FC Vaduz

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

FC Vaduz

Full name

Fußball Club Vaduz

Nickname(s)

Founded

1932

Ground

Rheinpark Stadion
Vaduz, Liechtenstein

Capacity

4,548

Chairman

Hanspeter Negele

Manager

Mats Gren

League

Challenge League

2005-06

8th





Home colours





Away colours

FC Vaduz is a Liechtensteiner football team that plays in Vaduz. The club plays at the small Rheinpark Stadion, which has a capacity of 4,548. Vaduz also play in the Challenge League (formerly called Nationalliga B), the second tier of the Swiss league. In recent years Vaduz has been one of the best teams in the Challenge League and have given serious challenges towards promotion to the Axpo Super League. Vaduz came extremely close to promotion to the Axpo Super League in 2004 and 2005, playing two-leg play-offs in both cases. However, Vaduz finished in a disappointing 8th position in the Challenge League this season as a result of a very poor first half of the season.

Fußball Club Vaduz was founded on February 14, 1932 in Vaduz, and the club's first chairman was Johann Walser. In its first training match, which Vaduz played in Balzers on April 24 of that year, the newly-born team emerged as 2-1 winners. In 1933, Vaduz began playing in Switzerland. Over the years Vaduz struggled through the different tiers of Swiss football and won its first Liechtensteiner Cup in 1949. Vaduz enjoyed a lengthy stay in the Swiss first division from 1960 to 1973.

In 1992, Vaduz qualified for European football for the first time, entering the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup as Liechtenstein Cup winners but lost 1-12 on aggregate to FC Chornomorets Odesa of Ukraine. In 1996, Vaduz qualified for the next round with their first European victory, winning 5-3 on aggregate over FC Universitate Riga of Latvia, although Vaduz lost to Paris St-Germain of France 0-7 on aggregate in the next round. After the banishment of the Cup Winners' Cup, Vaduz regularly enter the UEFA Cup as a result of being the only fully professional side in Liechtenstein and therefore have won the Liechtenstein Cup 33 times. Vaduz's most recent Liechtensteiner Cup win came in 2006, when they beat FC Balzers 4-2 in the final, meaning Vaduz once again qualified for the UEFA Cup.

Vaduz literally came within less than one second of reaching the first round proper of the UEFA Cup in 2002. With the scores tied level at 0-0 and with opponents Livingston scheduled to go through on away goals, Vaduz won a late corner. The ball was sent into the box, and Marius Zarn hit a goal-bound shot. However, the referee blew the whistle for full-time before the ball crossed over the line, and Livingston progressed through in controversial circumstances.

In the last 3 years, FC Vaduz have reaching the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. The most recent campaign saw them lose to their near-neighbours Basel, also from the Swiss league, on away goals, despite a 2-1 victory at home.

Vaduz's current head coach is the Swede Mats Gren. The current chairman of Vaduz is Hanspeter Negele. Vaduz's uniforms are all red, which is their home kit, and all white, which is the away kit. Vaduz used to have many players from the Liechtensteiner national team, but most of these players have moved abroad, and now the majority of the first team squad are foreign players from different areas of the world.

[edit] Achievements

Liechtenstein football Cup: 35

1949, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1980, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006

[edit] Current Squad

as of 9th November, 2006.

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Gabriel Wüthrich
2	DF	Miguel Portillo
3	DF	Claude Gnakpa
4	DF	Daniel Hasler
5	MF	Luis Guillermo Alastra
6	DF	Carlos Javier Lopez
7	MF	Henrique Conrelio
8	MF	Christian Wieczorek
9	FW	Odirlei De Souza Gaspar
11	FW	Pape Omar Faye

No.	Position	Player
13	DF	Thomas Reinmann
15	MF	Michele Maggeti
18	GK	Carlos Alberto Silva
19	FW	Benjamin Fischer
20	MF	Yoann Langlet
21	DF	Marco Ritzberger
23	DF	Diren Akdemir
25	DF	Florian Sturm
29	FW	Juan Manuel Sara
30	MF	Bruno Sutter