FC Lugano

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.

Lugano
Full nameFootball Club Lugano
Nickname(s)Bianconeri (Black and White)
Founded28 July 1908 (28 July 1908)
GroundCornaredo Stadium,
Lugano, Switzerland
Capacity6,330
OwnerJoe Mansueto
ChairmanPhilippe Regazzoni
ManagerMattia Croci-Torti
LeagueSwiss Super League
2022–23Swiss Super League, 3rd of 10
WebsiteClub website

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 18 August 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.[2] On 1 September 2021, assistant coach Mattia Croci-Torti took over coaching duties at the club, replacing Abel Braga.[3] The first season under new ownership would immediately prove successful, as they were able to win their first title after 29 years, winning the 2021–22 Swiss Cup.[4] A year later, they failed to defend the cup title, losing 2–3 in the exciting final to Swiss champions Young Boys.[5]

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
2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League Third Qualifying Round Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva 0–2 1–3 1–5
2023–24 UEFA Europa League Play-off Round Belgium Union Saint-Gilloise 0–1 0–2 0–3
2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League Group D Belgium Club Brugge
Norway Bodø/Glimt 0-0
Turkey Beşiktaş 3-2

Players

Current squad
As of 18 August 2023[6]

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 Amir Saipi
4 DF Kosovo KOS Kreshnik Hajrizi
5 DF Switzerland SUI Albian Hajdari
6 DF Ecuador ECU Jhon Espinoza
7 MF Czech Republic CZE Roman Macek
8 MF Switzerland SUI Adrian Durrer
9 FW Slovenia SVN Žan Celar
10 FW Switzerland SUI Mattia Bottani
11 FW Switzerland SUI Renato Steffen
13 GK Switzerland SUI Serif Berbic
14 MF Uruguay URU Jonathan Sabbatini (captain)
15 GK Greece GRE Fotis Pseftis
16 MF Switzerland SUI Anto Grgić
17 DF Germany GER Lars Lukas Mai
18 MF France FRA Hicham Mahou
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 FW Kosovo KOS Shkelqim Vladi
21 MF France FRA Yanis Cimignani
22 DF Morocco MAR Ayman El Wafi
23 DF Argentina ARG Milton Valenzuela
25 MF Switzerland SUI Uran Bislimi
26 DF Portugal POR Martim Marques
27 FW Switzerland SUI Boris Babic
28 MF Slovenia SVN Abel Marc
29 MF Tunisia TUN Hadj Mahmoud
31 FW Argentina ARG Ignacio Aliseda
34 DF Switzerland SUI Allan Arigoni
41 DF Switzerland SUI Noah De Queiroz
58 GK Nigeria NGA Sebastian Osigwe
90 GK Switzerland SUI Steven Deana

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
— GK Switzerland SUI Attilio Morosoli (at Bellinzona until 31 December 2023)
— MF Ivory Coast CIV Ousmane Doumbia (at Chicago Fire until 31 December 2023)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Switzerland SUI Maren Haile-Selassie (at Chicago Fire until 31 December 2023)
— FW Switzerland SUI Nikolas Muci (at Wil until 30 June 2024)

Honours

Former coaches

References
  1. "FC Lugano - Switzerland 2017-18" (PDF). LiberoGuide.
  2. "Chicago Fire FC Owner and Chairman Joe Mansueto Purchases Swiss Super League Club FC Lugano | Chicago Fire FC". chicagofirefc.
  3. Berger, Nicola. "Super League: Mattia Croci-Torti neuer Lugano-Trainer".
  4. "Der FC Lugano gewinnt den 97. Schweizer Cupfinal". SFV. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  5. "Schweizer Cup Männer: YB macht das Double perfekt". SFV. 4 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  6. "Prima squadra" [First team] (in Italian). FC Lugano. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
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