2017–18 Swiss Challenge League

Swiss Challenge League
Season2017–18
ChampionsNeuchatel Xamax
PromotedNeuchatel Xamax
RelegatedWohlen
Europa LeagueVaduz
Matches played360
Goals scored86 (0.24 per match)
Biggest home winSchaffhausen 6–0 Rapperswil-Jona
(24 July 2017)
Biggest away winWohlen 1–4 Schaffhausen
(31 July 2017)
Highest scoringSchaffhausen 6–0 Rapperswil-Jona
(24 July 2017)
Longest winning runSchaffhausen (6 games)
Longest unbeaten runNeuchâtel Xamax (21 games)
Longest winless runAarau (6 games)
Longest losing runWohlen (4 games)
All statistics correct as of 21 July 2018.

The 2017–18 Swiss Challenge League (referred to as the Brack.ch Challenge League for sponsoring reasons) is the 15th season of the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of competitive football in Switzerland, under its current name. The season started on 21 July 2017 and is scheduled to end on 21 May 2018.[1] The winter break began on 11 December 2017 and the league resumed on 2 February 2018.

Participating teams

A total of 10 teams participate in the league. 2016–17 Swiss Challenge League champions Zürich were promoted to the 2017–18 Swiss Super League. They were replaced by FC Vaduz, who got relegated after finishing last-placed in the 2016–17 Swiss Super League. Le Mont was relegated after failing to renew their licence. They were replaced by Rapperswil-Jona, who won promotion from the 2016–17 Swiss Promotion League.

Stadia and locations

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Locations of clubs in the 2017–18 Challenge League
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Aarau Aarau Stadion Brügglifeld 8,000
Chiasso Chiasso Stadio Comunale Riva IV 5,000
Neuchâtel Xamax Neuchâtel Stade de la Maladière 12,000
Rapperswil-Jona Rapperswil-Jona Stadion Grünfeld 2,500
Servette Geneva Stade de Genève 30,084
Schaffhausen Schaffhausen Stadion Breite
LIPO Park Schaffhausen		 4,200
8,200
Vaduz Liechtenstein Vaduz Rheinpark Stadion 7,584
Wil Wil IGP Arena 6,958
Winterthur Winterthur Schützenwiese 8,550
Wohlen Wohlen Stadion Niedermatten 3,624

Personnel

Team Manager
Aarau Switzerland Stephan Keller (caretaker)
Chiasso Italy Baldassarre Raineri
Neuchâtel Xamax Switzerland Michel Decastel
Rapperswil-Jona Switzerland Urs Meier
Schaffhausen Switzerland Boris Smiljanić
Servette Switzerland Bojan Dimic
Liechtenstein Vaduz Germany Roland Vrabec
Wil Germany Konrad Fünfstück
Winterthur Switzerland Livio Bordoli
Wohlen Bosnia and Herzegovina Ranko Jakovljević

Managerial changes

Club Name Manner of departure Date of departure Position in table Replacement Date of appointment
Wil Italy Maurizio Jacobacci Resign 4 June 2017[2] Pre-season Germany Konrad Fünfstück 18 June 2017[3]
Aarau Switzerland Marco Schällibaum Mutual Consent 6 June 2017[4] Switzerland Marinko Jurendic 7 June 2017[5]
Chiasso Italy Baldo Raineri Sacked 6 June 2017[6] Spain Guillermo Abascal 12 June 2017[7]
Wohlen Italy Francesco Gabriele Mutual Consent 15 June 2017 Bosnia and Herzegovina Ranko Jakovljević 15 June 2017[8]
Schaffhausen Switzerland Murat Yakin Signed by Grasshopper 28 August 2017 1st Switzerland Boris Smiljanić 28 August 2017[9]
Winterthur Switzerland Umberto Romano Sacked 3 January 2018 9th Switzerland Livio Bordoli 3 January 2018[10]
Servette Bosnia and Herzegovina Meho Kodro 3 March 2018[11] 5th Switzerland Bojan Dimic 3 March 2018
Aarau Switzerland Marinko Jurendic 21 March 2018[12] 6th Switzerland Stephan Keller (interim) 22 March 2018
Chiasso Spain Guillermo Abascal 3 April 2018[13] 8th Italy Baldassarre Raineri 3 April 2018

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Neuchâtel Xamax (C, P) 36 26 7 3 82 39 +43 85 Promotion to 2018–19 Swiss Super League
2 Schaffhausen 36 21 1 14 70 51 +19 64
3 Servette 36 17 11 8 56 38 +18 62
4 Vaduz[a] 36 16 11 9 66 50 +16 59 Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round
5 Rapperswil-Jona 36 16 8 12 53 45 +8 56
6 Aarau 36 12 8 16 53 62 −9 44
7 Wil 36 9 12 15 40 50 −10 39
8 Chiasso[b] 36 11 6 19 42 60 −18 36
9 Winterthur 36 7 11 18 45 60 −15 32
10 Wohlen[c] (R) 36 3 9 24 41 93 −52 18 Relegation to 2018-19 Swiss Promotion League
Source: 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.[17]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Vaduz qualified for the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League as winners of the 2017–18 Liechtenstein Cup.
  2. ^ Chiasso were deducted three points for licence rules violation[14]
  3. ^ Wohlen waived license application and will not continue professional football in the 2018–19 season.[15][16]

Results

Season statistics

Top goalscorers

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Switzerland Raphaël Nuzzolo Neuchâtel 26
2 Switzerland Tunahan Cicek Schaffhausen 21
3 Switzerland Hélios Sessolo Schaffhausen 16
4 Brazil Mychell Chagas1 Servette (6) / Rapperswil-Jona (9) 15
5 Ukraine Marko Dević Vaduz 13

1Chagas played 17 games for Rapperswil-Jona then signed for Servette.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Rahmenterminplan 2017/2018 - Calendrier 2017/2018" (PDF). sfl.ch (in German and French). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  2. ^ "Jacobacci doit quitter le FC Wil" (in French). sfl.ch. 4 June 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  3. ^ "Un entraîneur allemand sur le banc du FC Wil" (in French). sfl.ch. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Le FC Aarau se sépare de Marco Schällibaum" (in French). sfl.ch. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Marinko Jurendic nouvel entraîneur à Aarau" (in French). sfl.ch. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ "La grande lessive au FC Chiasso" (in French). sfl.ch. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Un Espagnol de 28 ans sur le banc du FC Chiasso" (in French). sfl.ch. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  8. ^ "Jakovljevic coachera le FC Wohlen" (in French). sfl.ch. 15 June 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  9. ^ "Yakin nommé à GC, Smiljanic au FC Schaffhouse" (in French). sfl.ch. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  10. ^ Schifferli, Hansjörg (3 January 2018). "Ein Tessiner solls richten" (in German). Der Landbote. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  11. ^ Berger, Nicola (3 March 2018). "Frühlingsputz im Servette FC". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  12. ^ "Aarau stellt Jurendic frei" (in German). Luzerner Zeitung. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  13. ^ "FC Chiasso entlässt Trainer Abascal" (in German). St. Galler Tagblatt. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  14. ^ "Drei Punkte Abzug für Chiasso" (in German). Luzerner Zeitung. 18 September 2017. Archived from the original on 27 September 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  15. ^ "Der FC Wohlen verabschiedet sich nach 16 Spielzeiten aus dem Spitzensport" (PDF) (Press release) (in German). FC Wohlen AG. 2018-01-03. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-03-24. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  16. ^ Wendel, Sebastian (7 March 2018). "Jetzt ist es amtlich: Der Abstieg des FC Wohlen aus der Challenge League ist besiegelt" (in German). Aargauer Zeitung. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  17. ^ "Règlement de la compétition de la SFL" (PDF) (in French). sfl.ch. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-05-07. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  18. ^ "Herber Verlust für den FCRJ: Chagas wechselt zu Servette". Der Landbote. 22 December 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2018.