# 2008–09 Swiss Super League

The 2008–09 Swiss Super League was the 112th season of top-tier football in Switzerland. The competition was officially named AXPO Super League due to sponsoring purposes. It began on 18 July 2008 with a match between Young Boys Bern and reigning champions FC Basel, which the latter won by 2–1. The last matches were played in May 2009.

## Teams

FC Thun were relegated after finishing in 10th and last place in 2007–08 Swiss Super League. They were replaced by Challenge League 2007–08 champions FC Vaduz, who are the first team from Liechtenstein participating in Switzerland's top football league.
9th placed FC St. Gallen and Challenge League runners-up AC Bellinzona competed in a two-legged relegation play-off after the end of last season. Bellinzona won 5–2 on aggregate and thus earned promotion, while St. Gallen were relegated.
| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| FC Basel | Basel | St. Jakob-Park | 42,500 |
| BSC Young Boys | Bern | Wankdorf | 31,783 |
| FC Zürich | Zürich | Letzigrund | 23,605 |
| Grasshopper Club Zürich | Zürich | Letzigrund | 23,605 |
| FC Sion | Sion | Stade Tourbillon | 16,500 |
| FC Luzern | Lucerne | Stadion Allmend | 13,000 |
| Neuchâtel Xamax | Neuchâtel | Stade de la Maladière | 12,000 |
| FC Aarau | Aarau | Stadion Brügglifeld | 9,249 |
| AC Bellinzona | Bellinzona | Stadio Comunale Bellinzona | 8,740 |
| FC Vaduz | Vaduz | Rheinpark Stadion | 6,127 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Zürich (C) | 36 | 24 | 7 | 5 | 80 | 36 | +44 | 79 | Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round |
| 2 | Young Boys | 36 | 22 | 7 | 7 | 85 | 46 | +39 | 73 | Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Basel | 36 | 22 | 6 | 8 | 72 | 44 | +28 | 72 | Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round |
| 4 | Grasshopper | 36 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 57 | 48 | +9 | 50 | |
| 5 | Aarau | 36 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 35 | 51 | −16 | 44 | |
| 6 | Bellinzona | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 44 | 51 | −7 | 43 | |
| 7 | Neuchâtel Xamax | 36 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 50 | 57 | −7 | 40 | |
| 8 | Sion | 36 | 9 | 10 | 17 | 44 | 60 | −16 | 37 | Qualification to Europa League play-off round |
| 9 | Luzern (O) | 36 | 9 | 8 | 19 | 45 | 62 | −17 | 35 | Qualification to relegation play-off |
| 10 | Vaduz (R) | 36 | 5 | 7 | 24 | 28 | 85 | −57 | 22 | Relegation to Swiss Challenge League |
* ↑ Sion won the 2008–09 Swiss Cup and thereby qualified for the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League.
* ↑ Being a Liechtenstein club, Vaduz are not eligible for qualification to European competitions via the Swiss league system. They did, however, qualify for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League by winning their domestic 2008–09 Liechtenstein Cup.

## Results

Teams play each other four times in this league. In the first half of the season each team played every other team twice (home and away) and then do the same in the second half of the season.

## Relegation play-offs

FC Lucern as 9th-placed team of the Super League were played a two-legged play-off against Challenge League runners-up AC Lugano.
Luzern won 5–1 on aggregate.

## Top goalscorers

Updated on 24 May 2009; Source: football.ch (in German)
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Seydou Doumbia | BSC Young Boys | 20 |
| 2 | Almen Abdi | FC Zürich | 19 |
| 3 | Eric Hassli | FC Zürich | 17 |
| 4 | Alexandre Alphonse | FC Zürich | 13 |
| 4 | Joetex Asamoah Frimpong | FC Lucerne | 13 |
| 6 | Scott Chipperfield | FC Basel | 12 |
| 7 | Mauro Lustrinelli | AC Bellinzona | 11 |
| 7 | João Paiva | FC Lucerne | 11 |
| 7 | Olivier Monterrubio | FC Sion | 11 |
| 10 | Benjamin Huggel | FC Basel | 10 |
| 10 | Ideye Aide Brown | Neuchâtel Xamax | 10 |
| 10 | Mario Raimondi | BSC Young Boys | 10 |

## Awards

* Super League Player of the Year: Seydou Doumbia (BSC Young Boys)
* Goal of the Year: Fabian Frei (FC Basel, scored against FC Aarau)
* Coach of the Year: Bernard Challandes (FC Zürich)
* Youngster of the Year: Valentin Stocker (FC Basel)
* Fair Play Trophy: FC Aarau