2015–16 Swiss Challenge League
Football league season
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The 2015-16 Swiss Challenge League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Brack.ch Challenge League, was the 13th season of the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier in the Swiss football pyramid. It began on 18 July 2015 and ended on 27 May 2016.[1] After the 18th matchday the league will be on winter break between 7 December 2015 and 6 February 2016.
| Season | 2015–16 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Lausanne-Sport |
| Promoted | Lausanne-Sport |
| Top goalscorer | Jocelyn Roux (20 goals) |
| Highest scoring | Lausanne-Sport 5–4 Biel-Bienne (18 July 2015) |
← 2014–15 2016–17 → | |
Participating teams
2014–15 Swiss Challenge League champions FC Lugano were promoted to the 2015–16 Swiss Super League. They were replaced by FC Aarau, who were relegated after last place finish in the 2014–15 Swiss Super League. Last placed team of the 2014–15 Challenge League season FC Biel-Bienne were spared from relegation as Servette FC failed to obtain a license for the 2015–16 season and were relegated to the 1. Liga Promotion.[2] Servette were replaced by 1. Liga Promotion champion Neuchâtel Xamax.
Stadia and locations
Locations of clubs in the 2015–16 Challenge League
| Team | Venue | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| FC Aarau | Stadion Brügglifeld | 8,000 |
| FC Biel-Bienne | Tissot Arena | 5,200 |
| FC Chiasso | Stadio Comunale | 5,000 |
| FC Lausanne-Sport | Pontaise | 8,500 |
| FC Le Mont | Stade Sous-Ville | 4,000 |
| Neuchâtel Xamax | Stade de la Maladière | 12,000 |
| FC Schaffhausen | Stadion Breite | 4,200 |
| FC Wil | IGP Arena | 6,958 |
| FC Winterthur | Schützenwiese | 8,550 |
| FC Wohlen | Stadion Niedermatten | 3,624 |
Personnel and kits
| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| FC Aarau |  Marco Schällibaum | Nike | Zehnder Group AG |
| FC Biel-Bienne |  Zlatko Petričević | Nike | Fors |
| FC Chiasso |  Giancarlo Camolese | Primato | Caffè Chicco D'Oro |
| FC Lausanne-Sport | Fabio Celestini | Adidas | BCV |
| FC Le Mont |  Claude Gross | Joma | AQUATIS |
| Neuchâtel Xamax | Michel Decastel | Erima | Video2000 Viteos |
| FC Schaffhausen | Maurizio Jacobacci | gpard | Ersparniskasse Schaffhausen Methabau |
| FC Wil |  Kevin Cooper | Nike | Hans Eisenring |
| FC Winterthur | Sven Christ | gpard | Keller |
| FC Wohlen | Martin Rueda | Adidas | IBW |
Managerial changes
| Club | Name | Date of departure | Replacement | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aarau | Livio Bordoli | 13 October 2015[3] | Marco Schällibaum | 18 October 2015[4] |
| Chiasso | Marco Schällibaum | 18 October 2015 | Giancarlo Camolese | 20 October 2015[5] |
| Neuchâtel Xamax | Roberto Cattilaz | 20 October 2015[6] | Michel Decastel | 21 October 2015 |
| Wil |  Fuat Çapa | 23 October 2015[7][8] | Philipp Dux (Interim) | 23 October 2015 |
| Wil | Philipp Dux (Interim) | 4 November 2015 | Kevin Cooper | 4 November 2015[9] |
| Winterthur |  Jürgen Seeberger | 26 November 2015[10] | Dario Zuffi (interim)[11] | 26 November 2015 |
| Winterthur | Dario Zuffi (interim) | 28 December 2015 | Sven Christ | 28 December 2015[12] |
| Biel-Bienne | Patrick Rahmen | 24 February[13] |  Petar Aleksandrov (interim) | 25 February |
| Biel-Bienne | Petar Aleksandrov (interim) | 29 March | Zlatko Petričević | 29 March[14] |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lausanne-Sport (C, P) | 34 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 61 | 39 | +22 | 65 | Promotion to 2016–17 Swiss Super League |
| 2 | Neuchâtel Xamax | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 53 | 42 | +11 | 54 | |
| 3 | Wil | 34 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 60 | 49 | +11 | 53 | |
| 4 | Aarau | 34 | 12 | 14 | 8 | 44 | 39 | +5 | 50 | |
| 5 | Schaffhausen | 34 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 43 | 45 | −2 | 47 | |
| 6 | Winterthur | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 40 | 49 | −9 | 43 | |
| 7 | Chiasso | 34 | 7 | 16 | 11 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 37 | |
| 8 | Wohlen | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 35 | 52 | −17 | 36 | |
| 9 | Le Mont | 34 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 36 | 50 | −14 | 32 | |
| 10 | Biel-Bienne[a] (R) | 34 | 5 | 22 | 7 | 28 | 30 | −2 | 16 | Relegation to 2016–17 1. Liga Promotion |
Source: Swiss Challenge League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) head-to-head points; 5) draw[19]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) head-to-head points; 5) draw[19]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- FC Biel-Bienne were deducted one point for licence violation.[15] On 22 April Biel-Bienne were deducted four more points.[16] On 27 April licence committee of the Swiss Football League stripped Biel-Bienne of their league licence. Results of Biel-Bienne's second half of the season were converted to 0-0 draws that award no points.[17][18]
Results
First and Second Round |
Third and Fourth Round
|
Season statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jocelyn Roux |
Wil / Lausanne-Sport | 20 |
| 2 | Antonio Marchesano |
Biel-Bienne | 13 |
| Charles-André Doudin |
Neuchâtel Xamax | ||
| 4 |  Deniz Mujic |
Schaffhausen | 11 |
| 5 | Patrick Rossini |
Aarau | 10 |
 Pak Kwang-ryong |
Lausanne-Sport / Biel-Bienne |
- As of 27 May 2016[21]
Awards
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Season | Antonio Marchesano |
FC Biel-Bienne |
| Position | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | David von Ballmoos |
FC Winterthur |
| Defender | Numa Lavanchy |
FC Le Mont |
| Defender | Egemen Korkmaz |
FC Wil |
| Defender | Arnaud Bühler |
FC Wil |
| Defender |  Ezgjan Alioski |
FC Schaffhausen |
| Midfielder | Alexandre Pasche |
FC Lausanne-Sport |
| Midfielder | Olivier Custodio |
FC Lausanne-Sport |
| Midfielder | Antonio Marchesano |
FC Biel-Bienne |
| Midfielder |  André Santos |
FC Wohlen |
| Forward | Jocelyn Roux |
FC Lausanne-Sport |
| Forward | Igor Tadić |
FC Schaffhausen |