Switzerland – ranked 20th. This country settled for the unusual in Europe two-phased championship and this season brought a surprise: two traditionally strong leading clubs were relegated from the top league. Meantime one of the traditionally unsuccessful clubs enjoyed its best period and won a second consecutive title.
36 teams played in the 2 top leagues – 12 in First Division and the rest divided into 2 groups of Second Division. The first phase, a standard league championship, only determined where every team will continue in the final stage. The top 8 teams of the First Division continued to play for the title. The bottom 4 plus the top 6 teams of each Second Division group went to promotion/relegation tournament, played also in two groups. The top 2 teams each group were to start in the first stage of First Division, either remaining or promoted. The rest were to start in the Second Division. The last 4 teams in the first stage of Second Division played relegation stage – again divided into groups in which the best 4 teams from Third Division. Since the second championship phase started with clean sheets, little matters how the first stage ended, except for final positions: FC Sion, FC Bellinzona, FC Basel, and FC Zurich were the last 4 in the top league and went to the relegation/promotion group. The rest were going to play for the title. Second Division teams in the promotion/relegation groups will be noted as we go.
The Second Division teams unable to reach the promotion/relegation stage and having to play for survival against Third Division clubs almost nothing deserves further talk.
Winterthur was perhaps the best known club there – they finished 8th in the first stage of the Second Division East Group and later took 2nd place in promotion/relegation Group B, thus preserving Second Division spot. Top row from left: Sepp Roth, Rolf Müller, Norbert Schneider, Hans Franz, André von Niederhäusern, Jürg Hofmann.
Middle row: Ernst Rutschmann (Trainer), René Rüegg, Vladimir Jakovljev, Levent Kusogullari, Daniel Hermann, Paul Hollenstein (Masseur), Ernst Rief (Pfleger).
Front row: Beat Meier, Rafael Chèlos, Marcel Rapp, Giuseppe Assirati, Roland Käser, Urs Isler.
Enough said.
Promotion/relegation stage. Group A – two teams proved much weaker than the rest and one – much stronger. So, 5 teams fought of one First Division spot. BSC Old Boys (Basel, 6th in the first stage of Second Division East Group) ended last with 6 points. Etoile-Carouge FC (1st in the first stage of Second Division West Group) finished 7th with 9 points. FC Bulle (3rd in the first stage of Second Division West Group) ended 6th with 14 points.
What a surprise… FC Basel ( 11th the first stage of First Division) took 5th place with 15 points and was… relegated! FC Basel? One of the leading clubs?
ES Malley (5th in the first stage of Second Division West Group) clinched 4th position with 15 points, but better goal-difference than FC Basel – and remained in Second Division. FC Schaffhaused (4th in the first stage of Second Division East Group) ended 3rd also with 15 points – it was one of their better seasons, but also a season of dying hopes.
AC Bellinzona (10th in the first stage of First Division) clinched 2nd place with 17 points and remained in First Division for the next season.
FC Wettingen (2nd in the first stage of Second Division East Group) was splendid in the most important second stage: they won 11 games and lost 3, scored 32 goals, received 16, and finished with 22 points – 5 ahead of Bellinzona. Thus, they were promoted to the top league.
Group B. FC Locarno (3rd in the first stage of Second Division East Group) was last with 6 points. FC Martigny-Sports (6th in the first stage of Second Division West Group) was 7th with 8th points.
And the second bomb of the season: FC Zurich (last in the first stage of First Division) was outsider even at this stage: 6th with 9 points and relegated. Who would believe it 10 years earlier?
FC Chiasso (5th in the first stage of Second Division East Group) ended 5th with 11 points. CS Chenois (4th in the first stage of Second Division West Group) was 4th with 14 points. FC Grenchen (2nd in the first stage of Second Division West Group) finished 3rd with 15 points.
FC Sion (9th in the first stage of First Division) pulled itself together and left no doubt of their determination to keep top league place: 2nd with 23 points. They scored 49 goals in 14 games and allowed only 14 – the best record at this stage.
AC Lugano (1st in the first stage of Second Division East Group) bested FC Sion with remarcable performance: 13 wins and 1 loss. 47-15 and 26 points. Promotion was on their minds and they achieved it.
So, AC Lugano, FC Sion, FC Wettingen, and AC Bellinzona were going to at least start in the First Division next season – all of them had played top league football often, but presently 2 teams kept their top league place and 2 were promoted.