FC Lugano

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Lugano
FC Lugano logo.svg
Full nameFootball Club Lugano
Founded1908; 113 years ago (1908)
GroundCornaredo Stadium,
Lugano, Switzerland
Capacity6,330
ChairmanAngelo Renzetti
ManagerMattia Croci-Torti
LeagueSwiss Super League
2020–21Swiss Super League, 4th of 10
WebsiteClub website

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 Lugano. They play at the Stadio Cornaredo. They have played in what is now the Swiss Super League during the periods of 1922–53, 1954–60, 1961–63, 1964–76, 1979–80, 1988–97, 1998–02, and from 2015 until present.

History[]

Former club crest
Chart of FC Lugano table positions in the Swiss football league system

Football Club Lugano was formed on 28 July 1908 under the leadership of then-president Ernesto Corsini. Promotion to the highest Swiss Super League came for the first time in 1922, and after several years of relegations and promotions, the team won its first Swiss Cup in 1931. The following decade, FC Lugano was able to win 3 national titles (1938, 1941 and 1949).

For the first fifty years of its existence, Lugano played at the Campo Marzio – which opened on 13 September 1908 – but its success prompted the city to build a new stadium, and so on 26 August 1951, the Cornaredo Stadium was inaugurated, which has a capacity of 15,000.

In 1968, Lugano won the Swiss Cup and hence the team participated in the Cup Winners' Cup. Two years later the team took part in the UEFA Cup.

In 1993, Lugano won its third Cup against Grasshoppers, later participating in the Cup Winners' Cup, in which it reached second qualifying round. In the 1995–96 season, Lugano participated in the UEFA Cup, eliminating Jeunesse Hautcharage in the first round and Inter Milan in the second.

The club was declared bankrupt in 2003 and forcibly removed from the league. Due to the bankruptcy, the team was renamed AC Lugano and fielded under-21 players, having been forced to sell or release the senior team to pay off the club's debts. In 2004, the club merged with Malcantone Agno, and it was decided that Lugano would re-enter the Swiss football system in the Swiss Challenge League.[1] Morotti Joseph, the president of Malcantone Agno, was entrusted with the leadership of the new club.

In 2007, the company was bought by a group led by Giambattista Pastorello. Luido Bernasconi became the new president. On 4 June 2008, the club's centenary year, the general meeting of shareholders voted on a name change. The historical name of Football Club Lugano was reinstated. In 2015 FC Lugano was promoted to the Swiss Super League.

On August 18, 2021, it was announced that American billionaire and owner of the Chicago Fire FC, Joe Mansueto, had purchased FC Lugano and that the Fire and FC Lugano were to work together as sister clubs.

European record[]

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1968–69 European Cup Winners' Cup First Round Spain Barcelona 0–1 0–3 0–4
1971–72 UEFA Cup First Round Poland Legia Warsaw 1–3 0–0 1–3
1993–94 European Cup Winners' Cup Qualifying Round Belarus Neman Grodno 5–0 1–2 6–2
First Round Spain Real Madrid 1–3 0–3 1–6
1995–96 UEFA Cup Preliminary Round Luxembourg Jeunesse Esch 4–0 0–0 4–0
First Round Italy Inter Milan 1–1 1–0 2–1
Second Round Czech Republic Slavia Prague 1–2 0–1 1–3
2001–02 UEFA Champions League Second Qualifying Round Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 2–1 0–3 2–4
2002–03 UEFA Cup Qualifying Round Latvia FK Ventspils 1–0 0–3 1–3
2017–18 UEFA Europa League Group G Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva 1–0 1–2 3rd
Romania Steaua București 1–2 2–1
Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň 3–2 1–4
2019–20 UEFA Europa League Group B Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv 0–0 1–1 4th
Denmark Copenhagen 0–1 0–1
Sweden Malmö FF 0–0 1–2

Players[]

Current squad[]

As of 2 September 2021[2]

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 Switzerland  SUI Alexander Muci
3 DF Switzerland  SUI Reto Ziegler
4 DF Kosovo KVX Kreshnik Hajrizi
5 DF Switzerland  SUI Mijat Marić
6 FW Algeria ALG Mohamed El Amine Amoura
7 DF Switzerland  SUI Mickaël Facchinetti
8 FW Switzerland  SUI Christopher Lungoyi (on loan from Juventus)
9 FW Brazil BRA Luis Phelipe (on loan from RB Salzburg)
10 FW Switzerland  SUI Mattia Bottani
11 MF France FRA Kévin Monzialo
12 GK Switzerland  SUI Attilio Morosoli
14 MF Uruguay URU Jonathan Sabbatini (captain)
16 DF Switzerland  SUI Numa Lavanchy
17 FW Portugal POR Asumah Abubakar
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 FW Slovenia SVN Žan Celar
20 MF Switzerland  SUI Olivier Custodio
21 DF Brazil BRA Yuri
22 MF Switzerland  SUI Stefano Guidotti
23 DF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Leonid Srdić
24 MF Slovenia SVN Sandi Lovrić
26 GK Switzerland  SUI Amir Saipi
29 MF Tunisia TUN Hadj Mahmoud
30 DF Switzerland  SUI Fabio Daprelà
45 DF Portugal POR Hélder Baldé
46 GK Switzerland  SUI Noam Baumann
58 GK Nigeria NGA Sebastian Osigwe
99 FW Switzerland  SUI Nikolas Muci

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
27 FW Nigeria NGA Franklin Sasere (at Ħamrun Spartans until 30 June 2022)
95 FW Italy ITA Carlo Manicone (at Chiasso until 30 June 2022)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Slovenia SVN Abel Marc (at Gorica until 30 June 2022)
— MF Nigeria NGA Chinwendu Nkama (at Aluminij until 30 June 2022)

Honours[]

Swiss Super League

Swiss Cup

  • Winners: 1930–31, 1967–68, 1992–93

Swiss Challenge League

  • Winners: 2014–15

Notable former coaches[]

References[]

  1. ^ "FC Lugano - Switzerland 2017-18" (PDF). LiberoGuide.
  2. ^ "Prima squadra" [First team] (in Italian). FC Lugano. Retrieved 17 July 2021.

External links[]

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