FC Aarau
Full nameFussball-Club Aarau
Founded1902 (1902)
GroundStadion Brügglifeld,
Aarau
Capacity9,249
ChairmanMarkus Mahler[1]
ManagerAlex Frei
LeagueSwiss Challenge League
2022–23Swiss Challenge League, 3rd of 10
WebsiteClub website

FC Aarau is a Swiss professional football club based in Aarau. Founded in 1902, the club competes in 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.

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

Cups

Players

Current squad

As of 7 September 2023[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 Marvin Hübel
2 DF Switzerland SUI Marco Thaler
3 DF Switzerland SUI Bastien Conus
4 DF Switzerland SUI Binjamin Hasani
5 DF Serbia SRB Aleksandar Cvetković
6 MF Liberia LBR Allen Njie
7 MF Switzerland SUI Nuno da Silva
8 MF Switzerland SUI Olivier Jäckle (Captain)
9 FW Kosovo KOS Shkelqim Demhasaj
10 MF Switzerland SUI Valon Fazliu
11 MF Kosovo KOS Milot Avdyli
14 DF Switzerland SUI Jan Kronig
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 MF Switzerland SUI Samuel Krasniqi
17 FW Switzerland SUI Henri Koide
19 MF Switzerland SUI Silvan Schwegler
21 FW Switzerland SUI Yannick Toure
22 DF Albania ALB Arijan Qollaku
23 MF North Macedonia MKD Nikola Gjorgjev
25 MF Switzerland SUI Dorian Derbaci
29 DF Switzerland SUI Noël Wetz
30 GK Switzerland SUI Andreas Hirzel
38 DF Switzerland SUI Ryan Kessler
49 MF Switzerland SUI Esey Gebreyesus
70 MF Ghana GHA Isaac Pappoe

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
— DF Switzerland SUI Flavio Caserta (at Kriens until 30 June 2024)
— MF Switzerland SUI Nik Dubler (at Schötz until 30 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Portugal POR Ivo Candé (at Wohlen until 30 June 2024)

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.

FC Aarau in Europe

First Leg Date Second Leg Date Competition Opposition First Leg Second Leg Overall Result
18. September 19852 October 1985Cup Winners Cup (1st round)FK Crvena Zvezda Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia0:2 (A)2:2 (H)2:4
7 September 19885 October 1988UEFA Cup (1st round)1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig East Germany0:3 (H)0:4 (A)0:7
18 August 19931 September 1993Champions League (Qualification)Omonia Nicosia Cyprus1:2 (A)2:0 (H)3:2
15 September 199329 September 1993UEFA Champions League (1st round)AC Milan Italy0:1 (H)0:0 (A)0:1
9 August 199423 August 1994UEFA Cup (Qualification)NK Mura Slovenia1:0 (H)1:0 (A)2:0
13 September 199427 September 1994UEFA Cup (1st round)CS Marítimo Funchal Portugal0:0 (H)0:1 (A)0:1
6 August 199620 August 1996UEFA Cup (Qualification)FC Lantana Tallinn Estonia4:0 (H)0:2 (A)4:2
10. September 199624. September 1996UEFA Cup (1st round)Brøndby IF Denmark0:5 (A)0:2 (H)0:7

Former players

Former coaches

References

  1. ↑ "Aufbruchstimmung dank neuen Kräften". fcaarau.ch (in German). FC Aarau. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  2. ↑ "1. Mannschaft" [1st team] (in German). FC Aarau.
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