Servette
Full nameAssociation du
Servette Football Club
Nickname(s)Les Grenats (The Maroons)
Founded17 January 1900 (1900-01-17)
GroundStade de Genève
Capacity30,084
Owner1890 Foundation
ChairmanDidier Fischer
ManagerRené Weiler
LeagueSwiss Super League
2022–23Swiss Super League, 2nd of 10
WebsiteClub website

Servette FC is a Swiss professional football club based in Geneva, founded in March 1890 with rugby as its first sporting activity, and named after the Geneva district of the same name. The football section was created on 17 January 1900. They play in the Swiss Super League.

Servette is one of Switzerland's most successful clubs and the most successful Romandy club, winning 17 national titles, as well as 7 Swiss cups. Founded in 1890, the team has spent the majority of its history in the top flight of Swiss football, regularly contesting for the title. They are rivals with FC Lausanne-Sport and FC Sion.

However, after their last league title in 1999, Servette began experiencing financial problems, which led to a turbulent decade. The club was relegated to the third division in 2004–05 due to a bankruptcy, but achieved promotion to the Swiss Challenge League after the 2005–06 season, where the club remained until 2011. Servette earned promotion to the Swiss Super League after defeating Bellinzona in a relegation/promotion playoff on 31 May 2011. The club finished fourth in its first season back in the top flight, thereby gaining entrance to the Europa League second round qualification round for the 2012–13 season. However, they were relegated at the end of the 2013 season. They returned to the Swiss first tier in 2019, being promoted as Challenge League champions with a 15 points lead in front of the 2nd ranked FC Aarau.

History

Chart of FC Servette table positions in the Swiss football league system
FC Servette defender Jean-Claude Schindelholz with coach Béla Guttmann on a bus in Holland, 1966.

Early years to bankruptcy

Founded in 1890, Servette are one of the most prolific Swiss football clubs, having won 17 Swiss league championships and seven Swiss cups. Servette were also winners of the Torneo Internazionale Stampa Sportiva, one of the first international football competitions in the world, in 1908. In 1930, Servette organized the Coupe des Nations, predecessor of the UEFA Champions League.

The club was originally founded as the "Football Club de la Servette", a rugby football team based in the Genevan neighbourhood of the same name. Due to the dwindling popularity of this sport in Switzerland, a football section of the club was created, leading to its integration in the Swiss Football Association in 1900.[1]

Led by Umberto Barberis and Claude "Didi" Andrey, in 1978–1979 the club won all of the competitions it entered – with the exception of the European Cup Winners' Cup where they were eliminated in the quarter-finals on away goals by Fortuna Düsseldorf, that year's finalist. Barberis later became French champion in 1982 with AS Monaco.

Until its bankruptcy, Servette was the only Swiss club to have remained in the top league since its creation in 1890. Servette remained the only club to have never been relegated for sporting reasons, until they finished last in the 2012–2013 season.

Bankruptcy and revival

Old Servette FC Logo

On 4 February 2005, the parent company of the club was declared bankrupt.[2] It had run debts of over 10 million Swiss francs, having not paid the players since the previous November, and consequently the club suffered an exodus of players looking for paying clubs. As a consequence of the bankruptcy Servette Under 21s took over the club name playing two divisions below the original Servette team in 1. Liga, a fate already experienced by regional rivals Lausanne Sports in 2003, and continued to play at the Stade de Geneve in front of smaller crowds.

In the 2005–06 season, a rejuvenated Servette secured promotion to the Challenge League, the second highest division in Switzerland.

In the 2010–11 season, Servette finished 2nd in the Challenge League, thereby qualifying for a relegation/promotion play-off against Super League team AC Bellinzona. Servette lost the initial match in Bellinzona 1–0, but won the return match 3–1 and winning the tie 3–2 on aggregate, securing promotion to the Swiss Super League.[3]

2011 to present

During the Summer 2011 transfer window, Servette FC made very few signings, considering the club had been promoted from the second division to the Super League. Barroca, Issaga Diallo, Carlos Saleiro and Abdoulaye Fall (the latter failed to receive a work permit) were signed as permanent transfers,[4] in addition to Ishmael Yartey[5] and Roderick Miranda[6] joining the club on loan from Benfica. Costinha, a former Portugal international and Champions League winner with FC Porto, was appointed as the club's Sporting Director, after he had been previously fired by Lisbon-based Sporting CP. With a largely unchanged squad from their previous season in the second division, Servette achieved very impressive results in the first half of the season, including victories over FC Zurich, BSC Young Boys, Neuchatel Xamax, FC Lucerne, local rivals FC Lausanne-Sport and a 4–0 away win over arch-rivals FC Sion.[7] Despite achieving overall impressive results in the first half of the season, manager João Alves was fired, and was replaced by his compatriot João Pereira,[8] to the disappointment of many of Servette's supporters.

In December 2011, reports surfaced that Servette was unable to pay players' salaries, in addition to other expenses. In January 2012, one of the club's star performers and leading goalscorers, Matías Vitkieviez, was sold to Young Boys for only 150,000 CHF.[9] In February 2012, Servette filed for bankruptcy a second time. On 12 March 2012, chairman Majid Pishyar sold the club to a consortium headed by Hugh Quennec, president of the city's hockey club, Genève-Servette HC. The club was initially given one month to secure the funding necessary to come out of bankruptcy proceedings, and was successful in doing so. Pishyar remained as "honorary president" through the end of the 2011–12 season.[10]

In April 2012, the decision was made to reinstate manager João Alves, who had achieved promotion and impressive results in the first half of the season, and to fire his replacement João Pereira,[11] who had failed to improve the club's results. Alves' return immediately led to improved results, and the club finished the season's final five matches with four wins and one draw.[7] This included a 2–1 victory over FC Basel on the final day of the season, which ended a run of 17 consecutive losses against FC Basel dating back to 2001, as well as ending Basel's 26 match unbeaten streak.[12] The victory also meant that Servette secured fourth place in their first season back in Switzerland's top flight, granting Servette entry into the second round of qualifying for the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League. The season ended with further good news, as on 24 May 2012, the Swiss Football League granted Servette its license for the 2012–13 season,[13] thus marking the end of Servette's financial worries for the time being.

Servette announced that it would be preparing for the 2012–13 season with friendly matches against Thun, Shakhtar Donetsk, Yverdon-Sport, Étoile Carouge, Lausanne-Sport and Porto.[14] In the transfer market, Servette sold Stéphane Nater and Carlos Saleiro, while Ishmael Yartey and Roderick Miranda were recalled to Benfica from their loan spells. Servette bolstered its ranks by signing Geoffrey Tréand,[15] Alexandre Pasche,[16] Christopher Mfuyi,[17] Kevin Gissi,[18] Simone Grippo,[19] Mike Gomes,[20] and Samir Ramizi.[21] Servette also brought in Genséric Kusunga,[22] Steven Lang,[23] and Kelvin on loan for the season.

On 12 July 2012, it was confirmed that Servette would face Gandzasar FC in the second round of qualifying for the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League. The club won the tie 5–1, progressing to face Rosenborg BK in the third qualifier round, against whom they were eliminated on away goals. Servette's league campaign, meanwhile, went poorly, and the club was relegated (for sporting reasons) for the first time in its 113-year history in May 2013, following a 3–0 away defeat by relegation rivals FC Lausanne-Sport.[24]

On 14 July 2013, Servette began the 2013–14 season in the Swiss Challenge League with a 2–1 win at FC Wohlen.[25]

After finishing 2nd in the 2014–15 Swiss Challenge League, the Swiss Football League refused Servette FC a Challenge League licence meaning that Servette would play in the 1st Promotion League (third tier) during 2015–16.[26] In June 2015 the club held a press conference where it was revealed that Servette FC had new owners – 1890 Foundation – holding 100% of the capital stock of SFC SA.[27] At the same press conference it was declared that 1890 Foundation was a private foundation subject to scrutiny by the public supervisory authority.

While Kevin Cooper stayed on as coach, many players left. On 3 November 2015, Servette FC announced that Kevin Cooper had left the club and William Niederhauser and Thierry Cotting would be temporarily in charge of first team affairs.[28] In January 2016 the club announced that Anthony Braizat had taken charge of first team affairs.[29]

In 2018, Servette hired Alain Geiger as its manager and achieved promotion back to the Swiss Super League as the 2018–2019 Challenge League champions, with a 15 point lead in front of 2nd ranked FC Aarau.[30] For the first time in more than 15 years, the club has since enjoyed relative stability at the financial, managerial and sport levels, achieving a 4th place finish in the 2019–2020 Super League, a 3rd place in 2020–2021, a 6th place in 2021–2022 and even a 2nd place in 2022-2023, giving it for the first time a shot for the Champions League.

Stadium

The home ground of Servette is the Stade de Genève. It was inaugurated on 16 March 2003 after three years of construction. The opening match was played between Servette and Young Boys. With an all-seater capacity of 30,084, the Stade de Genève is the third largest stadium in Switzerland, and hosted three group matches in the 2008 European Football Championship.

Servette moved to the Stade de Genève from their old ground, the Stade des Charmilles, in 2003. The Charmilles was inaugurated on 28 June 1930, with the first game drawing a crowd of 14,000 on the first match of the Coupe des Nations. The official capacity peaked at 30,000, but a record 40,000 spectators managed to squeeze in for the international game between Switzerland and France on 14 October 1951. Flood lights were installed in 1977 and the stands were entirely covered in 1983. The capacity gradually diminished from the 1980s onward, first to 20,000 in 1985 and then to 9,250 in 1998 when the stadium became an all-seater.

Plans for a new stadium were first launched in 1984, in response to the Charmilles becoming increasingly outdated and run down. A project committee was established in 1992, which proposed to either rebuild the stadium over the course of four years or construct a new stadium elsewhere in Geneva. Meanwhile, with more substantial plans failing to materialize, the poor state of the old stadium became apparent when the main stand, the Tribune A, was declared unsafe in 1995 and closed off. A renovation project began the following year, which saw the main stand re-opened and seats eventually being installed throughout the stadium. Servette would secure another Swiss Championship and a Cup trophy while playing at the Charmilles, before construction on the new Stade de Genève finally commenced in 2000. The last match was played on 8 December 2002 in front of a capacity crowd.

Current squad

As of 2 September 2023[31]

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 Cyprus CYP Joël Mall
2 DF France FRA Moussa Diallo
3 DF Japan JPN Keigo Tsunemoto
4 DF Switzerland SUI Steve Rouiller
5 MF Cameroon CMR Gaël Ondoua
6 DF Guadeloupe GLP Anthony Baron
8 MF France FRA Timothé Cognat
9 MF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Miroslav Stevanović
10 MF Switzerland SUI Alexis Antunes
11 FW France FRA Boubacar Fofana
12 DF Switzerland SUI Issa Kaloga
17 MF Switzerland SUI Dereck Kutesa
18 DF Republic of the Congo CGO Bradley Mazikou
19 DF France FRA Yoan Severin
20 DF Switzerland SUI Théo Magnin
21 FW Switzerland SUI Jérémy Guillemenot
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 MF Denmark DEN Alexander Lyng
23 FW France FRA Ronny Rodelin
26 DF Switzerland SUI Noah Henchoz
27 FW France FRA Enzo Crivelli
28 MF France FRA David Douline
29 FW Ivory Coast CIV Chris Bedia
30 MF Senegal SEN Samba Lélé Diba
31 FW Ivory Coast CIV Tiemoko Ouattara
32 GK Switzerland SUI Jérémy Frick
44 GK Kosovo KOS Léo Besson
45 MF France FRA Hussayn Touati
68 DF Cameroon CMR Jérôme Onguéné (on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt)
77 DF Hungary HUN Bendegúz Bolla (on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers)
— DF Switzerland SUI Baba Souare

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK Switzerland SUI Edin Omeragić (at Stade Nyonnais until 30 June 2024)
— DF Kosovo KOS Valton Behrami (at Bellinzona until 1 January 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF Switzerland SUI Malik Sawadogo (at Stade Nyonnais until 30 June 2024)
— MF Ivory Coast CIV Sidiki Camara (at Stade Nyonnais until 30 June 2024)

Servette U21

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 Jules Tomas
3 DF Switzerland SUI Leart Zuka
4 DF Switzerland SUI Samuel Fankhauser
5 DF Switzerland SUI Mahir Rizvanovic
6 MF Switzerland SUI Jarell Simo
7 MF Switzerland SUI Maxim Leclercq
7 MF Switzerland SUI Vasco Tritten
8 MF Switzerland SUI Adriatik Salihi
8 MF Switzerland SUI Fred Annor-Mensah
8 FW Switzerland SUI Lois Adema
9 FW Switzerland SUI Luca Sesito
12 MF Switzerland SUI Ryan Guillaume
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 MF France FRA Rayan Benammar
14 FW Switzerland SUI Oussenyou Sene
16 DF France FRA Mae Clavel
16 FW Comoros COM Mhoumadi Aziahr
17 MF Switzerland SUI Patrick Weber
18 GK Switzerland SUI Marwan Aubert
18 GK Switzerland SUI Marcel Lapierre
19 FW France FRA Omar Daf
19 FW Switzerland SUI Alexandre Patricio
20 DF Switzerland SUI Loun Srdanovic
27 DF France FRA Christopher Routis

Notable former players

Staff

Manager

Assistant Coach

  • Bojan Dimic

Attacking Coach

  • Alexander Alfonso

Goalkeeper Coach

  • Daniel Blanco

Honours

European record

By competition

As of 15 August 2023
Competition Pld W D L GF GA
UEFA Champions League 24 6 8 10 36 44
UEFA Europa League 46 19 11 16 62 48
UEFA Europa Conference League 2 1 0 1 2 3
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 24 11 4 9 36 25
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 10 1 3 6 13 29
Total 106 38 26 42 149 149

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against. Defunct competitions indicated in italics.

Results

Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
1955-56 European Cup R1 Spain Real Madrid 0–2 0–5 0–7
1961-62 European Cup PR Malta Hibernians 5–0 2–1 7–1
R1 Czechoslovakia Dukla Prague 4–3 0–2 4–5
1962-63 European Cup PR Netherlands Feyenoord 1–3 3–1 4–4[note 1]
1963-64 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup R1 Czechoslovakia Spartak Brno 1–2 0–5 1–7
1964-65 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup R1 Spain Atlético Madrid 2–2 1–6 3–8
1965-66 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup R2 Sweden AIK 4–1 1–2 5–3
R3 West Germany 1860 Munich 1–1 1–4 2–5
1966-67 European Cup Winners' Cup R1 Finland Åbo IFK 1–1 2–1 3–2
R2 Netherlands Sparta Rotterdam 2–0 0–1 2–1
Quarter-finals Bulgaria Slavia Sofia 1–0 0–3 1–3
1967-68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup R1 West Germany 1860 Munich 2–2 0–4 2–6
1971-72 European Cup Winners' Cup R1 England Liverpool 2–1 0–2 2–3
1974-75 UEFA Cup R1 England Derby County 1–2 1–4 2–6
1976-77 European Cup Winners' Cup PR Wales Cardiff City 2–1 0–1 2–2(a)
1977-78 UEFA Cup R1 Spain Athletic Bilbao 1–0 0–2 1–2
1978-79 European Cup Winners' Cup R1 Greece PAOK 4–0 0–2 4–2
R2 France AS Nancy 2–1 2–2 4–3
Quarter-finals West Germany Fortuna Düsseldorf 1–1 0–0 1–1(a)
1979-80 European Cup R1 Belgium Beveren 3–1 1–1 4–2
R2 East Germany BFC Dynamo 2–2 1–2 3–4
1980-81 UEFA Cup R1 France Sochaux 2–1 0–2 2–3
1982-83 UEFA Cup R1 Luxembourg Progrès Niedercorn 3–0 1–0 4–0
R2 Poland Śląsk Wrocław 5–1 2–0 7–1
R3 Czechoslovakia Bohemians 2–2 1–2 3–4
1983-84 European Cup Winners' Cup R1 Luxembourg Avenir Beggen 4–0 5–1 9–1
R2 Soviet Union Shakhtar Donetsk 1–2 0–1 1–3
1984-85 European Cup Winners' Cup R1 Cyprus APOEL 3–1 3–0 6–1
R2 Greece AEL 0–1 1–2 1–3
1985-86 European Cup R1 Northern Ireland Linfield 2–1 2–2 4–3
R2 Scotland Aberdeen 0–0 0–1 0–1
1988-89 UEFA Cup R1 Austria Sturm Graz 1–0 0–0 1–0
R2 Netherlands Groningen 1–1 0–2 1–3
1993-94 UEFA Cup R1 Northern Ireland Crusaders 4–0 0–0 4–0
R2 France Bordeaux 0–1 1–2 1–3
1994-95 UEFA Champions League PR Romania Steaua București 1–1 1–4 2–5
1998-99 UEFA Cup QR2 Belgium KFC Germinal Ekeren 1–2 4–1 5–3
R1 Bulgaria CSKA Sofia 2–1 0–1 2–2(a)
1999-00 UEFA Champions League QR3 Austria Sturm Graz 2–2 1–2 3–4
UEFA Cup R1 Greece Aris 1–2 (a.e.t.) 1–1 2–3
2001-02 UEFA Cup R1 Czech Republic Slavia Prague 1–0 1–1 2–1
R2 Spain Zaragoza 1–0 0–0 1–0
R3 Germany Hertha BSC 0–0 3–0 3–0
R4 Spain Valencia 2–2 0–3 2–5
2002-03 UEFA Cup PR Armenia Spartak Yerevan 3–0 2–0 5–0
R1 Poland Amica Wronki 2–3 2–1 4–4(a)
2004-05 UEFA Cup QR2 Hungary Újpest 0–2 1–3 1–5
2012-13 UEFA Europa League QR2 Armenia Gandzasar 2–0 3–1 5–1
QR3 Norway Rosenborg 1–1 0–0 1–1(a)
2020-21 UEFA Europa League QR1 Slovakia Ružomberok 3–0 – 3–0[note 2]
QR2 France Stade de Reims 0–1 – 0–1[note 2]
2021-22 UEFA Europa Conference League QR2 Norway Molde 2–0 0–3 2–3
2023-24 UEFA Champions League QR2 Belgium Genk 1–1 2–2 (a.e.t.) 3–3 (4–1 p)
QR3 Scotland Rangers 1–1 1–2 2–3
UEFA Europa League GS Italy Roma
Czech Republic Slavia Prague
Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol

UEFA Team ranking

As of June 2023.[34]

RankTeamPoints
210Switzerland Lugano6.335
211Switzerland Luzern6.335
212Switzerland Servette6.335
213Switzerland St. Gallen6.335
214Switzerland Thun6.335

Managers

Source:[35]

Notes

  1. ↑ Feyenoord beat Servette 3–1 after extra time in a play–off in neutral ground to qualify for the first round.
  2. 1 2 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, all qualifying matches, including the play-off round, were played as single leg matches, hosted by one of the teams decided by draw.

References

  1. ↑ "Histoire du Servette FC". servettefc.ch.
  2. ↑ "Final curtain for Servette". UEFA. 16 February 2005.
  3. ↑ "Servette FC en Super League!" (in French). Tribune De Geneve. 31 May 2011. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012.
  4. ↑ "Conference de Press" (in French). Servette FC. 2 July 2012. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  5. ↑ "Yartey prêté par Benfica à Servette" [Yartey loaned to Servette by Benfica] (in French). Tribune De Geneve. 21 June 2011. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  6. ↑ "Roderick: "Servette, c'est une décision évidente"" [Roderick: Servette is an obvious choice] (in French). Tribune De Geneve. 6 September 2011. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014.
  7. 1 2 "Servette Football Club Calandrier 2011–12" (in French). Servette FC. 21 May 2012. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  8. ↑ "Servette remercie son entraineur" [Servette sacks its manager] (in French). 20 Minutes. 28 November 2011.
  9. ↑ "Vitkieviez à Young Boys" (in French). Le Matin. 16 January 2011.
  10. ↑ "Communiqué de presse" (in French). Servette FC. 8 March 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  11. ↑ "Surprise: Hugh Quennec rappelle Alves à la tête du Servette FC!" [Surprise: Hugh Quennec recalls Alves to the head of Servette FC!] (in French). Tribune De Geneve. 24 April 2012.
  12. ↑ "Extraordinaire apothéose pour un Servette follement européen" [Extraordinary climax for a wildly European Servette] (in French). Tribune De Geneve. 21 May 2012.
  13. ↑ "Le Servette FC obtient sa licence 2012–2013" [Servette FC obtains its 2012–13 license] (in French). Tribune De Geneve. 24 May 2012.
  14. ↑ "Calendrier 2012–13" (in French). Servette FC. 11 June 2012. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  15. ↑ "Servette: Tréand a signé pour trois ans" (in French). Tribune De Geneve. 18 June 2012.
  16. ↑ "Alexandre Pasche signe à Servette pour trois ans" (in French). Le Matin. 20 June 2012.
  17. ↑ "Mfuyi de retour pour 2 saisons" (in French). Servette FC. 21 June 2012. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014.
  18. ↑ "Kevin Gissi en grenat pour une saison". Servette FC. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013.
  19. ↑ "Le Servette FC engage le milieu Simone Grippo pour les trois prochaines saisons" (in French). RTS.ch. 16 July 2012.
  20. ↑ "Mike Gomes rejoint le Servette FC" (in French). Servette. 24 July 2012. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014.
  21. ↑ "Samir Ramizi en grenat pour 3 saisons" (in French). Servette. 24 July 2012. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014.
  22. ↑ "Kusunga redevient Servettien" (in French). Le Matin. 25 June 2012.
  23. ↑ "Lang suit Pasche à Servette" (in French). Le Matin. 29 June 2012.
  24. ↑ "Triste sort pour Servette, relégué en Challenge League" (in French). Tribune de Geneve. 29 May 2013.
  25. ↑ "Wohlen vs. Servette 1–2". Soccerway. 13 July 2013.
  26. ↑ "Servette FC booted from local league". The Local. 2 June 2015.
  27. ↑ "Servette FC press conference 17.06.2015". Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  28. ↑ "Servette FC news release 03.11.2015". Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  29. ↑ "Servette FC news release, 18.01.2016". Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  30. ↑ "Detailrangliste". Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  31. ↑ "Effectif". Servette FC (in French). 29 November 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  32. ↑ García, Javier (2009). "International Tournaments (Paris) 1904–1935: Tournoi de Pentecôte de Paris". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  33. ↑ "Fair Play Trophy geht nach Genf und Vaduz". 14 June 2023.
  34. ↑ "Club coefficients | UEFA Coefficients". UEFA.com.
  35. ↑ "SERVETTE F. C. – Trainer" (PDF). Super-Servette. Retrieved 7 April 2008.
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