2019–20 Swiss Challenge League
Football league season
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The 2019–20 Swiss Challenge League (referred to as the Brack.ch Challenge League for sponsoring reasons) was the 17th season of the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of competitive football in Switzerland, under its current name. The season started on 20 July 2019 and was scheduled to end on 20 May 2020.[1] The league was on winter break between 15 December 2019 and 24 January 2020.
| Season | 2019–20 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Lausanne |
| Promoted | Lausanne Vaduz |
| Relegated | none |
| Europa League | Vaduz |
| Matches | 180 |
| Goals | 595 (3.31 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Aldin Turkeš (22 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Lausanne-Sport 5–0 Lausanne-Ouchy Lausanne-Sport 5–0 Schaffhausen Lausanne-Sport 5–0 Wil Grasshopper 5–0 Aarau |
| Biggest away win | Winterthur 0–6 Lausanne-Sport Grasshopper 0–6 Winterthur |
| Highest scoring | Aarau 5–4 Lausanne-Sport |
| Highest attendance | 9'000 (Winterthur 1–1 Grasshopper) |
← 2018–19 2020–21 → | |
On 28 February Swiss Football League postponed all Super and Challenge League matches of matchdays 24, 25 and 26. Postponement came after the Swiss Federal Council banned all major events until 15 March due to the COVID-19 outbreak.[2] On 13 March Super and Challenge League football was halted at least until the end of April.[3] The league eventually resumed on 19 June. The last regular games were played on 2 August 2020.
Participating teams
A total of 10 teams participated in the league. 2018–19 Swiss Challenge League champions Servette FC were promoted to the 2019–20 Swiss Super League. They were replaced by Grasshopper Club Zürich, who got relegated after finishing last-placed in the 2018–19 Swiss Super League. Rapperswil-Jona was relegated after finishing 10th. They were replaced by FC Stade Lausanne-Ouchy, who won promotion from the 2018–19 Swiss Promotion League.
Stadia and locations
Personnel
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lausanne (C, P) | 36 | 22 | 7 | 7 | 84 | 36 | +48 | 73 | Promotion to 2020–21 Swiss Super League |
| 2 | Vaduz[a] (O, P) | 36 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 78 | 53 | +25 | 64 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round and for the promotion/relegation play-offs |
| 3 | Grasshopper | 36 | 17 | 10 | 9 | 69 | 52 | +17 | 61 | |
| 4 | Winterthur | 36 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 56 | 58 | −2 | 55 | |
| 5 | Kriens | 36 | 16 | 6 | 14 | 58 | 59 | −1 | 54 | |
| 6 | Wil | 36 | 14 | 7 | 15 | 60 | 61 | −1 | 49 | |
| 7 | Lausanne-Ouchy | 36 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 47 | 64 | −17 | 42 | |
| 8 | Aarau | 36 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 65 | 80 | −15 | 41 | |
| 9 | Schaffhausen | 36 | 6 | 14 | 16 | 34 | 62 | −28 | 32 | |
| 10 | Chiasso | 36 | 5 | 8 | 23 | 44 | 70 | −26 | 23 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Draw.[5]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted
Notes:
- Vaduz were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Liechtenstein Football Association.
Results
First and Second Round |
Third and Fourth Round
|
Awards
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Season |  Andi Zeqiri |
FC Lausanne-Sport |
| Position | Player | Nationality | Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Thomas Castella | Switzerland |
FC Lausanne-Sport |
| Defender | Marko Bašić |  Croatia |
Grasshopper Club Zürich |
| Defender | Nikola Boranijašević |  Serbia |
FC Lausanne-Sport |
| Defender | Per-Egil Flo |  Norway |
FC Lausanne-Sport |
| Defender | Noah Loosli | Switzerland |
FC Lausanne-Sport |
| Midfielder | Mohamed Doumbia |  Ivory Coast |
FC Winterthur |
| Midfielder | Stjepan Kukuruzović | Switzerland |
FC Lausanne-Sport |
| Midfielder | Markus Neumayr |  Germany |
FC Aarau |
| Midfielder | Petar Pusic | Switzerland |
Grasshopper Club Zürich |
| Forward | Aldin Turkes | Switzerland |
FC Lausanne-Sport |
| Forward | Andi Zeqiri | Switzerland |
FC Lausanne-Sport |
Promotion play-offs
The ninth-placed team of 2019–20 Swiss Super League, Thun, played against the runners-up of 2019–20 Swiss Challenge League, Vaduz.
First leg
Second leg
Vaduz won 5–4 on aggregate and promoted to the Swiss Super League.