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FC Aarau

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FC Aarau
Full nameFussball-Club Aarau
Nickname(s)Die Adler (The Eagles)
Founded1902; 122 years ago (1902)
GroundStadion Brügglifeld,
Aarau
Capacity9,249
ChairmanMarkus Mahler[1]
ManagerBrunello Iacopetta
LeagueSwiss Challenge League
2023–24Swiss Challenge League, 6th of 10
Websitefcaarau.ch
Current season

FC Aarau is a Swiss professional football club based in Aarau. Founded in 1902, the club competes in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football after being relegated from the Swiss Super League.

History

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Chart of FC Aarau table positions in the Swiss football league system

FC Aarau was formed on 26 May 1902 by workers from a local brewery. The early days of the club were a success and they won the Swiss championship in 1911–12 and then again in 1913–14. The club spent 25 years, from 1907 to 1933, in the top league but were relegated to the lower league and were unable to return to the top flight for a number of decades. In the 1980–81 season the club were able to return to the top league in the Swiss football pyramid after a 3–1 victory over Vevey-Sports. They have stayed there ever since and in the 1992–93 season they won the Swiss National League A managed by Austrian Rolf Fringer.

The club have also had success in the Swiss Cup finishing as runners up in 1930, 1989. In 1985 Aarau tasted their only victory in the Swiss Cup, coached by Ottmar Hitzfeld.

At the end of 2002 the club was almost in financial ruin. They were saved when the then Club President Michael Hunziker made 15,100 shares available to purchase. This succeeded in staving off the threat of liquidation.

Club structure

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On 7 January 2003, with the club on the brink of financial ruin, a total of 15,100 shares were issued for a total of 1,510,000 Swiss francs. A new holding company, FC Aarau Ltd, was set up to administer the club. FC Aarau Ltd are responsible for the implementation, organization and management of professional football games of the 1st XI and the performance of teams in the junior area. Since 2006 the old club FC Aarau 1902 has only been in charge of children's and women's teams.

The current President of FC Aarau Ltd is local entrepreneur Philipp Bonorand, who has been in charge since 26 May 2020. FC Aarau 1902 is looked after by Marcel Meier and Philipp Bonorand.

Former manager Urs Schönenberger stood down in 2006 and the role was assumed by his assistant manager Ruedi Zahner. Ruedi was born in Aarau and spent nine years at the club as a player in two separate spells. However his appointment only lasted a few months. During the winter break in the 2006/07 season Zahner was replaced by FC Baden coach Ryszard Komornicki on a temporary basis. However, with relegation looming Gilbert Gress was brought in with three games to go. The move was a success and the club gained 5 points from the remaining games and so escaped relegation by one point. Gilbert Gress decided not to renew his contract with the club and so former Polish international Ryszard Komornicki returned. He has signed a contract until Summer 2010 but was replaced in June 2009 by Jeff Saibene who didn't last long as he was sacked on 12 October after Aarau achieved only 5 points in 12 games.

Honours

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Leagues

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Cups

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Players

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Current squad

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As of 4 September 2024[2]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Switzerland SUI Marvin Hübel
2 DF Switzerland SUI Marco Thaler
4 DF Switzerland SUI Binjamin Hasani
5 DF Ghana GHA David Acquah
6 MF Switzerland SUI Izer Aliu
7 MF Egypt EGY Amr Khaled (on loan from Al Ahly)
8 MF Switzerland SUI Olivier Jäckle (Captain)
9 FW Switzerland SUI Yannick Toure
10 MF Switzerland SUI Valon Fazliu
11 MF Kosovo KOS Milot Avdyli
13 MF Guinea-Bissau GNB Ivo Candé
15 DF Switzerland SUI Serge Müller
17 FW Switzerland SUI Henri Koide
21 MF Switzerland SUI Noah Jakob
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 DF Switzerland SUI Lenny Janko
23 MF North Macedonia MKD Nikola Gjorgjev
24 FW Liberia LBR Emmanuel Ernest
25 MF Switzerland SUI Dorian Derbaci
27 DF Switzerland SUI Linus Obexer
29 DF Switzerland SUI Marcin Dickenmann
30 GK Switzerland SUI Andreas Hirzel
31 MF Netherlands NED Colin Odutayo
32 FW Paraguay PAR Raúl Bobadilla
38 DF Switzerland SUI Ryan Kessler
47 MF Mali MLI Mamadou Fofana
49 MF Switzerland SUI Esey Gebreyesus
77 GK Switzerland SUI Colin Hegner

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
14 DF Switzerland SUI Fabrice Suter (at Baden until 30 June 2025)
19 MF Switzerland SUI Silvan Schwegler (at Kriens until 30 June 2025)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF Switzerland SUI Flavio Caserta (at Kriens until 30 June 2025)

Stadium

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Aarau play their home games in Stadion Brügglifeld. The current capacity is 8'000 seats. The away supporters are housed behind one goal, to the right of where the players run out.

The stadium was opened on 12 October 1924 with a friendly game against local side FC Zürich. A new main stand was added in 1982 and in the 1990s the addition of a smaller grandstand and a complete renovation of the standing areas. The stadium is on the municipality of Suhr.

In 2008 the latest proposals were put forward for a new urban development to include a new home for FC Aarau. The Mittelland Arena, in the heart of Central Park in Aarau, should be used to cover 12,500 seats. On 25 September 2005 the proposal for the new development, including the football stadium and a shopping centre, were rejected by the people of Aarau in a referendum. FC Aarau Ltd and the city council are currently working on a new solution for the club as the current stadium is considered to be not good enough for top-flight football. The Swiss Football Association is unhappy at its use in the top flight.

Supporters

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FC Aarau supporters are known as a very passionate group, despite their relatively small numbers in comparison to many other teams in Switzerland. There are many fan groups but the most popular is known as Szene Aarau.

Rivalries

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Despite their close proximity to Zürich, Aarau fans have no dislike of either FC Zürich or Grasshopper Club Zürich. Their rivalries are with FC St. Gallen, FC Schaffhausen, FC Luzern and FC Baden. These are due to a number of historical reasons and the rivalry against FC Baden is also a local rivalry.[citation needed]

FC Aarau in Europe

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First Leg Date Second Leg Date Competition Opposition First Leg Second Leg Overall Result
18. September 1985 2 October 1985 Cup Winners Cup (1st round) FK Crvena Zvezda Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 0:2 (A) 2:2 (H) 2:4
7 September 1988 5 October 1988 UEFA Cup (1st round) 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig East Germany 0:3 (H) 0:4 (A) 0:7
18 August 1993 1 September 1993 Champions League (Qualification) Omonia Nicosia Cyprus 1:2 (A) 2:0 (H) 3:2
15 September 1993 29 September 1993 UEFA Champions League (1st round) AC Milan Italy 0:1 (H) 0:0 (A) 0:1
9 August 1994 23 August 1994 UEFA Cup (Qualification) NK Mura Slovenia 1:0 (H) 1:0 (A) 2:0
13 September 1994 27 September 1994 UEFA Cup (1st round) CS Marítimo Funchal Portugal 0:0 (H) 0:1 (A) 0:1
6 August 1996 20 August 1996 UEFA Cup (Qualification) FC Lantana Tallinn Estonia 4:0 (H) 0:2 (A) 4:2
10. September 1996 24. September 1996 UEFA Cup (1st round) Brøndby IF Denmark 0:5 (A) 0:2 (H) 0:7

Former players

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See also: Category:FC Aarau players

Former coaches

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See also: Category:FC Aarau managers

References

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  1. ^ "Aufbruchstimmung dank neuen Kräften". fcaarau.ch (in German). FC Aarau. 13 June 2023. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  2. ^ "1. Mannschaft" [1st team] (in German). FC Aarau. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
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