# 1998–99 in Swiss football

The following is a summary of the 1998–99 season of competitive football in Switzerland.

## Nationalliga A
### Qualification phase

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Servette | 22 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 38 | 24 | +14 | 44 | Advance to championship round halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 2 | Grasshopper Club | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 37 | 25 | +12 | 38 | Advance to championship round halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 3 | Zürich | 22 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 33 | 21 | +12 | 38 | Advance to championship round halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 4 | Lausanne-Sport | 22 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 36 | 33 | +3 | 38 | Advance to championship round halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 5 | Xamax | 22 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 30 | 23 | +7 | 32 | Advance to championship round halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 6 | Basel | 22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 21 | 34 | −13 | 28 | Advance to championship round halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 7 | Luzern | 22 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 26 | 25 | +1 | 27 | Advance to championship round halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 8 | St. Gallen | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 27 | Advance to championship round halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 9 | Sion | 22 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 22 | 36 | −14 | 23 | Continue to promotion/relegation round |
| 10 | Lugano | 22 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 35 | 43 | −8 | 22 | Continue to promotion/relegation round |
| 11 | Young Boys | 22 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 33 | 34 | −1 | 19 | Continue to promotion/relegation round |
| 12 | Aarau | 22 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 28 | 41 | −13 | 16 | Continue to promotion/relegation round |

### Championship round

The first eight teams of the qualification phase competed in the Championship round. The teams took half of the points (rounded up to complete units) gained in the qualification as bonus with them.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Servette | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 19 | 14 | +5 | 22 | 46 | Swiss champions, qualified for Champions League third qualifying round |
| 2 | Grasshopper Club | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 31 | 11 | +20 | 19 | 46 | qualified for UEFA Cup qualifying round |
| 3 | Lausanne-Sport | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 28 | 20 | +8 | 19 | 45 | Swiss Cup winners, qualified for UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Zürich | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 24 | 15 | +9 | 19 | 42 | qualified for UEFA Cup qualifying round |
| 5 | Basel | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 19 | −1 | 14 | 33 | qualified for Intertoto Cup first round |
| 6 | Xamax | 14 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 27 | −15 | 16 | 28 | qualified for Intertoto Cup first round |
| 7 | Luzern | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 27 | −14 | 14 | 28 | |
| 8 | St. Gallen | 14 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 25 | −12 | 14 | 24 | |

## Nationalliga B
### Qualification phase

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Wil | 22 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 45 | 27 | +18 | 43 | Advance to promotion/relegation NLA/LNB round |
| 2 | Delémont | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 43 | 27 | +16 | 40 | Advance to promotion/relegation NLA/LNB round |
| 3 | Étoile Carouge | 22 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 29 | 19 | +10 | 40 | Advance to promotion/relegation NLA/LNB round |
| 4 | Yverdon-Sport | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 33 | 28 | +5 | 37 | Advance to promotion/relegation NLA/LNB round |
| 5 | Schaffhausen | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 36 | 31 | +5 | 35 | Continue to relegation round NLB/1. Liga halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 6 | Kriens | 22 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 30 | 29 | +1 | 34 | Continue to relegation round NLB/1. Liga halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 7 | Locarno | 22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 21 | 26 | −5 | 28 | Continue to relegation round NLB/1. Liga halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 8 | Thun | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 28 | 33 | −5 | 25 | Continue to relegation round NLB/1. Liga halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 9 | Stade Nyonnais | 22 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 33 | 36 | −3 | 22 | Continue to relegation round NLB/1. Liga halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 10 | Baden | 22 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 31 | 36 | −5 | 22 | Continue to relegation round NLB/1. Liga halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 11 | Solothurn | 22 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 27 | 40 | −13 | 18 | Continue to relegation round NLB/1. Liga halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 12 | Chiasso | 22 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 38 | −24 | 15 | Continue to relegation round NLB/1. Liga halved points (rounded up) as bonus |

### Promotion/relegation group NLA/NLB

The teams in the ninth to twelfth positions in Nationalliga A competed with the top four teams of Nationalliga B in a Nationalliga A/B promotion/relegation round.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Lugano | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 10 | +9 | 29 | Remain in NLA |
| 2 | Delémont | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 23 | 20 | +3 | 23 | Promoted to NLA |
| 3 | Yverdon-Sport | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 22 | 17 | +5 | 21 | Promoted to NLA |
| 4 | Aarau | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 20 | Remain in NLA |
| 5 | Sion | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 16 | 17 | −1 | 19 | Relegated to NLB |
| 6 | Young Boys | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 25 | 31 | −6 | 17 | Relegated to NLB |
| 7 | Wil | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 26 | 30 | −4 | 16 | Remain in NLB |
| 8 | Étoile Carouge | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 18 | 24 | −6 | 15 | Remain in NLB |

### Relegation group NLB/1. Liga

The last eight teams of the qualification phase competed in the relegation group against relegation to the 1. Liga. The teams took half of the points (rounded up to complete units) gained in the qualification as bonus with them.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Baden | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 25 | 18 | +7 | 11 | 36 | Remain in NLB |
| 2 | Thun | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 30 | 20 | +10 | 13 | 35 | Remain in NLB |
| 3 | Stade Nyonnais | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 29 | 22 | +7 | 11 | 35 | Remain in NLB |
| 4 | Kriens | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 19 | 18 | +1 | 17 | 35 | Remain in NLB |
| 5 | Schaffhausen | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 15 | 25 | −10 | 18 | 32 | Remain in NLB |
| 6 | Solothurn | 14 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 20 | 19 | +1 | 9 | 30 | Remain in NLB |
| 7 | Locarno | 14 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 29 | −15 | 14 | 26 | Relegated to 1. Liga |
| 8 | Chiasso | 14 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 14 | 15 | −1 | 8 | 24 | Relegated to 1. Liga |

## 1. Liga
### Group 1

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | FC Echallens | 26 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 51 | 15 | +36 | 61 | Play-off to Nationalliga B |
| 2 | Vevey Sports | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 57 | 34 | +23 | 49 | Play-off to Nationalliga B |
| 3 | FC Bex | 26 | 14 | 4 | 8 | 51 | 37 | +14 | 46 | |
| 4 | FC Meyrin | 26 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 58 | 44 | +14 | 43 | |
| 5 | FC Naters | 26 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 41 | 34 | +7 | 42 | |
| 6 | CS Chênois | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 36 | 27 | +9 | 40 | |
| 7 | FC Martigny-Sports | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 54 | 52 | +2 | 36 | |
| 8 | Grand-Lancy FC | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 32 | 36 | −4 | 32 | |
| 9 | FC Renens | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 31 | |
| 10 | Signal FC | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 39 | 57 | −18 | 31 | |
| 11 | FC Stade Lausanne | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 40 | 48 | −8 | 30 | |
| 12 | FC Montreux-Sports | 26 | 7 | 4 | 15 | 27 | 47 | −20 | 25 | Play-out against relegation |
| 13 | FC Monthey | 26 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 45 | −24 | 20 | Relegation to 2. Liga |
| 14 | FC Bramois | 26 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 29 | 60 | −31 | 19 | Relegation to 2. Liga |

### Group 2

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | FC Fribourg | 26 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 69 | 28 | +41 | 59 | Play-off to Nationalliga B |
| 2 | FC Münsingen | 26 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 58 | 24 | +34 | 55 | Play-off to Nationalliga B |
| 3 | FC Serrières | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 51 | 26 | +25 | 52 | |
| 4 | FC Biel-Bienne | 26 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 42 | 25 | +17 | 48 | |
| 5 | FC Grenchen | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 49 | 30 | +19 | 44 | |
| 6 | FC Bulle | 26 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 35 | 40 | −5 | 36 | |
| 7 | FC La Chaux-de-Fonds | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 27 | 41 | −14 | 32 | |
| 8 | SC Bümpliz 78 | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 27 | 41 | −14 | 31 | |
| 9 | SV Lyss | 26 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 26 | 39 | −13 | 27 | |
| 10 | SV Muttenz | 26 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 31 | 47 | −16 | 26 | |
| 11 | FC Concordia Basel | 26 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 33 | 43 | −10 | 24 | |
| 12 | FC Colombier | 26 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 29 | 41 | −12 | 23 | Play-out against relegation |
| 13 | FC Riehen | 26 | 6 | 4 | 16 | 33 | 67 | −34 | 22 | Relegation to 2. Liga |
| 14 | FC Köniz | 26 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 30 | 48 | −18 | 19 | Relegation to 2. Liga |

### Group 3

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | AC Bellinzona | 26 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 76 | 22 | +54 | 67 | Play-off to Nationalliga B |
| 2 | SC Buochs | 26 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 66 | 37 | +29 | 54 | Play-off to Nationalliga B |
| 3 | FC Schötz | 26 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 63 | 38 | +25 | 42 | |
| 4 | FC Sursee | 26 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 42 | 48 | −6 | 40 | |
| 5 | FC Wangen bei Olten | 26 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 46 | 42 | +4 | 39 | |
| 6 | FC Red Star Zürich | 26 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 34 | 30 | +4 | 36 | |
| 7 | FC Altstetten | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 38 | 41 | −3 | 34 | |
| 8 | Zug 94 | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 33 | 41 | −8 | 33 | |
| 9 | FC Malcantone Agno | 26 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 32 | 37 | −5 | 32 | |
| 10 | FC Ascona | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 39 | 48 | −9 | 29 | |
| 11 | SC Young Fellows Juventus | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 27 | 38 | −11 | 28 | |
| 12 | FC Küsnacht | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 30 | 50 | −20 | 26 | Play-out against relegation |
| 13 | GC Biaschesi | 26 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 23 | 47 | −24 | 19 | Relegation to 2. Liga |
| 14 | FC Muri | 26 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 19 | 49 | −30 | 18 | Relegation to 2. Liga |

### Group 4

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | FC Winterthur | 26 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 98 | 12 | +86 | 67 | Play-off to Nationalliga B |
| 2 | FC Vaduz | 26 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 49 | 32 | +17 | 50 | Play-off to Nationalliga B |
| 3 | FC Rapperswil-Jona | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 44 | 38 | +6 | 40 | |
| 4 | FC Tuggen | 26 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 42 | 34 | +8 | 39 | |
| 5 | FC Rorschach | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 35 | 50 | −15 | 38 | |
| 6 | FC Frauenfeld | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 43 | 38 | +5 | 37 | |
| 7 | FC Horgen | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 42 | 49 | −7 | 35 | |
| 8 | FC Kreuzlingen | 26 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 28 | 35 | −7 | 31 | |
| 9 | SV Schaffhausen | 26 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 22 | 33 | −11 | 31 | |
| 10 | FC Widnau | 26 | 5 | 13 | 8 | 26 | 44 | −18 | 28 | |
| 11 | FC Freienbach | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 37 | 56 | −19 | 28 | |
| 12 | FC Gossau | 26 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 42 | 43 | −1 | 26 | Play-out against relegation |
| 13 | SC Veltheim | 26 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 35 | 46 | −11 | 24 | Relegation to 2. Liga |
| 14 | FC Wetzikon | 26 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 18 | 51 | −33 | 19 | Relegation to 2. Liga |

### Promotion play-off
#### Qualification round

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Winterthur | 0–0 | Buochs |
| Buochs | 0–4 | Winterthur |
Winterthur win 4–0 on aggregate and continue to the finals.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Vevey Sports | 0–0 | Fribourg |
| Fribourg | 2–4 | Vevey Sports |
Vevey Sports win 4–2 on aggregate and continue to the finals.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Münsingen | 1–1 | FC Echallens |
| FC Echallens | 1–2 | Münsingen |
Münsingen win 3–2 on aggregate and continue to the finals.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Bellinzona | 3–0 | Vaduz |
| Vaduz | 0–2 | Bellinzona |
Bellinzona win 5–0 on aggregate and continue to the finals.

#### Final round

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Winterthur | 3–0 | Münsingen |
| Münsingen | 1–0 | Winterthur |
Winterthur win 3–1 on aggregate and are promoted to Nationalliga B.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Bellinzona | 9–0 | Vevey Sports |
| Vevey Sports | 0–5 | Bellinzona |
Bellinzona win 14–0 on aggregate and are promoted to Nationalliga B.

### Relegation play-out
#### First round

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Montreux-Sports | 1–3 | Colombier |
Montreux-Sports continue to the final.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Küsnacht | 1–3 | Gossau |
Küsnacht continue to the final.

#### Final round

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Montreux-Sports | 1–2 | Küsnacht |
| Küsnacht | 4–0 | Montreux-Sports |
Küsnacht win 6–1 on aggregate. Montreux-Sports are relegated to 2. Liga.

## Swiss Cup

The route of the finalists to the final:
* Round five: FC Bulle-LS 1–5. FC Winterthur-GC 1–2.
* Round six: FC Wil-LS 1–4. Stade Nyonnais-GC 1–1 a.e.t. 2–4 after penalties.
* Quarter-finals: SR Delémont-LS 1–2. FC Luzern-GC 1–2.
* Semi-finals: Servette FC-LS 0–1. FC Red Star Zürich-GC 0–7.
The winners of the first drawn semi-final is considered as home team in the final.

### Final
## Swiss Clubs in Europe

* Grasshopper Club as 1997–98 Nationalliga A champions: Champions League first qualifying round
* Servette as runners-up: UEFA Cup second qualifying round
* Zürich as fourth placed team: UEFA Cup second qualifying round
* Lausanne-Sport as 1997–98 Swiss Cup winners: Cup Winners' Cup qualifying round
* Sion: Intertoto Cup first round
* St. Gallen: Intertoto Cup first round
* Vaduz as 1997–98 Liechtenstein Cup winners: Cup Winners' Cup qualifying round

### Grasshoppers
#### Champions League
##### First qualifying round

Grasshopper won 8–0 on aggregate.

##### Second qualifying round

Galatasaray won 5–3 on aggregate. Grasshoppers transferred to the first round of the UEFA Cup.

#### UEFA Cup
##### First round

Grasshoppers won 2–0 on aggregate.

##### Second round

The match was abandoned at half-time after the fourth official, Philippe Flament of Belgium, sustained a knee injury and bruising from a firecracker thrown onto the pitch by fans in the stands. At the moment of the incident, Fiorentina led 2–1 on the night and 4-1 on aggregate. Four days later at a UEFA emergency meeting, Fiorentina was kicked out of the UEFA Cup and the match was recorded as a 0–3 Grasshopper win. Future expulsion from European competition for Fiorentina was also considered by UEFA but eventually ruled out because of mitigating circumstances, specifically that the match, as part of an earlier punishment, was not played at Fiorentina's home stadium but in Salerno and credible evidence that the firecracker was likely thrown by fans of the local club Salernitana holding a grudge following a recent Serie A fixture between the two clubs. Grasshopper won 3–2 on aggregate.

##### Third round

3–3 on aggregate; Bordeaux won on away goals.

### Servette
#### UEFA Cup
##### Second qualifying round

Servette won 5–3 on aggregate.

##### First round

2–2 on aggregate; CSKA Sofia won on away goals.

### Zürich
#### UEFA Cup
##### Second qualifying round

Zürich won 6–3 on aggregate.

##### First round

Zürich won 7–2 on aggregate.

##### Second round

Zürich won 5–3 on aggregate.

##### Third round

Roma won 3–2 on aggregate.

### Lausanne-Sport
#### Cup Winners' Cup
##### Qualifying round

Lausanne-Sport won 7–2 on aggregate.

##### First round

3–3 on aggregate; Lazio won on away goals.

### Sion
#### Intertoto Cup
##### First round

TPS 3–3 Sion on aggregate. TPS won on away goals rule.

### St. Gallen
#### Intertoto Cup
##### First round

St. Gallen won 9–3 on aggregate.

##### Second round

Austria Salzburg won 3–2 on aggregate.

### Vaduz
#### Cup Winners' Cup
##### Qualifying round

Helsingborg won 5–0 on aggregate.