1976–77 Nationalliga A
Swiss football season
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The following is the summary of the Swiss National League in the 1976–77 football season, both Nationalliga A and Nationalliga B. This was the 80th season of top-tier and the 79th season of second-tier football in Switzerland.
| Season | 1976–77 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Basel |
| Relegated | Winterthur Bellinzona |
| European Cup | Basel |
| Cup Winners' Cup | Young Boys |
| UEFA Cup | Servette Zürich Grasshopper Club |
| Top goalscorer | Franco Cucinotta (Zürich) 28 goals |
← 1975–76 1977–78 → | |
| Season | 1976–77 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Etoile Carouge |
| Promoted | Etoile Carouge Young Fellows Zürich |
| Relegated | Mendrisiostar FC Raron |
| Top goalscorer | Stefan Fischer (SC Kriens) 19 goals |
← 1975–76 1977–78 → | |
Overview
The Swiss Football Association (ASF/SFV) had 28 members at this time and they had just reformed the Swiss football league system in advance of this season. The number of teams in the top tier (NLA) had been reduced from 14 to 12 and increased the second-tier (NLB) from 14 to 16 teams.
The NLA was contested by the first 11 teams from the previous season and the sole promoted team AC Bellinzona. The NLA was played in two stages. The first phase was the qualification and was played by all 12 teams in a double round-robin to decide their table positions. Two points were awarded for a win and one point was awarded for a draw. After completion of the qualification phase, the division was divided into two groups. The first six teams contended in the championship group and the teams in positions seventh to twelfth contended the relegation group. The teams took half of the points obtained in the qualification as bonus into the second stage. The first stage had 22 rounds, the second stage had 10 rounds. The champions would qualify for the 1977–78 European Cup and the Swiss Cup winners would qualify for 1977–78 Cup Winners' Cup. The UEFA modified the entry rules for Switzerland, therefore, this season three teams would qualify for the 1977–78 UEFA Cup. The last two teams in the relegation group dropped to the second-tier.
The NLB was contested 11 teams from that division the previous season, the three relegated teams Lugano, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Biel-Bienne and the two promoted teams Mendrisiostar and SC Kriens. The teams in the NLB played in just one stage, a total of 30 rounds. The top two teams achieved promotion, the bottom two teams were relegated to the 1. Liga.
Nationalliga A
The first round of the NLA was played on 14 August 1976. There was a winter break between 5 December and 26 February 1977. The qualifying phase was completed by 16 April and the second phase took place between 30 April and 25 June. A championship play-off was required and this took place on 28 June 1977 at the Wankdorf Stadium in Bern in front of 55,000 supporters.
Teams, locations
| Team | Town | Canton | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Basel | Basel |  Basel-Stadt |
St. Jakob Stadium | 36,800 |
| AC Bellinzona | Bellinzona |  Ticino |
Stadio Comunale Bellinzona | 5,000 |
| CS Chênois | Thônex |  Geneva |
Stade des Trois-Chêne | 8,000 |
| Grasshopper Club Zürich | Zürich |  Zürich |
Hardturm | 20,000 |
| FC Lausanne-Sport | Lausanne |  Vaud |
Pontaise | 15,700 |
| Neuchâtel Xamax FC | Neuchâtel |  Neuchâtel |
Stade de la Maladière | 25,500 |
| FC St. Gallen | St. Gallen |  St. Gallen |
Espenmoos | 11,000 |
| Servette FC | Geneva | Geneva |
Stade des Charmilles | 27,000 |
| FC Sion | Sion |  Valais |
Stade de Tourbillon | 16,000 |
| FC Winterthur | Winterthur | Zürich |
Schützenwiese | 8,550 |
| BSC Young Boys | Bern |  Bern |
Wankdorf Stadium | 56,000 |
| FC Zürich | Zürich | Zürich |
Letzigrund | 25,000 |
Qualifying phase table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Servette[1] | 22 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 68 | 27 | +41 | 35 | To championship round halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 2 | Basel[2] | 22 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 54 | 30 | +24 | 33 | |
| 3 | Zürich[3] | 22 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 49 | 18 | +31 | 31 | |
| 4 | Neuchâtel Xamax | 22 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 37 | 27 | +10 | 27 | |
| 5 | Young Boys[4] | 22 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 37 | 34 | +3 | 25 | |
| 6 | Grasshopper Club | 22 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 41 | 28 | +13 | 22 | |
| 7 | Lausanne-Sport | 22 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 39 | 31 | +8 | 22 | To relegation play-out round halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 8 | Chênois | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 29 | 39 | −10 | 20 | |
| 9 | Sion | 22 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 19 | 32 | −13 | 18 | |
| 10 | St. Gallen | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 26 | 40 | −14 | 16 | |
| 11 | Bellinzona | 22 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 73 | −54 | 8 | |
| 12 | Winterthur | 22 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 19 | 58 | −39 | 7 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored;
Results
Championship table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Basel][2] | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 16 | +3 | 17 | 29 | Championship winners, qualified for 1977–78 European Cup |
| 2 | Servette[1] | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 14 | +2 | 18 | 29 | Play-off losers, qualified for 1977–78 UEFA Cup |
| 3 | Zürich[3] | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 24 | 18 | +6 | 16 | 27 | qualified for 1977–78 UEFA Cup and entered 1977 Intertoto Cup |
| 4 | Grasshopper Club | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 10 | +5 | 11 | 23 | qualified for 1977–78 UEFA Cup and entered 1977 Intertoto Cup |
| 5 | Xamax | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 18 | −4 | 14 | 21 | |
| 6 | Young Boys[4] | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 24 | −12 | 13 | 20 | Swiss Cup winners, qualified for 1977–78 Cup Winners' Cup and entered 1977 Intertoto Cup |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference within the league, but play-off for the title.
Championship play-off
| Basel | 2–1 | Servette |
|---|---|---|
Mundschin  37'von Wartburg 75' |
FCB report | 30' Müller 66' Thouvenel 77' Guyot |
Results
Relegation play-out
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lausanne-Sport | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 7 | +17 | 11 | 28 | |
| 2 | Chênois | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 24 | 13 | +11 | 10 | 24 | Entered 1977 Intertoto Cup |
| 3 | Sion | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 18 | 17 | +1 | 9 | 19 | |
| 4 | St. Gallen | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 19 | −1 | 8 | 16 | |
| 5 | Winterthur | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 14 | −3 | 4 | 13 | Relegated to 1977–78 Nationalliga B |
| 6 | Bellinzona | 10 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 32 | −25 | 4 | 6 | Relegated to 1977–78 Nationalliga B |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored;
Results
Nationalliga B
Teams, locations
| Team | Town | Canton | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Aarau | Aarau |  Aargau |
Stadion Brügglifeld | 9,240 |
| FC Biel-Bienne | Biel/Bienne | Bern |
Stadion Gurzelen | 15,000 |
| FC Chiasso | Chiasso | Ticino |
Stadio Comunale Riva IV | 4,000 |
| Étoile Carouge FC | Carouge | Geneva |
Stade de la Fontenette | 3,690 |
| FC Fribourg | Fribourg |  Fribourg |
Stade Universitaire | 9,000 |
| FC Gossau | Gossau | St. Gallen |
Sportanlage Buechenwald | 3,500 |
| FC Grenchen | Grenchen |  Solothurn |
Stadium Brühl | 15,100 |
| SC Kriens | Kriens |  Lucerne |
Stadion Kleinfeld | 5,100 |
| FC La Chaux-de-Fonds | La Chaux-de-Fonds | Neuchâtel |
Centre Sportif de la Charrière | 12,700 |
| FC Lugano | Lugano | Ticino |
Cornaredo Stadium | 6,330 |
| FC Luzern | Lucerne | Lucerne |
Stadion Allmend | 25,000 |
| Mendrisiostar | Mendrisio | Ticino |
Centro Sportivo Comunale | 4,000 |
| FC Nordstern Basel | Basel | Basel-Stadt |
Rankhof | 7,600 |
| FC Raron[5] | Raron | Valais |
Sportplatz Rhoneglut | 1,000 |
| Vevey-Sports | Vevey | Vaud |
Stade de Copet | 4,000 |
| FC Young Fellows Zürich | Zürich | Zürich |
Utogrund | 2,850 |
Final league table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Etoile Carouge | 30 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 58 | 32 | +26 | 44 | NLB Champions promoted to 1978–79 Nationalliga A |
| 2 | FC Young Fellows Zürich | 30 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 52 | 25 | +27 | 41 | Promoted to 1978–79 Nationalliga A |
| 3 | Nordstern Basel | 30 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 53 | 28 | +25 | 40 | |
| 4 | Lugano | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 37 | 30 | +7 | 35 | |
| 5 | FC Chiasso | 30 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 37 | 24 | +13 | 34 | |
| 6 | La Chaux-de-Fonds | 30 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 55 | 41 | +14 | 33 | |
| 7 | FC Grenchen | 30 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 31 | 29 | +2 | 33 | |
| 8 | SC Kriens | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 42 | 45 | −3 | 29 | |
| 9 | Luzern | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 35 | 43 | −8 | 28 | |
| 10 | Vevey-Sports | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 38 | 47 | −9 | 26 | |
| 11 | FC Fribourg | 30 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 32 | 42 | −10 | 26 | |
| 12 | FC Gossau | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 30 | 44 | −14 | 24 | |
| 13 | FC Aarau[6] | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 34 | 43 | −9 | 23 | |
| 14 | FC Biel-Bienne | 30 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 30 | 49 | −19 | 22 | |
| 15 | Mendrisiostar | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 28 | 46 | −18 | 21 | Relegated to 1978–79 1. Liga |
| 16 | FC Raron | 30 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 28 | 52 | −24 | 21 | Relegated to 1978–79 1. Liga |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference within the league, but decider play-off for qualifiers; 3) Goals scored;
Attendances
| # | Club | Average |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Basel | 11,219 |
| 2 | Servette | 10,381 |
| 3 | Young Boys | 10,031 |
| 4 | Zürich | 8,219 |
| 5 | Xamax | 6,528 |
| 6 | Grasshopper | 6,225 |
| 7 | Lausanne | 4,469 |
| 8 | St. Gallen | 3,794 |
| 9 | Sion | 2,975 |
| 10 | Bellinzona | 2,501 |
| 11 | Chênois | 2,381 |
| 12 | Winterthur | 2,281 |
Source:[7]