Watching football in Switzerland
Swiss football
Why go to Switzerland? The country
The summer of 2008 put Switzerland firmly on the football map - for a month at least. As joint host of Euro 2008 it took centre stage and this country at the very centre of continent welcomed hundreds of thousands of footballing fans. Some of them even had tickets...
It wasn't even the first time Switzerland has hosted a major tournament. Flick back to 1954 World Cup - go on, you remember it well - and it was the Germans who grabbed their first ever major trophy.
Standing room only: The Euros attracted hundreds of thousands of fans - and a few bemused locals - to FanZones. This was Zurich.
Sadly but not surprisingly the Swiss went out at the group stage in 2008. And whilst this is never going to be the most passionate football country you'll ever set foot in, they rose to the occasion and put on a show to remember.
At the tournament end Switzerland returns to the sidelines of European football, making fleeting appearances in the early rounds of competitions but never threatening the established order.
That is not to say it hasn't had its moments. Whilst no Swiss side has ever made it to a European final they have come mighty close - FC Zurich have been edged out of the European Cup at the semi-final stage twice.
For 2008-9 the domestic league welcomes Vaduz of neighbouring Liechtenstein into its premier domestic competition the Swiss Super League - competing against the major sides of champions FC Basel, BSC Young Boys in Berne plus the big two from Zurich.
It promises to be fascinating league this time as there are teams from the German, French and Italian speaking parts of the country as well as Liechtenstein.
This season a grand total of six of the ten Swiss Super League will be playing in Europe - the winners in the Champions League with second placed YBs Bern and third FC Zurich in UEFA. Grasshoppers squeak into the Intertoto for finishing fourth, and losing cup finalists AC Bellinzona make UEFA as the winners were Basel. Vaduz make it six and qualify for UEFA too after winning the Liechtenstein Cup for the umpteenth time. That's 60 per cent of the league, the best ratio in Europe (thanks to Danbasel's Weblog for some of the info above!)
The redevelopment of grounds in Zurich, Basel, Berne and Geneva for Euro 2008 has given the national scene a real boost and who knows, their sides may spring a few shocks in years to come.
Picture postcard stuff: You're never far from the Swiss countryside.
Mix in stunning Swiss scenery, cowbells and all, and a laid-back welcoming city lifestyle, it's worth taking in a Swiss game. And although the country is on the pricier side to visit, attending games need not break the bank.
When's kick off? Season and match kick off times
Football's a game of two halves as we all know and the Swiss Super League is very much a season of two halves.
Ten times battle it out for the title and play each other four times, as in Scotland. It all kicks off in 2008 not long after the Euro bandwagon has rolled out of town - Friday, July 18 when Basel take on YB Bern.
Everybody plays everybody else home and away once until breaking in early December. Then there's a whopping two month break to enjoy the Swiss scenery before the teams do it all again from early February. The season wraps up in mid May.
Weekend matches are spread over Saturday and Sunday, with Saturday kick offs at 5.45pm and Sunday starts at 4pm. There are very occasional Friday night kick offs at 7.45pm.
Midweek fixtures are squeezed into the programme and are spread over Wednesday and Thursday, with 7.45pm kick off times.
Out of our league: The 2008-9 clubs
You'll find Eurofootballcities guides on the following clubs:
Click here for a Google map of Swiss Super League teams for the 2008/9 season. You'll spot there are only nine venues - the two Zurich clubs are groundsharing right now.
Check out these club websites for the following 2008/9 Swiss Super League clubs. They are virtually all in their native tongue - be they German, French or Italian. The only one in english is Vaduz.
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