1940–41 Nationalliga
Swiss football season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is the summary of the Swiss National League in the 1940–41 football season. This was the 44th season of top-tier football in Switzerland.
| Season | 1940–41 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 8 September 1940 to 8 June 1941 |
| Champions | Lugano |
| Relegated | None |
| Matches | 182 |
| Top goalscorer | Alessandro Frigerio (Lugano) 26 goals |
← 1939–40 1941–42 → | |
Overview
Preamble
In Switzerland during the second world war, sport became an integral part of the "spiritual national defense". This was a political and cultural movement that had already become increasingly important during the late 1930s. Politicians, intellectuals and media professionals had increasingly called for measures to strengthen Switzerland's basic cultural values. Since the Nationalliga games were also considered to be one of the activities that seemed important for maintaining the morale of the population, the military authorities put considerably fewer obstacles in the way of the top players as they had during the previous World War. However, in 1941, the "Lex Zumbühl", named after the Football Association's president, formally banned professional football players. In addition to this, the number of foreign players allowed to play was to be reduced from three to one per team.[1]
Format
At this time, the Swiss Football Association (ASF/SFV) had 12 member clubs in the top-tier and 24 members in the second-tier. The 12 top-tier teams played a double round-robin to decide their league table positions. Two points were awarded for a win and one point was awarded for a draw. The first placed team at the end of the season would be awarded the Swiss championship title. Once again there was no relegation from the Nationalliga, although this time not because of the special circumstances of the war championship, as in the previous year, but as a result of the decision to increase the league to 14 teams. The two additional places were played out between the three group winners of the 1940–41 1. Liga.[2]
Nationalliga
The league season began with the first matchday on 8 September 1940 and was concluded with the last round on 8 June 1941.
Teams, locations
| Team | Based in | Canton | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Biel-Bienne | Biel/Bienne |  Bern |
Stadion Gurzelen | 5,500 |
| Grasshopper Club Zürich | Zürich |  Zürich |
Hardturm | 20,000 |
| FC Grenchen | Grenchen |  Solothurn |
Stadium Brühl | 15,100 |
| FC La Chaux-de-Fonds | La Chaux-de-Fonds |  Neuchâtel |
Centre Sportif de la Charrière | 12,700 |
| FC Lausanne-Sport | Lausanne |  Vaud |
Pontaise | 30,000 |
| FC Lugano | Lugano |  Ticino |
Cornaredo Stadium | 6,330 |
| FC Luzern | Lucerne |  Lucerne |
Stadion Allmend | 25,000 |
| FC Nordstern Basel | Basel |  Basel-Stadt |
Rankhof | 7,600 |
| Servette FC | Geneva |  Geneva |
Stade des Charmilles | 27,000 |
| FC St. Gallen | St. Gallen |  St. Gallen |
Espenmoos | 11,000 |
| Young Boys | Bern | Bern |
Wankdorf Stadium | 56,000 |
| FC Young Fellows | Zürich | Zürich |
Utogrund | 2,850 |
Final league table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lugano | 22 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 57 | 16 | +41 | 37 | Swiss champions |
| 2 | Young Boys[3] | 22 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 50 | 9 | +41 | 35 | |
| 3 | Servette[4] | 22 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 55 | 27 | +28 | 33 | |
| 4 | Grasshopper Club | 22 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 46 | 31 | +15 | 29 | Swiss Cup winners |
| 5 | Lausanne-Sport | 22 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 34 | 17 | +17 | 24 | |
| 6 | Grenchen | 22 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 36 | 28 | +8 | 24 | |
| 7 | Nordstern Basel | 22 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 30 | 57 | −27 | 16 | |
| 8 | Young Fellows Zürich | 22 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 27 | 36 | −9 | 15 | |
| 9 | Luzern | 22 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 26 | 52 | −26 | 14 | |
| 10 | Biel-Bienne | 22 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 23 | 48 | −25 | 14 | |
| 11 | La Chaux-de-Fonds | 22 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 35 | 54 | −19 | 12 | |
| 12 | St. Gallen | 22 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 26 | 70 | −44 | 11 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference within the league, however with play-off for qualifiers;
No relegation. 14 teams in Nationalliga 1941–42.[2]
Results
Topscorers
| Rank | Player | Nat. | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Alessandro Frigerio |  | 26 | Lugano |
| 2. | Lauro Amadò | | 21 | Grasshopper Club |
| 3. | Willy Bernhard | | 20 | Young Boys |