Switzerland – changing the format of the championship again. The formula of the last two seasons was played for the last time and the first division was scheduled to increase the next year to 14 clubs. Thus, only one team was relegated this season from the top and three clubs were going up from second tier. The change hardly spurred most second-league clubs’ ambition: four clubs left the other 12 teams far behind, but 4 clubs were one too many. They finished tightly packed:
FC La Chaux-de-Fonds ended first with 43 points.
FC Luzern was second also with 43 points, but worse goal-difference.
Pastoral picture of FC Luzern, so indifferently peaceful, it was hard to believe these boys were going up – but they did, perhaps determined to prove the area was not just cows and grass. Returning to top flight, but not a team going the play a major role.
Third and forth were FC Lugano and FC Winterthur, both with 41 points. Winterthur had better goal-difference, but it did not count. Play-off match was scheduled instead. The regular time did not change anything and only in the extra-time Lugano scored a single golden goal. They went up at the expense of Winterthur.
Nothing new about the promoted clubs: all of them played first division football for years and were merely returning to their usual league.
Nationalliga A was another matter. Still the formula was of two-parts: a standard two-legged phase at first, followed by second stage when the top 6 of the first part played round robin championship for the title and the bottom 6 – the same, deciding relegation. All clubs carried half of the points they earned in the first stage to the second. The negative side of such formula was already observed – most clubs put a big effort in the first phase, trying to secure position among the top six. Then took it easy, just going through the motions. The relegation group was no different: at least two clubs started with too many points to really worry and at least had too few to really had a chance for escape. The idea of more competitive and exciting championship did not materialize, but it was difficult to run long championship with only 12 clubs – standard formula provided only 22 games a season. The 10 matches played in the second stage added games, but since most clubs were disinterested it was meaningless effort. Classic championship between 14 teams provided 26 matches, which was acceptable option. At hand was the current formula, though, and some things became clear in the first stage – four clubs sunk to the bottom early: Lausanne-Sports, Chiasso, Nordstern, and Sion. Chenois ended 8th, 7 points ahead of Lausanne-Sports, and Xamax was 7th, 2 points ahead of Chenois. Since only one team would be relegated, it was clear that not 6, but 4 clubs were to play seriously in the final stage.
The upper half was not different, only there the fight was to be for the title. Looked like Basel, Young Boys, and St. Gallen were not interested. Grasshopper disappointed a bit during the first stage – they were 3rd, but 3 points bellow the second. Servette finished second, with the best scoring record so far, but still trailing Zurich by 2 points. It looked like the final race will be between 2 and a half clubs… Zurich and Servette for sure and may be Grasshopper. There was illusion for more competitive final, though: entering with half of first stage points made all six quite equal starters: Zurich ended with 6 points more than the last three clubs in the first stage, but the difference was reduced to three for the start of second phase. Zurich entered with 16 points, Servette with 15, Grasshopper with 14 (benefiting by the rule of rounding to the higher number – they finished with 27 points the first stage), and the rest – with 13 points each. Everybody had a chance… on paper.
The relegation group proceeded as expected… the endangered clubs played seriously, those starting with vast advantage went through the motions, and one team proved too weak to last. Chenois did not lose a single match, but 7 of their 10 games ended tied. Lausanne-Sports, Chiasso, and Sion pulled themselves together and secured their safety.
Perhaps the most intriguing about these clubs was Jose Altafini – the 1958 World champion, now 40 years old, was leading the attack of Chiasso. May be that was why the modest club was able to stay in first division. The veteran arrived in 1976 from Juventus and still was not thinking of retirement: he stayed one more year with Chiasso, then moved to another Swiss club to play 2 more years.
Xamax did not care… they earned only 5 points and finished next to last. Not for a second they were in danger – they started with 12 points, which was twice the points Nordstern carried from the first stage.
First division football was too much for the small club from Basel. The city had not the size and the culture to support two strong clubs and inevitably Nordstern was a pariah. They did their best during the first stage and their best was good only for 11th place. No strength was left for the final stage… Nordstern managed to win a single match and tie one more. Three points… 9 in total. Xamax really did not have to get even a point to stay above. The brief encounter with top flight football ended miserably for Nordstern – they were going back to second league after a single season in first.