FC Zürich

Zürich

Full name	Fussballclub Zürich
Nickname	FCZ
Short name	FCZ
Founded	1896 (1896)
Ground	Letzigrund
Capacity	26,105
President	Ancillo Canepa
Head coach	Dennis Hediger
League	Swiss Super League
2024–25	Swiss Super League, 7th of 12
Website	fcz.ch

Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a professional football club based in Zurich, Switzerland. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League thirteen times and the Swiss Cup ten times. Their most recent titles are the 2022 Swiss Super League and the 2018 Swiss Cup. The club plays its home games at the Letzigrund, which has a capacity of around 26,000 for league games^[1] and which it shares with city rivals Grasshopper Club Zurich.

FC Zürich is the only Swiss team to have reached the semi-finals of the European Cup more than once. This happened in 1964 and 1977 when the competition was played in its original format. FC Zürich co-founder, first captain and honorary member was Joan Gamper, who grew up in Zurich and later moved to Catalonia, founding Barcelona there in 1899. Since the 1960s, FC Zürich plays in all-white, which is one of the city's colours.

The women's club, FC Zürich Frauen, are competing in the Swiss Women's Super League. They are the most successful club in Switzerland with 22 championship titles and multiple Champions League participations. The team's roots originate from the first Swiss women's football club, DFC Zürich.^[2]

The club was founded in summer 1896 by former members of the two local clubs: FC Turicum and FC Excelsior. Later, the official founding date was set at 1 August 1896. One of the founding members was the later Barcelona founder Joan Gamper, who coached and played for FC Excelsior and its successor from 1894 to 1897.^[3] The new club played its first game on 30 August 1896 on Velorennbahn Hardau in Zurich against St. Gallen, which resulted in a 3–3 draw.^[4] In 1898, FC Excelsior merged with FC Zürich, and local club FC Victoria joined shortly thereafter.

The debut game was in 1896 with the colours blue and white.^[5] The colours were changed to red and white because rivals Grasshopper Club Zurich had the same colours. When Grasshoppers temporarily retired from the championship in 1909, FCZ returned to the colors blue and white, which they continue to use.^[6] Zürich won its first title in the Swiss Serie A in 1901–02, but did not win it again until 1923–24.

Until the 1930s, the club's sporting remit included rowing, boxing, athletics and handball, but football would become the focus of the club.

Zürich struggled to overcome an unsuccessful record and was described as the "wilderness years" from 1925 to 1960.^[7] They were relegated in 1933–34, playing in the 1. Liga until the 1941 season. In 1940–41, they returned to the Nationalliga, where they stayed until their relegation in 1945–46. They were back in the Nationalliga A in 1947–48 and stayed in the top flight until relegated in 1956–57. They were promoted from the Nationalliga B to contest the 1958–59 Nationalliga A, finishing in third place.

This period was known as the "Golden Years" by the FCZ faithful. At this time, the club was run by the president Edwin Nägeli and had players such as Köbi Kuhn, Fritz Künzli, Ilija Katić, René Botteron and many more. Zürich won seven championships in the years 1963, 1966, 1968, 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1981. They also won the Swiss Cup five times: in 1966, 1970, 1972, 1973 and 1976. FCZ also had much success internationally in reaching the semi-finals of the European Cup 1963–64, before losing to Real Madrid and also reaching the semi-finals in the European Cup 1976–77, where they lost to Liverpool.

Following the club's league title in 1981, the club went into a decline, and in 1988 they were relegated to the Nationalliga B. Zürich returned to the top league in 1990. The club did make it to last 16 of the UEFA Cup 1998–99, but were beaten by Roma. The club won the Swiss Cup in 2000, beating Lausanne in the final. They won it again in 2005, beating Luzern.

On 13 May 2006, FCZ ended their 25-year effort to win Super League with a goal in the 93rd minute by Iulian Filipescu against Basel. The goal gave FCZ a 2–1 victory based on goal difference. They retained the title in 2006–07.

In 2008, the local women's team, FFC Zürich Seebach, was combined with FC Zürich and played in the Swiss national league under the name FC Zürich Frauen.

In the 2007–08 season, FCZ finished in third place. In a 2008–09 season match, they edged past Young Boys to win the league title. In 2009, they made their debut play in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. In the 2010–11 season, FCZ finished second. The following seasons, they finished mostly in mid-table positions. FCZ won the Swiss Cup 2014 in extra time against Basel 2–0.

In the 2015–16 season, the club finished last, one point behind Lugano, and was relegated to the Swiss Challenge League. Four days after the final game of the season, FCZ won the Swiss Cup 2016, beating Lugano 1–0.

In the 2016–17 season, FC Zürich won the Challenge League ahead of Neuchâtel Xamax, and returned after one year to the Super League. In the 2017–2018 season they finished fourth. On 27 May 2018, they won the Swiss Cup for the tenth time, beating Young Boys 2–1.

In the 2021–2022 season, FC Zürich won the Super League again after an interruption of thirteen years. The club secured its thirteenth league title with a 2–0 away win over Basel, who finished second, with five rounds to go. Despite this success, coach André Breitenreiter departed the club to join Bundesliga side TSG Hoffenheim.^[11] On 8 June 2022, former Austrian national coach Franco Foda was announced as the coach for the upcoming season.^[12] Despite being able to guide Zürich into the Europa League group stages, the domestic campaign saw the side gain only two points out of a possible 24 in their title defence. The league form, combined with a shock cup defeat to Challenge League side Lausanne on 18 September, proved the final straw and Foda was sacked on 21 September.^[13]

In 2024, Ricardo Moniz was appointed head coach on a two-year contract.^[14] He was dismissed on 27 May 2025.^[15] He was replaced four days later by Mitchell van der Gaag.^[16] Van der Gaag was sacked on 23 October, with club president Ancillo Canepa stating that he felt the team had "become stagnant".^[17]

Dennis Hediger was named head coach on 1 January 2026, having led the team in the interim since van der Gaag's departure.

• Super League/Nationalliga A
  • Champions (13): 1901–02, 1923–24, 1962–63, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1980–81, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2021–22
  • Runners-up (9): 1902–03, 1910–11, 1931–32, 1951–52, 1963–64, 1966–67, 1971–72, 1978–79, 2010–11
• Challenge League/Nationalliga B:
  • Champions (4): 1940–41, 1946–47, 1957–58, 2016–17
  • Runners-up (2): 1988–89, 1989–90
• Swiss Cup
  • Winners (10): 1965–66, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1999–2000, 2004–05, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–18
  • Runners-up (1): 1980–81
• Swiss League Cup
  • Winners (1): 1980–81
  • Runners-up (2): 1974–75, 1975–76

• European Cup/UEFA Champions League
  • Semi-finalists: 1963–64, 1976–77

Grasshoppers, also from Zürich, and Basel are the main rivals of FCZ. Due to the intense rivalry, these matches are so-called high-risk fixtures, with an increased police presence in and around the stadium.

Since its inception, FCZ has always had a fiery relationship with neighbouring club Grasshopper over sporting supremacy in the city. To date, 251 official derbies have been held, with Grasshoppers leading with 121 wins to FC Zurich's 90, leaving 39 draws; however, since the reformation of the Swiss Super League in 2003, FCZ has frequently got the better of their city rivals, winning 33 out of 68 games (GC won 20 and 15 draws).

The October 2011 derby at Letzigrund was abandoned by the referee after rioting by FC Zürich fans. Earlier in the day, Grasshopper Club Zurich fans stole FC Zürich fan banners and displayed them with a message mocking FC Zürich.^[18]

Before the last round of the 2005–06 Swiss Super League, Zürich were three points behind Basel in the league table. The last game of the season was contested by these two clubs vying for the league title at St. Jakob Park, Basel. Alhassane Keita scored the match first goal, for Zürich. In the second half, Mladen Petrić equalised. Basel were seconds away from the title when, in the 93rd minute, Florian Stahel passed the ball to Iulian Filipescu, who scored. Zürich's success at 2–1 was attributed to their superior goal difference. Following the final whistle, Basel supporters stormed the pitch and attacked players on both teams.

In 2010, the youth and women's teams of the club moved their homebase to the Heerenschürli sport park, in the city quarter of Hirzenbach, where the academy and women's teams play also their home matches. In June 2022, the club moved with the opening of a newly built "House of FCZ" also their Super League team and offices there in order to have the whole organisation under one roof.^[19]

As of 1 January 2026^[20]

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  SUI Silas Huber 2 DF  SUI Lindrit Kamberi 3 MF  CUW Livano Comenencia 4 DF  COL Jorge Segura 5 DF  ARG Mariano Gómez 6 MF  SUI Cheveyo Tsawa 7 MF  KOS Bledian Krasniqi 9 FW  COL Juan José Perea 11 FW  NGA Umeh Emmanuel 12 GK  UKR Yevhen Morozov 15 MF  COL Nelson Palacio (on loan from Real Salt Lake) 17 FW  GLP Matthias Phaëton (on loan from CSKA Sofia) 18 MF  GUI Mohamed Bangoura 19 FW  SEN Philippe Kény 20 DF  SUI Calixte Ligue

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 FW  FRA Lisandru Tramoni 23 DF  SRB Milan Rodić 25 GK  SUI Yanick Brecher (captain) 26 FW  NED Jahnoah Markelo 27 DF  SUI Ilan Sauter 29 FW  NED Damienus Reverson 32 DF  SUI Selmin Hodža 33 FW  CAN Damien Odera 35 DF  SUI David Vujevic 38 MF  SUI Miguel Reichmuth 39 MF  SUI Isaiah Okafor 40 FW  SUI Vincent Nvendo 43 DF  SUI Neil Volken 45 DF  SUI Gian Stork 48 DF  GER Kelechi Ihendu

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 — DF  SUI Yuro Bohon Diet (on loan to Wil) — DF  SUI Daniel Denoon (on loan to Pisa)

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  SRB Nemanja Tošić (on loan to Čukarički) — MF  SUI Nevio Di Giusto (on loan to Vaduz)

As of 15 March 2016^[21]

Players and managers admitted to the FC Zurich Hall of Fame

Players for the Swiss national football team

Players with World Cup appearances for their national teams

Bulgaria

• Borislav Mihaylov

Czechslovakia

• Jan Berger

Denmark

• Peter Møller

France

• Jean-Marc Ferreri

Germany

• Norbert Eder

Italy

• Roberto Di Matteo

Ivory Coast

• Kanga Akale

New Zealand

• Wynton Rufer

Nigeria

• Ike Shorunmu
• Rashidi Yekini

Romania

• Iulian Filipescu
• Adrian Ilie

Russia

• Aleksandr Kerzhakov

South Africa

• Shaun Bartlett

Sweden

• Tomas Brolin
• Roger Ljung
• Jonas Thern
• Conny Torstensson

Tunisia

• Francileudo Santos
• Yassine Chikhaoui

Yugoslavia

• Mirsad Baljić
• Jurica Jerković

Players in bold are still part of the club.

Most appearances[22] (Swiss League since 1955) # Nat. Player Apps 1 Karl Grob 513 2 Jakob Kuhn 398 3 Rudolf Landolt 353 4 Rosario Martinelli 344 5 Werner Leimgruber 314 6 Urs Fischer 303 7 Marco Schönbächler 292 8 Alain Nef 277 9 Pirmin Stierli 248 10 Heinz Lüdi 244

Top scorers[23] (Swiss League since 1955) # Nat. Player Goals 1 Fritz Künzli 158 2 Rosario Martinelli 126 3 Jakob Kuhn 79 4 Peter Risi 76 5 Bruno Brizzi 74 5 Werner Leimgruber 74 7 Walter Seiler 62 8 Ercument Sahin 60 9 Alhassane Keita 58 9 Klaus Stürmer 58

As of 18 August 2022.

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Aggregate
1963–64	European Cup	PR	Dundalk	1–2	3–0	4–2
		1R	Galatasaray	2–0	0–2	2–2
		QF	PSV Eindhoven	3–1	0–1	3–2
		SF	Real Madrid	1–2	0–6	1–8
1966–67		1R	Celtic	0–3	0–2	0–5
1967–68	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	1R	Barcelona	3–1	0–1	3–2
		2R	Nottingham Forest	1–0	1–2	2–2(a)
		3R	Sporting CP	3–0	0–1	3–1
		QF	Dundee	0–1	0–1	0–2
1968–69	European Cup	1R	AB	1–3	1–2	2–5
1969–70	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	1R	Kilmarnock	3–2	1–3	4–5
1970–71	European Cup Winners' Cup	1R	Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar	7–0	7–1	14–1
		2R	Club Brugge	3–2	0–2	3–4
1972–73		1R	Wrexham	1–1	1–2	2–3
1973–74		1R	Anderlecht	1–0	2–3	3–3(a)
		2R	Malmö	0–0	1–1	1–1(a)
		QF	Sporting CP	1–1	0–3	1–4
1974–75	European Cup	1R	Leeds United	2–1	1–4	3–5
1975–76		1R	Újpest	5–1	0–4	5–5(a)
1976–77		1R	Rangers	1–0	1–1	2–1
		2R	Turun Palloseura	2–0	1–0	3–0
		QF	Dynamo Dresden	2–1	2–3	4–4(a)
		SF	Liverpool	1–3	0–3	1–6
1977–78	UEFA Cup	1R	CSKA Sofia	1–0	1–1	2–1
		2R	Eintracht Frankfurt	3–4	0–3	3–7
1979–80		1R	Kaiserslautern	1–3	1–5	2–8
1981–82	European Cup	1R	Dynamo Berlin	3–1	0–2	3–3(a)
1982–83	UEFA Cup	1R	Pezoporikos Larnaca	1–0	2–2	3–2
		2R	Ferencváros	1–0	1–1	2–1
		3R	Benfica	1–1	0–4	1–5
1983–84		1R	Antwerp	2–4	1–4	3–8
1998–99		2QR	Shakhtar Donetsk	4–0	2–3	6–3
		1R	Anorthosis Famagusta	4–0	3–2	7–2
		2R	Celtic	4–2	1–1	5–3
		3R	Roma	2–2	0–1	2–3
1999–00		QR	Sliema Wanderers	1–0	3–0	4–0
		1R	Lierse	4–3	1–0	5–3
		2R	Newcastle United	1–2	1–3	2–5
2000–01		1R	Genk	1–2	0–2	1–4
2005–06		2QR	Legia Warsaw	4–1	1–0	5–1
		1R	Brøndby	2–1	0–2	2–3
2006–07	UEFA Champions League	2QR	Red Bull Salzburg	2–1	0–2	2–3
2007–08		3QR	Beşiktaş	1–1	0–2	1–3
	UEFA Cup	1R	Empoli	3–0	1–2	4–2
		Group E	Sparta Prague	—N/a	2–1	3rd
			Toulouse	2–0	—N/a
			Spartak Moscow	—N/a	0–1
			Bayer Leverkusen	0–5	—N/a
		R32	Hamburger SV	1–3	0–0	1–3
2008–09		2QR	Sturm Graz	1–1	1–1 (a.e.t.)	2–2 (4–2 p)
		1R	Milan	0–1	1–3	1–4
2009–10	UEFA Champions League	3QR	Maribor	2–3	3–0	5–3
		PO	Ventspils	2–1	3–0	5–1
		Group C	Real Madrid	2–5	0–1	4th
			Milan	1–1	1–0
			Marseille	0–1	1–6
2011–12		3QR	Standard Liège	1–0	1–1	2–1
		PO	Bayern Munich	0–1	0–2	0–3
		Group D	Sporting CP	0–2	0–2	4th
			Vaslui	2–0	2–2
			Lazio	1–1	0–1
2013–14	UEFA Europa League	3QR	Slovan Liberec	1–2	1–2	2–4
2014–15		PO	Spartak Trnava	1–1	3–1	4–2
		Group A	Apollon Limassol	3–1	2–3	3rd
			Borussia Mönchengladbach	1–1	0–3
			Villarreal	3–2	1–4
2015–16		3QR	Dinamo Minsk	0–1	1–1	1–2
2016–17		Group L	Villarreal	1–1	1–2	3rd
			FCSB	0–0	1–1
			Osmanlıspor	2–1	0–2
2018–19		Group A	Bayer Leverkusen	3–2	0–1	2nd
			Ludogorets Razgrad	1–0	1–1
			AEK Larnaca	1–2	1–0
		R32	Napoli	1–3	0–2	1–5
2022–23	UEFA Champions League	2QR	Qarabağ	2–2 (a.e.t.)	2–3	4−5
	UEFA Europa League	3QR	Linfield	3–0	2–0	5–0
		PO	Heart of Midlothian	2–1	1–0	3–1
		Group A	Arsenal	1–2	0–1	4th
			Bodø/Glimt	2–1	1–2
			PSV Eindhoven	1–5	0–5
2024–25	UEFA Conference League	2QR	Shelbourne	3–0	0–0	3–0
		3QR	Vitória de Guimarães	0–3	0–2	0–5

Wikimedia Commons has media related to FC Zürich.

• FC Zürich stats (in German)
• Archive FC Zürich (in German)
• Copa90: Zurich On Fire! – FC Zürich vs Grasshoppers on YouTube