swiss league News
Basel win 12th title
After losing the Swiss championship twice on the last day of the season in the past two years, Basel secured the 2007/08 Super League by beating second-placed Young Boys 2-0 in their title decider. Basel led their rivals from Bern by one point in the standings entering the final game of the campaign.
It is the 12th championship in Basel's history and completes a league and cup double. Basel coach Christian Gross has now won four championships in nine years, while Young Boys lost their chance to win a first title since 1985/86. Here is a short summary of the 2007/08 season:
- Champions and Swiss cup winners: Basel (Champions League 2nd qual. rou.)
- Runners-up: Young Boys (UEFA Cup)
- Third place: Zurich (UEFA Cup)
- Fourth place: Grasshoppers (Intertoto Cup)
- Swiss Cup finalists: Bellinzona (UEFA Cup)
- Relegated: St. Gallen, Thun
- Promoted: Bellinzona, Vaduz
This season a grand total of six of the ten Swiss Super League will be playing in Europe, Basel, Young Boys, Zurich, Bellinzona, Grasshoppers and Vaduz, who qualified for the UEFA Cup after winning their eleventh straight Liechtenstein Cup. That's 60 per cent of the league, the best ratio in Europe.
| teams | titles | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grasshoppers | 26 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| Basel | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Zurich | 11 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Young Boys | 11 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Aarau | 3 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 5 |
| Xamax | 2 | 9 | 6 | 9 | - | 8 |
| Sion | 2 | - | - | - | 3 | 7 |
| Luzern | 1 | - | - | - | 8 | 6 |
| Bellinzona | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Vaduz | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Liechtenstein's Vaduz in Swiss top flight
Liechtenstein will be represented in the top division in Switzerland for the first time this campaign after last season's Challenge League winners Vaduz secured promotion. The tiny principality, with a population of just 35,000, is the only UEFA member nation without its own league, with Vaduz having played in the second division in Switzerland since 2001.
This page is introduction to the 2008/2009 Swiss Super League season. Latest news, statistics, results and predictions you can find on our main Euro Football > Switzerland page.
However, Vaduz's participation in the Swiss Super League does come with certain conditions. They will only be able to enter European football by winning the Liechtenstein Cup, they will have to pay a separate fee to the Swiss Football Association and cannot be crowned Swiss Champions even if they win the league. Anyway, Vaduz might be the big surprise in the 2008/2009 season.
| # | team | points | g.dif. | win-draw-loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Basel | 74 | 34 | 22-8-6 (36) |
| 2 | Young Boys | 70 | 33 | 21-7-8 (36) |
| 3 | Zurich | 56 | 15 | 15-11-10 (36) |
| 4 | Grasshopper | 54 | 8 | 15-9-12 (36) |
| 5 | Aarau | 47 | -1 | 11-14-11 (36) |
| 6 | Luzern | 44 | -9 | 10-14-12 (36) |
| 7 | Sion | 43 | -3 | 11-10-15 (36) |
| 8 | Xamax | 41 | -7 | 10-11-15 (36) |
| 9 | St. Gallen | 34 | -30 | 9-7-20 (36) |
| 10 | Thun | 27 | -40 | 6-9-21 (36) |
Basel heavily favored to win again
According to online bookmakers and their odds, Basel are the favourites to win the Swiss league title this season, followed by Young Boys, Grasshoppers and Zurich.
| team | odds | team | odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basel | 1.5 | Young Boys | 5 |
| Grasshoppers | 7.5 | Zurich | 8 |
| Sion | 34 | Luzern | 100 |
| Vaduz | 100 | Aarau | 100 |
| Xamax | 150 | Bellinzona | 250 |
Swiss Cup finals in last five seasons
2004 Wil - Grasshopper 3:2
2005 Zurich - Luzern 3:1
2006 Sion - Young Boys 1:1 (5-3 pen.)
2007 Basel - Luzern 1:0
2008 Basel - Bellinzona 4:1
Bellinzona not only returned to the top flight after 20 years away with a play-off win against St. Gallen at the end of last season, but also reached the Swiss Cup final. As Cup winners Basel also clinched the league title, the Italian-speaking team will make their European debut in the UEFA Cup first qualifying round.