# 1981–82 Nationalliga A

Statistics of the Swiss National League in the 1981–82 football season, both Nationalliga A and Nationalliga B. This was the 85th season of top-tier and the 84th season of second-tier football in Switzerland.

## Overview

The Swiss Football Association (ASF/SFV) was expanded during the 1980–81 season from 28 to 32 member clubs. These were divided into two tiers of 16 teams each. The top tier was named Nationalliga A (NLA) and the second tier was named Nationalliga B (NLB).
The format in both divisions was that the teams played a double round-robin to decide their table positions. Each club playing every other club twice (home and away) for a total of 30 rounds. Two points were awarded for a win and one point was awarded for a draw. The Swiss champions would qualify for the 1982–83 European Cup, the runners-up and third placed team would qualify for the 1982–83 UEFA Cup. The last two placed teams in the NLA were relegated to the NLB for the following season. The top two placed teams in the NLB would be promoted to the top tier. The last three teams in the NLB were relegated to next season's 1. Liga and would be replaced by the best three teams from this season's 1. Liga.

## Nationalliga A

The top-tier, Nationalliga A (NLA), was contested by the top thirteen clubs from the previous season and three sides promoted from the second level 1980–81 Nationalliga B, these being Vevey-Sports, FC Aarau and FC Bulle. The first round was played on 15 August 1981. There was a winter break between 5 December and 27 February 1982. The season was completed on 9 June 1982.

### Teams, locations

| Team | Town | Canton | Position in 1980–81 | Stadium | Capacity |
| FC Aarau | Aarau | Aargau | 0152nd in NLB | Stadion Brügglifeld | 9,240 |
| FC Basel | Basel | Basel-Stadt | 0066th | St. Jakob Stadium | 36,800 |
| AC Bellinzona | Bellinzona | Ticino | 01212th | Stadio Comunale Bellinzona | 5,000 |
| FC Bulle | Bulle | Fribourg | 0163rd in NLB | Stade de Bouleyres | 7,000 |
| FC Chiasso | Chiasso | Ticino | 01313th | Stadio Comunale Riva IV | 4,000 |
| Grasshopper Club | Zürich | Zürich | 0022nd | Hardturm | 20,000 |
| Lausanne-Sports | Lausanne | Vaud | 0055th | Pontaise | 15,700 |
| FC Luzern | Lucerne | Lucerne | 0099th | Stadion Allmend | 25,000 |
| Neuchâtel Xamax | Neuchâtel | Neuchâtel | 0033rd | Stade de la Maladière | 25,500 |
| Nordstern Basel | Basel | Basel-Stadt | 00311th | Rankhof | 7,600 |
| FC St. Gallen | St. Gallen | St. Gallen | 01010th | Espenmoos | 11,000 |
| Servette | Geneva | Geneva | 0077th | Stade des Charmilles | 27,000 |
| FC Sion | Sion | Valais | 0088th | Stade de Tourbillon | 16,000 |
| FC Vevey-Sports | Vevey | Vaud | 0141st in NLB | Stade de Copet | 4,000 |
| Young Boys | Bern | Bern | 0044th | Wankdorf Stadium | 56,000 |
| FC Zürich | Zürich | Zürich | 001Champions | Letzigrund | 25,000 |

### Final league table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Grasshopper Club | 30 | 21 | 7 | 2 | 72 | 24 | +48 | 49 | Swiss champions, qualified for 1982–83 European Cup |
| 2 | Servette | 30 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 76 | 32 | +44 | 46 | Qualified for 1982–83 UEFA Cup |
| 3 | Zürich | 30 | 18 | 10 | 2 | 62 | 25 | +37 | 46 | Qualified for 1982–83 UEFA Cup and entered 1982 Intertoto Cup |
| 4 | Xamax | 30 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 67 | 30 | +37 | 45 | |
| 5 | Young Boys | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 52 | 40 | +12 | 39 | Entered 1982 Intertoto Cup |
| 6 | Sion | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 51 | 46 | +5 | 31 | Swiss Cup winners, qualified for 1982–83 Cup Winners' Cup |
| 7 | Aarau | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 51 | 55 | −4 | 28 | |
| 8 | Basel | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 47 | 51 | −4 | 28 | |
| 9 | Luzern | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 54 | 59 | −5 | 27 | Entered 1982 Intertoto Cup |
| 10 | St. Gallen | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 40 | 45 | −5 | 25 | Entered 1982 Intertoto Cup |
| 11 | Vevey-Sports | 30 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 44 | 57 | −13 | 23 | |
| 12 | Bellinzona | 30 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 34 | 66 | −32 | 21 | |
| 13 | Lausanne-Sport | 30 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 39 | 52 | −13 | 20 | |
| 14 | Bulle | 30 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 29 | 58 | −29 | 19 | |
| 15 | Nordstern Basel | 30 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 29 | 69 | −40 | 17 | Relegated to 1982–83 Nationalliga B |
| 16 | Chiasso | 30 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 25 | 63 | −38 | 16 | Relegated to 1982–83 Nationalliga B |

### Results

| Home \ Away | AAR | BAS | BEL | BUL | CHI | GCZ | LS | LUZ | NX | NOR | SER | SIO | STG | VEV | YB | ZÜR |
| Aarau | | 2–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 0–3 | 4–0 | 2–6 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 1–1 |
| Basel | 2–0 | | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 5–2 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| Bellinzona | 0–3 | 1–1 | | 3–1 | 5–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Bulle | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–6 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Chiasso | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | | 0–6 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–4 |
| Grasshopper Club | 3–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 5–2 | 2–0 | | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 |
| Lausanne-Sports | 2–2 | 2–3 | 5–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–5 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 |
| Luzern | 3–3 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | | 3–5 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 5–3 | 5–1 | 0–2 |
| Neuchâtel Xamax | 2–1 | 4–2 | 5–0 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | | 4–0 | 4–3 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Nordstern Basel | 0–1 | 3–4 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | | 0–2 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 0–3 |
| Servette | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | | 2–2 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 |
| Sion | 4–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 0–1 | | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| St. Gallen | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | | 5–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Vevey-Sports | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 5–2 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–0 | | 2–2 | 0–1 |
| Young Boys | 5–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 5–1 | | 3–0 |
| Zürich | 2–2 | 3–1 | 6–0 | 5–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 8–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | |

### Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Nat. | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Claudio Sulser | SUI | Grasshopper Club | 22 |
| 2 | Marc Schnyder | SUI | Servette | 16 |
| 3 | Jean-Paul Brigger | SUI | Sion | 15 |
| 3 | Lucien Favre | SUI | Servette | 15 |
| 3 | Angelo Elia | SUI | Servette | 15 |
| 6 | Walter Seiler | SUI | Zürich | 14 |
| 6 | Roger Hegi | SUI | Aarau | 14 |
| 8 | Ottmar Hitzfeld | FRG | Luzern | 13 |
| 9 | Franz Peterhans | SUI | Young Boys | 12 |
| 9 | Peter Risi | SUI | Luzern | 12 |
| 9 | Don Givens | IRL | Xamax | 12 |
| 9 | Walter Pellegrini | SUI | Xamax | 12 |
| 13 | Jurica Jerković | YUG | Zürich | 11 |
| 13 | Alfred Herberth | FRG | Aarau | 11 |
| 13 | Georges Bregy | SUI | Sion | 11 |
| 16 | Hans-Peter Zwicker | SUI | Zürich | 10 |
| 16 | Mustapha Yaghcha | MAR | Servette | 10 |
| 16 | Gerhard Ritter | AUT | St. Gallen | 10 |
| 16 | Claude Andrey | SUI | Xamax | 10 |

## Nationalliga B

The first round was played on 15 August 1981. There was a winter break between 5 December and 27 February 1982. The season was completed on 9 June 1982.

### Teams, locations

| Team | Town | Canton | Stadium | Capacity |
| FC Altstätten (St. Gallen) | Altstätten | St. Gallen | Grüntal Altstätten | 1,000 |
| FC Aurore Bienne | Biel/Bienne | Bern | Tilleul-Linde | 1,000 |
| FC Bern | Bern | Bern | Stadion Neufeld | 14,000 |
| FC Biel-Bienne | Biel/Bienne | Bern | Stadion Gurzelen | 15,000 |
| CS Chênois | Thônex | Geneva | Stade des Trois-Chêne | 8,000 |
| FC Frauenfeld | Frauenfeld | Thurgau | Kleine Allmend | 6,370 |
| FC Fribourg | Fribourg | Fribourg | Stade Universitaire | 9,000 |
| FC Grenchen | Grenchen | Solothurn | Stadium Brühl | 15,100 |
| FC Ibach | Ibach | Schwyz | Gerbihof | 3,300 |
| FC La Chaux-de-Fonds | La Chaux-de-Fonds | Neuchâtel | Centre Sportif de la Charrière | 12,700 |
| FC Locarno | Locarno | Ticino | Stadio comunale Lido | 5,000 |
| Lugano | Lugano | Ticino | Cornaredo Stadium | 6,330 |
| Mendrisiostar | Mendrisio | Ticino | Centro Sportivo Comunale | 4,000 |
| FC Monthey | Monthey | Valais | Stade Philippe Pottier | 1,800 |
| FC Wettingen | Wettingen | Aargau | Stadion Altenburg | 10,000 |
| FC Winterthur | Winterthur | Zürich | Schützenwiese | 8,550 |

### Final league table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Winterthur | 30 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 65 | 26 | +39 | 45 | Promoted to 1982–83 Nationalliga A |
| 2 | Wettingen | 30 | 17 | 10 | 3 | 60 | 29 | +31 | 44 | Promoted to 1982–83 Nationalliga A |
| 3 | Chênois | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 52 | 30 | +22 | 40 | |
| 4 | La Chaux-de-Fonds | 30 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 64 | 36 | +28 | 37 | |
| 5 | Grenchen | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 46 | 34 | +12 | 34 | |
| 6 | Mendrisiostar | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 45 | 53 | −8 | 34 | |
| 7 | Lugano | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 55 | 49 | +6 | 31 | |
| 8 | Locarno | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 54 | 40 | +14 | 30 | |
| 9 | Biel-Bienne | 30 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 51 | 47 | +4 | 30 | |
| 10 | Bern | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 45 | 57 | −12 | 26 | |
| 11 | Ibach | 30 | 6 | 13 | 11 | 36 | 47 | −11 | 25 | |
| 12 | Fribourg | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 37 | 47 | −10 | 24 | |
| 13 | Monthey | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 34 | 47 | −13 | 23 | |
| 14 | FC Aurore Bienne | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 26 | 64 | −38 | 22 | Relegated to 1982–83 1. Liga |
| 15 | FC Altstätten (St. Gallen) | 30 | 4 | 12 | 14 | 25 | 56 | −31 | 20 | Relegated to 1982–83 1. Liga |
| 16 | Frauenfeld | 30 | 3 | 9 | 18 | 26 | 59 | −33 | 15 | Relegated to 1982–83 1. Liga |

## Further in Swiss football

* 1981–82 Swiss Cup
* 1981–82 Swiss 1. Liga