2017–18 Swiss Challenge League

The 2017–18 Swiss Challenge League (referred to as the Brack.ch Challenge League for sponsoring reasons) is the 15th season of the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of competitive football in Switzerland, under its current name. The season started on 21 July 2017 and is scheduled to end on 21 May 2018.[1] The winter break began on 11 December 2017 and the league resumed on 2 February 2018.

Swiss Challenge League
Season2017–18
ChampionsNeuchatel Xamax
PromotedNeuchatel Xamax
RelegatedWohlen
Europa LeagueVaduz
Matches played360
Goals scored86 (0.24 per match)
Biggest home winSchaffhausen 6–0 Rapperswil-Jona
(24 July 2017)
Biggest away winWohlen 1–4 Schaffhausen
(31 July 2017)
Highest scoringSchaffhausen 6–0 Rapperswil-Jona
(24 July 2017)
Longest winning runSchaffhausen (6 games)
Longest unbeaten runNeuchâtel Xamax (21 games)
Longest winless runAarau (6 games)
Longest losing runWohlen (4 games)
All statistics correct as of 21 July 2018.

Participating teams

A total of 10 teams participate in the league. 2016–17 Swiss Challenge League champions Zürich were promoted to the 2017–18 Swiss Super League. They were replaced by FC Vaduz, who got relegated after finishing last-placed in the 2016–17 Swiss Super League. Le Mont was relegated after failing to renew their licence. They were replaced by Rapperswil-Jona, who won promotion from the 2016–17 Swiss Promotion League.

Stadia and locations
Locations of clubs in the 2017–18 Challenge League
Team Location Stadium Capacity
AarauAarauStadion Brügglifeld8,000
ChiassoChiassoStadio Comunale Riva IV5,000
Neuchâtel XamaxNeuchâtelStade de la Maladière12,000
Rapperswil-JonaRapperswil-JonaStadion Grünfeld2,500
ServetteGenevaStade de Genève30,084
SchaffhausenSchaffhausenStadion Breite
LIPO Park Schaffhausen		4,200
8,200
VaduzLiechtenstein VaduzRheinpark Stadion7,584
WilWilIGP Arena6,958
WinterthurWinterthurSchützenwiese8,550
WohlenWohlenStadion Niedermatten3,624

Personnel
Team Manager
AarauSwitzerland Stephan Keller (caretaker)
ChiassoItaly Baldassarre Raineri
Neuchâtel XamaxSwitzerland Michel Decastel
Rapperswil-JonaSwitzerland Urs Meier
SchaffhausenSwitzerland Boris Smiljanić
ServetteSwitzerland Bojan Dimic
Liechtenstein VaduzGermany Roland Vrabec
WilGermany Konrad Fünfstück
WinterthurSwitzerland Livio Bordoli
WohlenBosnia and Herzegovina Ranko Jakovljević

Managerial changes
ClubNameManner of departureDate of departurePosition in tableReplacementDate of appointment
WilItaly Maurizio JacobacciResign4 June 2017[2]Pre-seasonGermany Konrad Fünfstück18 June 2017[3]
AarauSwitzerland Marco SchällibaumMutual Consent6 June 2017[4]Switzerland Marinko Jurendic7 June 2017[5]
ChiassoItaly Baldo RaineriSacked6 June 2017[6]Spain Guillermo Abascal12 June 2017[7]
WohlenItaly Francesco GabrieleMutual Consent15 June 2017Bosnia and Herzegovina Ranko Jakovljević15 June 2017[8]
SchaffhausenSwitzerland Murat YakinSigned by Grasshopper28 August 20171stSwitzerland Boris Smiljanić28 August 2017[9]
WinterthurSwitzerland Umberto RomanoSacked3 January 20189thSwitzerland Livio Bordoli3 January 2018[10]
ServetteBosnia and Herzegovina Meho Kodro3 March 2018[11]5thSwitzerland Bojan Dimic3 March 2018
AarauSwitzerland Marinko Jurendic21 March 2018[12]6thSwitzerland Stephan Keller (interim)22 March 2018
ChiassoSpain Guillermo Abascal3 April 2018[13]8thItaly Baldassarre Raineri3 April 2018

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Neuchâtel Xamax (C, P) 36 26 7 3 82 39 +43 85 Promotion to 2018–19 Swiss Super League
2 Schaffhausen 36 21 1 14 70 51 +19 64
3 Servette 36 17 11 8 56 38 +18 62
4 Vaduz[lower-alpha 1] 36 16 11 9 66 50 +16 59 Qualification for the 2018–19 Europa League first qualifying round
5 Rapperswil-Jona 36 16 8 12 53 45 +8 56
6 Aarau 36 12 8 16 53 62 −9 44
7 Wil 36 9 12 15 40 50 −10 39
8 Chiasso[lower-alpha 2] 36 11 6 19 42 60 −18 36
9 Winterthur 36 7 11 18 45 60 −15 32
10 Wohlen[lower-alpha 3] (R) 36 3 9 24 41 93 −52 18 Relegation to 2018-19 Swiss Promotion League
Source: Swiss Challenge League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Draw.[17]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Vaduz qualified for the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League as winners of the 2017–18 Liechtenstein Cup.
  2. Chiasso were deducted three points for licence rules violation[14]
  3. Wohlen waived license application and will not continue professional football in the 2018–19 season.[15][16]

Results

Season statistics


Top goalscorers
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Switzerland Raphaël Nuzzolo Neuchâtel 26
2 Switzerland Tunahan Cicek Schaffhausen 21
3 Switzerland Hélios Sessolo Schaffhausen 16
4 Brazil Mychell Chagas1 Servette (6) / Rapperswil-Jona (9) 15
5 Ukraine Marko Dević Vaduz 13

1Chagas played 17 games for Rapperswil-Jona then signed for Servette.[18]

References
  1. "Rahmenterminplan 2017/2018 - Calendrier 2017/2018" (PDF). sfl.ch (in German and French). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  2. "Jacobacci doit quitter le FC Wil" (in French). sfl.ch. 4 June 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  3. "Un entraîneur allemand sur le banc du FC Wil" (in French). sfl.ch. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  4. "Le FC Aarau se sépare de Marco Schällibaum" (in French). sfl.ch. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  5. "Marinko Jurendic nouvel entraîneur à Aarau" (in French). sfl.ch. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  6. "La grande lessive au FC Chiasso" (in French). sfl.ch. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  7. "Un Espagnol de 28 ans sur le banc du FC Chiasso" (in French). sfl.ch. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  8. "Jakovljevic coachera le FC Wohlen" (in French). sfl.ch. 15 June 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  9. "Yakin nommé à GC, Smiljanic au FC Schaffhouse" (in French). sfl.ch. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  10. Schifferli, Hansjörg (3 January 2018). "Ein Tessiner solls richten" (in German). Der Landbote. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  11. Berger, Nicola (3 March 2018). "Frühlingsputz im Servette FC". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  12. "Aarau stellt Jurendic frei" (in German). Luzerner Zeitung. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  13. "FC Chiasso entlässt Trainer Abascal" (in German). St. Galler Tagblatt. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  14. "Drei Punkte Abzug für Chiasso" (in German). Luzerner Zeitung. 18 September 2017. Archived from the original on 27 September 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  15. "Der FC Wohlen verabschiedet sich nach 16 Spielzeiten aus dem Spitzensport" (PDF) (Press release) (in German). FC Wohlen AG. 2018-01-03. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-03-24. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  16. Wendel, Sebastian (7 March 2018). "Jetzt ist es amtlich: Der Abstieg des FC Wohlen aus der Challenge League ist besiegelt" (in German). Aargauer Zeitung. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  17. "Règlement de la compétition de la SFL" (PDF) (in French). sfl.ch. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-05-07. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  18. "Herber Verlust für den FCRJ: Chagas wechselt zu Servette". Der Landbote. 22 December 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
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