2017–18 Swiss Super League
121st season of top-tier Swiss football
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The 2017–18 Swiss Super League (referred to as the Raiffeisen Super League for sponsoring reasons) was the 121st season of top-tier competitive football in Switzerland and the 15th under its current name and format. Basel were the defending champions. Young Boys won the title on 28 April 2018 after a 2–1 win against Luzern, with four games to spare. It was their first league title in 32 years, having last won the league in the 1985–1986 season, and their 12th league title overall. They also ended Basel's run of eight consecutive titles.
| Season | 2017–18 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 22 July 2017 – 19 May 2018 |
| Champions | Young Boys 12th title |
| Relegated | Lausanne-Sport |
| Champions League | Young Boys Basel |
| Europa League | Luzern Zürich St. Gallen |
| Matches | 180 |
| Goals | 541 (3.01 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Albian Ajeti (17 goals)[1] |
| Biggest home win | Young Boys 6–1 St. Gallen Sion 7–2 Thun Basel 6–1 Thun |
| Biggest away win | Grasshopper 0–4 Young Boys Young Boys 0–4 Thun Lugano 0–4 Basel Zürich 0–4 Grasshopper St. Gallen 0–4 Lausanne-Sport |
| Highest scoring | Sion 7–2 Thun[2] |
| Longest winning run | Young Boys (8 games) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Young Boys (16 games) |
| Longest winless run | Luzern (9 games) |
| Longest losing run | St. Gallen (7 games) |
| Highest attendance | 32,456 Basel 1–1 Young Boys[2] (5 November 2017) |
| Total attendance | 2,012,599[3] |
| Average attendance | 11,181[3] |
← 2016–17 2018–19 → | |
A total of 10 teams competed in the league: the 9 best teams from the 2016–17 season and the 2016–17 Swiss Challenge League champion Zürich. The season started on the weekend of 22–23 July 2017 and ended on 19 May 2018 with a break between 17 December 2017 and 2 February 2018.[4]
This season saw the introduction of changes in the way Swiss clubs may qualify for European competition; per new UEFA rules, the champions of the Swiss Super League now qualifies for the Champions League play-off round (previously directly to the Champions League group stage) and the runners-up now qualifies for the Champions League second qualifying round (previously to the third qualifying round). Qualification to Europa League spots for the third- and fourth-placed team remain unchanged.[5]
Teams
Stadia and locations
| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basel | Basel | St. Jakob-Park | 37,994[6] |
| Grasshopper | Zürich | Letzigrund | 26,104[7] |
| Lausanne | Lausanne | Pontaise | 8,500[8] |
| Lugano | Lugano | Stadio Cornaredo | 6,390[9] |
| Luzern | Lucerne | Swissporarena | 16,490[10] |
| Sion | Sion | Stade Tourbillon | 14,283[11] |
| St. Gallen | St. Gallen | kybunpark | 19,456[12] |
| Thun | Thun | Stockhorn Arena | 10,014[12] |
| Young Boys | Bern | Stade de Suisse | 31,789[13] |
| FC Zürich | Zürich | Letzigrund | 26,104 |
Personnel and kits
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basel |  Raphaël Wicky |
 Marek Suchý |
Adidas | Novartis |
| Grasshopper |  Thorsten Fink |
 Trent Sainsbury |
Puma | Fromm |
| Lausanne-Sport |  Alex Weaver |
Alain Rochat |
Adidas | Banque cantonale vaudoise |
| Lugano |  Guillermo Abascal |
 Jonathan Sabbatini |
Acerbis | AIL |
| Luzern | Gerardo Seoane |
Claudio Lustenberger |
Adidas | Otto's |
| Sion | Maurizio Jacobacci |
Kevin Fickentscher |
Erreà | AFX Group |
| St. Gallen |  Boro Kuzmanović (caretaker) |
 Nzuzi Toko |
Jako | St.Galler Kantonalbank |
| Thun | Marc Schneider |
Dennis Hediger |
Nike | Panorama Center, Schneider Software AG |
| Young Boys |  Adi Hütter |
Steve von Bergen |
Nike | Obi |
| Zürich | Ludovic Magnin |
 Victor Pálsson |
Nike |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of departure | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basel | Urs Fischer | End of contract | 3 June 2017[14] | Pre-season | Raphaël Wicky | 3 June 2017[15] |
| Thun | Mauro Lustrinelli | End of interim | 3 June 2017 | Marc Schneider | 3 June 2017[16] | |
| Lugano |  Paolo Tramezzani | Mutual consent | 7 June 2017[17] | Pierluigi Tami | 12 June 2017[18] | |
| Sion | Sébastien Fournier | 15 June 2017 | Paolo Tramezzani | 15 June 2017[19] | ||
| Grasshopper |  Carlos Bernegger | Sacked | 24 August 2017 | 9th | Murat Yakin | 28 August 2017[20] |
| Sion | Paolo Tramezzani | 22 October 2017[21] | 7th | Gabri | 24 October 2017[22] | |
| Luzern | Markus Babbel | 5 January 2018[23] | 9th | Gerardo Seoane | 9 January 2018[24] | |
| Sion | Gabri | 6 February 2018[25] | 10th | Maurizio Jacobacci | 12 February 2018[25] | |
| Zürich | Uli Forte | 20 February 2018[26] | 3rd | Ludovic Magnin | 20 February 2018[26] | |
| Lugano | Pierluigi Tami | 9 April 2018[27] | 9th | Guillermo Abascal | 10 April 2018[28] | |
| Grasshopper | Murat Yakin | 10 April 2018[29] | 6th | Mathias Walther (caretaker) | 10 April 2018[30] | |
| Lausanne-Sport | Fabio Celestini | 19 April 2018[31] | 10th | Ilija Borenovic (caretaker) | 20 April 2018[32] | |
| Grasshopper | Mathias Walther (caretaker) | End of interim | 23 April 2018[33] | 7th | Thorsten Fink | 23 April 2018[33] |
| St. Gallen | Giorgio Contini | Sacked | 24 April 2018[34] | 4th | Boro Kuzmanović (caretaker) | 24 April 2018[34] |
| Lausanne-Sport | Ilija Borenovic (caretaker) | End of interim | 11 May 2018[35] | 10th | Alex Weaver | 11 May 2018[35] |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Young Boys (C) | 36 | 26 | 6 | 4 | 84 | 41 | +43 | 84 | Qualification for the Champions League play-off round |
| 2 | Basel | 36 | 20 | 9 | 7 | 72 | 36 | +36 | 69 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Luzern | 36 | 15 | 9 | 12 | 51 | 51 | 0 | 54 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Zürich | 36 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 50 | 44 | +6 | 49 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage[a] |
| 5 | St. Gallen | 36 | 14 | 3 | 19 | 52 | 72 | −20 | 45 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 6 | Sion | 36 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 53 | 56 | −3 | 42 | |
| 7 | Thun | 36 | 12 | 6 | 18 | 53 | 68 | −15 | 42 | |
| 8 | Lugano | 36 | 12 | 6 | 18 | 38 | 55 | −17 | 42 | |
| 9 | Grasshopper | 36 | 10 | 9 | 17 | 43 | 52 | −9 | 39 | |
| 10 | Lausanne-Sport (R) | 36 | 9 | 8 | 19 | 46 | 67 | −21 | 35 | Relegation to Swiss Challenge League |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Draw.[36]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- Zürich qualified for the Europa League group stage by winning the 2017–18 Swiss Cup.
Positions by round
Note: If a team wins the Swiss Cup, they will qualify for the Europa League group stage, unless they have already qualified for the Champions League through league position. In this case, the Europa League group stage berth will be given to the third-placed team, and both Europa League qualifying round spots will be moved one step down, to 4th and 5th respectively.
Results
First and Second Round |
Third and Fourth Round
|
Season statistics
Top goalscorers
1Ajeti played 7 games for St. Gallen then signed for Basel.[39][40] |
Top assists
|
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simone Rapp |
Thun | Lausanne-Sport | 3–1 (A) | 28 October 2017 |
 Kenan Kodro |
Grasshopper | Lugano | 4–3 (H) | 21 April 2018 |
| Michael Frey |
Zürich | Sion | 3–3 (H) | 29 April 2018 |
 Matheus Cunha |
Sion | Thun | 4–1 (A) | 19 May 2018 |
(H) – Home; (A) – Away
Awards
Annual awards
| Award[44] | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Season | Michael Lang |
Basel |
| «Mon joueur» Fans' Player of the Year | Michael Lang |
Basel |
| Young Player of the Season | Dimitri Oberlin |
Basel |
| Coach of the Season | Murat Yakin |
Grasshopper |
| Goal of the Season |  Jean-Pierre Nsame |
Young Boys |
| Team of the Year[44] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Tomáš Vaclík (Basel) | |||||||||||
| Defence | Michel Lang (Basel) |
Jordan Lotomba (Young Boys) |
Manuel Akanji (Basel) |
Kevin Mbabu (Young Boys) | ||||||||
| Midfield |
|
|
|
| ||||||||
| Attack | Simone Rapp (Thun) |
 Roger Assalé (Young Boys) | ||||||||||
Attendance
| Team | Played | Total | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basel | 18 | 465,426 | 25,859 |
| Young Boys | 18 | 395,512 | 21,973 |
| St. Gallen | 18 | 227,043 | 12,614 |
| Zürich | 18 | 193,073 | 10,726 |
| Luzern | 18 | 180,925 | 10,051 |
| Sion | 18 | 178,600 | 9,922 |
| Grasshopper | 18 | 126,300 | 7,017 |
| Thun | 18 | 106,335 | 5,908 |
| Lausanne-Sport | 18 | 71,931 | 3,996 |
| Lugano | 18 | 67,454 | 3,747 |
| League total | 180 | 2,012,599 | 11,181 |
Source:[3]