2016–17 Swiss Challenge League
Football league season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2016–17 Swiss Challenge League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Brack.ch Challenge League, was the 14th season of the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier in the Swiss football pyramid. It began on 23 July 2016 and ended on 3 June 2017.
| Season | 2016–17 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Zürich |
| Promoted | Zürich |
| Relegated | Le Mont |
| Matches | 180 |
| Goals | 529 (2.94 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Jean-Pierre Nsamé (23 goals)[1] |
| Biggest home win | Servette 6–1 Wohlen (11 September 2016) Schaffhausen 5–0 Chiasso (8 April 2017) |
| Biggest away win | Chiasso 0–6 Schaffhausen (15 May 2017) |
| Highest scoring | Zürich 6–3 Aarau[1] (6 November 2016) |
| Longest winning run | Schaffhausen (8 games) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Zürich (18 games) |
| Longest winless run | Wil (17 games) |
| Longest losing run | Aarau Schaffhausen (7 games) |
| Highest attendance | 14,455 Zürich 3–0 Wohlen[1] (3 June 2017) |
| Total attendance | 505,117[2] |
| Average attendance | 2,806[2] |
← 2015–16 2017–18 → | |
On 1 May 2017 FC Le Mont decided to voluntarily relegate three steps down in the league system after being denied a licence to play in the Swiss Challenge League.[3][4]
On 18 May 2017, Zürich became champions of the 2016–17 Challenge League following their 1–1 draw against Servette and Neuchâtel Xamax's 2–1 defeat at Schaffhausen.[5] They are thus promoted back to the top flight immediately following their relegation the previous season.
Participating teams
2015–16 Swiss Challenge League champions FC Lausanne-Sport were promoted to the 2016–17 Swiss Super League. They were replaced by FC Zürich, who got relegated after last place finish in the 2015–16 Swiss Super League. FC Biel-Bienne got relegated from the Challenge League as the Swiss Football League stripped Biel-Bienne of their league licence. Servette FC won promotion from the 2015–16 1. Liga Promotion.
Stadia and locations
| Team | Venue | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| FC Aarau | Stadion Brügglifeld | 8,000 |
| FC Chiasso | Stadio Comunale Riva IV | 5,000 |
| FC Le Mont | Stade Sous-Ville | 4,000 |
| Neuchâtel Xamax | Stade de la Maladière | 12,000 |
| Servette FC | Stade de Genève | 30,084 |
| FC Schaffhausen | Stadion Breite LIPO Park Schaffhausen | 4,200 8,200 |
| FC Wil | IGP Arena | 6,958 |
| FC Winterthur | Schützenwiese | 8,550 |
| FC Wohlen | Stadion Niedermatten | 3,624 |
| FC Zürich | Letzigrund | 23,605 |
Personnel and kits
| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer |
|---|---|---|
| FC Aarau |  Marco Schällibaum | Nike |
| FC Chiasso |  Baldo Raineri | Primato |
| FC Le Mont | John Dragani | Karhu |
| Neuchâtel Xamax | Michel Decastel | Erima |
| FC Schaffhausen | Murat Yakin | gpard |
| Servette FC |  Meho Kodro | 14fourteen |
| FC Wil | Maurizio Jacobacci | Nike |
| FC Winterthur | Umberto Romano (interim) | gpard |
| FC Wohlen | Francesco Gabriele | Adidas |
| FC Zürich | Uli Forte | Nike |
Managerial changes
| Club | Name | Date of departure | Position in table | Replacement | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wil |  Ugur Tütüneker | 24 August 2016[6] | 7th | Martin Rueda | 3 September 2016[7] |
| Wohlen | Martin Rueda | 2 September 2016 | 9th | Francesco Gabriele | 7 September 2016[8] |
| Schaffhausen |  Axel Thoma | 7 December 2016[9] | 10th |  Nedjad Kuruzovic | Interim |
| Wil | Martin Rueda | 12 December 2016 | 3rd | Ronny Teuber | 12 December 2016[10] |
| Schaffhausen | Nedjad Kuruzovic | Interim | 10th | Murat Yakin | 21 December 2016[11] |
| Servette |  Anthony Braizat | 30 December 2016 | 5th | Meho Kodro | 30 December 2016[12] |
| Winterthur | Sven Christ | 14 February 2017[13] | 9th | Umberto Romano | Interim[14] |
| Wil | Ronny Teuber | 27 March 2017 | 6th | Maurizio Jacobacci | 27 March 2017[15] |
| Chiasso | Giuseppe Scienza | 18 April 2017[16] | 10th | Baldo Raineri | 18 April 2017[17] |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zürich (C, P) | 36 | 26 | 7 | 3 | 91 | 30 | +61 | 85 | Promotion to 2017–18 Swiss Super League |
| 2 | Neuchâtel Xamax | 36 | 22 | 7 | 7 | 66 | 36 | +30 | 73 | |
| 3 | Servette | 36 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 55 | 43 | +12 | 62 | |
| 4 | Schaffhausen | 36 | 16 | 3 | 17 | 64 | 59 | +5 | 51 | |
| 5 | Aarau | 36 | 13 | 6 | 17 | 57 | 64 | −7 | 45 | |
| 6 | Winterthur | 36 | 11 | 8 | 17 | 45 | 62 | −17 | 41 | |
| 7 | Wohlen | 36 | 12 | 3 | 21 | 42 | 60 | −18 | 39 | |
| 8 | Chiasso | 36 | 9 | 10 | 17 | 43 | 63 | −20 | 37 | |
| 9 | Le Mont[a] (R) | 36 | 8 | 11 | 17 | 31 | 54 | −23 | 35 | Relegation to 2017–18 2. Liga Interregional |
| 10 | Wil[b] | 36 | 10 | 7 | 19 | 35 | 58 | −23 | 34 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) head-to-head points; 5) draw
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Results
First and Second Round |
Third and Fourth Round
|
Awards
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Season |  Jean-Pierre Nsame |
Servette FC |
| Position | Player | Nationality | Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Andris Vaņins |  Latvia |
FC Zürich |
| Defender | Cédric Brunner | Switzerland |
FC Zürich |
| Defender | Alain Nef | Switzerland |
FC Zürich |
| Defender | Ivan Kecojević |  Montenegro |
FC Zürich |
| Defender | Kay Voser | Switzerland |
FC Zürich |
| Midfielder | Adrian Winter | Switzerland |
FC Zürich |
| Midfielder | Oliver Buff | Switzerland |
FC Zürich |
| Midfielder | Burim Kukeli |  Albania |
FC Zürich |
| Midfielder | Raphaël Nuzzolo | Switzerland |
Neuchâtel Xamax |
| Forward | Gaëtan Karlen | Switzerland |
FC Le Mont |
| Forward | Jean-Pierre Nsame | Cameroon |
Servette FC |