2006 and the role was assumed by his assistant manager Ruedi Zahner. Ruedi was born in Aarau and spent nine years at the club as a player in two separate spells. However his appointment only lasted a few months. During the winter break in the 2006/07 season Zahner was replaced by FC Baden coach Ryszard Komornicki on a temporary basis. However, with relegation looming Gilbert Gress was brought in with three games to go. The move was a success and the club gained 5 points from the remaining games and so escaped relegation by one point. Gilbert Gress decided not to renew his contract with the club and so former Polish international Ryszard Komornicki returned. He has signed a contract until Summer 2010 but was replaced in June 2009 by Jeff Saibene who didn't last long as he was sacked on 12 October after Aarau achieved only 5 points in 12 games.

Honours[]

Leagues[]

National League A/Top League

Champions: 1911–12, 1913–14, 1992–93

Swiss Challenge League

Champions: 2012–13
Promoted: 1980–81

Cups[]

Swiss Cup

Champions: 1984–85
Runners-up: 1929–30, 1988–89

Swiss League Cup

Champions: 1981–82

Players[]

Current squad[]

As of 2 September, 2021^[1]

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	SUI	Simon Enzler
2	DF	SUI	Marco Thaler
3	DF	SUI	Jérôme Thiesson
4	DF	SUI	Binjamin Hasani
5	DF	NED	Léon Bergsma
6	MF	LBR	Allen Njie
7	MF	SUI	Kevin Spadanuda
8	MF	SUI	Olivier Jäckle (vice-captain)
9	MF	KVX	Liridon Balaj
10	FW	ALB	Shkëlzen Gashi (captain)
11	MF	KVX	Donat Rrudhani
12	GK	SUI	Nicholas Ammeter
14	DF	SUI	Jan Kronig


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
17	FW	FRA	Gobé Gouano
19	MF	SUI	Silvan Schwegler
20	MF	KVX	Milot Avdyli
22	DF	ALB	Arijan Qollaku
23	MF	KVX	Imran Bunjaku
24	DF	SUI	Bastien Conus
26	FW	POR	Mickaël Almeida
33	DF	SUI	Flavio Caserta
34	DF	SUI	Raoul Giger
40	MF	SUI	Randy Schneider
66	MF	SUI	Devran Senyurt
70	MF	SUI	Marco Aratore

Out on loan[]

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
23	GK	SUI	Anthony von Arx (at SC Cham until 30 June 2021)
52	GK	SUI	Marvin Hübel (at FC Baden until 30 June 2021)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	SUI	Joël Bonorand (at Young Fellows Juventus until 30 June 2021)
—	MF	SUI	Gentrim Uka (at FC Baden until 30 June 2021)

Stadium[]

Aarau play their home games in Stadion Brügglifeld. The current capacity is 8'000 seats. The away supporters are housed behind one goal, to the right of where the players run out.

The stadium was opened on 12 October 1924 with a friendly game against local side FC Zürich. A new main stand was added in 1982 and in the 1990s the addition of a smaller grandstand and a complete renovation of the standing areas. The stadium is on the municipality of Suhr.

In 2008 the latest proposals were put forward for a new urban development to include a new home for FC Aarau. The Mittelland Arena, in the heart of Central Park in Aarau, should be used to cover 12,500 seats. On 25 September 2005 the proposal for the new development, including the football stadium and a shopping centre, were rejected by the people of Aarau in a referendum. FC Aarau Ltd and the city council are currently working on a new solution for the club as the current stadium is considered to be not good enough for top-flight football. The Swiss Football Association is unhappy at its use in the top flight.

Supporters[]

FC Aarau supporters are known as a very passionate group, despite their relatively small numbers in comparison to many other teams in Switzerland. There are many fan groups but the most popular is known as Szene Aarau.

Rivalries[]

Despite their close proximity to Zürich, Aarau fans have no dislike of either FC Zürich or Grasshopper Club Zürich. Their rivalries are with FC St. Gallen, FC Schaffhausen and FC Luzern. These are due to a number of historical reasons.^{[citation needed]}

FC Aarau in Europe[]

First Leg Date	Second Leg Date	Competition	Opposition	First Leg	Second Leg	Overall Result
18. September 1985	2 October 1985	Cup Winners Cup (1st round)	FK Crvena Zvezda	0:2 (A)	2:2 (H)	2:4
7 September 1988	5 October 1988	UEFA Cup (1st round)	1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig	0:3 (H)	0:4 (A)	0:7
18 August 1993	1 September 1993	Champions League(Qualification)	Omonia Nicosia	1:2 (A)	2:0 (H)	3:2
15 September 1993	29 September 1993	UEFA Champions League (1st round)	AC Milan	0:1 (H)	0:0 (A)	0:1
9 August 1994	23 August 1994	UEFA Cup (Qualification)	NK Mura	1:0 (H)	1:0 (A)	2:0
13 September 1994	27 September 1994	UEFA Cup (1st round)	CS Marítimo Funchal	0:0 (H)	0:1 (A)	0:1
6 August 1996	20 August 1996	UEFA Cup (Qualification)	FC Lantana Tallinn	4:0 (H)	0:2 (A)	4:2
10. September 1996	24. September 1996	UEFA Cup (1st round)	Brøndby IF	0:5 (A)	0:2 (H)	0:7