# FC Lugano

FC Lugano is a Swiss professional football club based in Lugano. The club was refounded as AC Lugano in 2004 as a result of relegation and the financial situation of FC Lugano, which was founded in 1908. In 2008, the club reverted to its original name, FC Lugano. They play at the Stadio Cornaredo. They have played in what is now the Swiss Super League during the periods of 1922–53, 1954–60, 1961–63, 1964–76, 1979–80, 1988–97, 1998–02, and from 2015 until present.

## History

Football Club Lugano was formed on 28 July 1908 under the leadership of then-president Ernesto Corsini. Promotion to the highest Swiss Super League came for the first time in 1922, and after several years of relegations and promotions, the team won its first Swiss Cup in 1931. The following decade, FC Lugano was able to win 3 national titles (1938, 1941 and 1949).
For the first fifty years of its existence, Lugano played at the Campo Marzio – which opened on 13 September 1908 – but its success prompted the city to build a new stadium, and so on 26 August 1951, the Cornaredo Stadium was inaugurated, which has a capacity of 15,000.
In 1968, Lugano won the Swiss Cup and hence the team participated in the Cup Winners' Cup. Two years later the team took part in the UEFA Cup.
In 1993, Lugano won its third Cup against Grasshoppers, later participating in the Cup Winners' Cup, in which it reached second qualifying round. In the 1995–96 season, Lugano participated in the UEFA Cup, eliminating Jeunesse Hautcharage in the first round and Inter Milan in the second.
The club was declared bankrupt in 2003 and forcibly removed from the league. Due to the bankruptcy, the team was renamed AC Lugano and fielded under-21 players, having been forced to sell or release the senior team to pay off the club's debts. In 2004, the club merged with Malcantone Agno, and it was decided that Lugano would re-enter the Swiss football system in the Swiss Challenge League. Morotti Joseph, the president of Malcantone Agno, was entrusted with the leadership of the new club.
In 2007, the company was bought by a group led by Giambattista Pastorello. Luido Bernasconi became the new president. On 4 June 2008, the club's centenary year, the general meeting of shareholders voted on a name change. The historical name of Football Club Lugano was reinstated. In 2015 FC Lugano was promoted to the Swiss Super League.
On 18 August 2021, it was announced that American billionaire and owner of the Chicago Fire FC, Joe Mansueto, had purchased FC Lugano and that the Fire and FC Lugano were to work together as sister clubs. On 1 September 2021, assistant coach Mattia Croci-Torti took over coaching duties at the club, replacing Abel Braga. The first season under new ownership would immediately prove successful, as they were able to win their first title after 29 years, winning the 2021–22 Swiss Cup. A year later, they failed to defend the cup title, losing 2–3 in the exciting final to Swiss champions Young Boys.

## European record

| Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Aggregate |
| 1968–69 | European Cup Winners' Cup | First round | Barcelona | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–4 |
| 1971–72 | UEFA Cup | First round | Legia Warsaw | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–3 |
| 1993–94 | European Cup Winners' Cup | Qualifying round | Neman Grodno | 5–0 | 1–2 | 6–2 |
| 1993–94 | European Cup Winners' Cup | First round | Real Madrid | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–6 |
| 1995–96 | UEFA Cup | Preliminary round | Jeunesse Esch | 4–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 |
| 1995–96 | UEFA Cup | First round | Inter Milan | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| 1995–96 | UEFA Cup | Second round | Slavia Prague | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 |
| 2001–02 | UEFA Champions League | Second qualifying round | Shakhtar Donetsk | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–4 |
| 2002–03 | UEFA Cup | Qualifying round | FK Ventspils | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–3 |
| 2017–18 | UEFA Europa League | Group G | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3rd |
| 2017–18 | UEFA Europa League | Group G | FCSB | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3rd |
| 2017–18 | UEFA Europa League | Group G | Viktoria Plzeň | 3–2 | 1–4 | 3rd |
| 2019–20 | UEFA Europa League | Group B | Dynamo Kyiv | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4th |
| 2019–20 | UEFA Europa League | Group B | Copenhagen | 0–1 | 0–1 | 4th |
| 2019–20 | UEFA Europa League | Group B | Malmö FF | 0–0 | 1–2 | 4th |
| 2022–23 | UEFA Europa Conference League | Third qualifying round | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–5 |
| 2023–24 | UEFA Europa League | Play-off round | Union Saint-Gilloise | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 |
| 2023–24 | UEFA Europa Conference League | Group D | Club Brugge | 1–3 | 0–2 | 4th |
| 2023–24 | UEFA Europa Conference League | Group D | Bodø/Glimt | 0–0 | 2–5 | 4th |
| 2023–24 | UEFA Europa Conference League | Group D | Beşiktaş | 0–2 | 3–2 | 4th |
| 2024–25 | UEFA Champions League | Second qualifying round | Fenerbahçe | 3–4 | 1–2 | 4–6 |
| 2024–25 | UEFA Europa League | Third qualifying round | Partizan | 2–2 (a.e.t.) | 1–0 | 3–2 |
| 2024–25 | UEFA Europa League | Play-off round | Beşiktaş | 3–3 | 1–5 | 4–8 |

## Players
### Current squad

    As of 1 January 2025
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | KOS | Amir Saipi |
| 2 | DF | CAN | Zachary Brault-Guillard |
| 5 | DF | SUI | Albian Hajdari |
| 6 | DF | GER | Antonios Papadopoulos |
| 7 | MF | CZE | Roman Macek |
| 8 | MF | SUI | Anto Grgić |
| 9 | FW | KOS | Shkelqim Vladi |
| 10 | FW | SUI | Mattia Bottani (captain) |
| 11 | MF | SUI | Renato Steffen |
| 15 | GK | GRE | Fotis Pseftis |
| 17 | DF | GER | Lars Lukas Mai |
| 18 | MF | FRA | Hicham Mahou |
| 20 | MF | CIV | Ousmane Doumbia |
| 21 | MF | FRA | Yanis Cimignani |
| 22 | DF | MAR | Ayman El Wafi |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 23 | DF | ARG | Milton Valenzuela |
| 25 | MF | SUI | Uran Bislimi |
| 26 | DF | POR | Martim Marques |
| 27 | MF | SUI | Daniel Dos Santos |
| 28 | MF | SUI | Yannis Ryter |
| 29 | MF | TUN | Hadj Mahmoud |
| 31 | FW | ARG | Ignacio Aliseda |
| 34 | FW | SUI | Boris Babić |
| 58 | GK | NGA | Sebastian Osigwe |
| 46 | DF | ITA | Mattia Zanotti |
| 47 | MF | SUI | Ilija Maslarov |
| 70 | FW | GRE | Georgios Koutsias (on loan from Chicago Fire) |
| 99 | GK | SUI | Diego Mina |
| 93 | FW | POL | Kacper Przybyłko |
| 98 | DF | SUI | Allan Arigoni |

## Honours

* Swiss Super League
** Champions (3): 1937–38, 1940–41, 1948–49
** Runners-up (6): 1942–43, 1944–45, 1945–46, 1994–95, 2000–01, 2023–24
* Swiss Cup
** Winners (4): 1930–31, 1967–68, 1992–93, 2021–22
** Runners-up (6): 1942–43, 1951–52, 1970–71, 1991–92, 2015–16, 2022–23
* Swiss Challenge League
** Winners (4): 1960–61, 1963–64, 1987–88, 2014–15
** Runners-up (5): 1978–79, 1997–98, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2013–14
* Swiss Super League Fair Play Awards: 2021–22

## Former coaches

* 1937–41: József Winkler
* 1947–50: Béla Volentik
* 1951–52: Tullio Grassi
* 1952–53: Béla Volentik
* 1953–55: Béla Sárosi
* 1957–58: Ragnar Larsen
* 1959–60: Tullio Grassi
* 1962–63: György Sárosi
* 1970–71: Albert Sing
* 1971–73: Otto Luttrop
* 1973–74: Otto Luttrop
* 1974–75: Alfredo Foni
* 1976–77: Alfredo Foni
* 1977–79: Oscar Massei
* 1979–80: Istvan Szabo
* 1980–81: Antun Rudinski
* 1983–85: Otto Luttrop
* 1992–94: Karl Engel
* 1997–98: Karl Engel
* 1999: Enzo Trossero
* 1999–2000: Giuliano Sonzogni
* 2002–03: Pierluigi Tami
* 2004–05: Vladimir Petković
* 2007–10: Simone Boldini
* 2010–11: Marco Schällibaum
* 2011–12: Francesco Moriero
* 2012–13: Raimondo Ponte
* 2013: Sandro Salvioni
* 2013–15: Livio Bordoli
* 2015–16: Zdeněk Zeman
* 2016: Andrea Manzo
* 2016–17: Paolo Tramezzani
* 2017–18: Pierluigi Tami
* 2018: Guille Abascal
* 2018–19: Fabio Celestini
* 2019–21: Maurizio Jacobacci
* 2021: Abel Braga
* 2021–present: Mattia Croci-Torti

## Coaching staff

| Position | Name |
| Owner | Joe Mansueto |
| Chairman | Philippe Regazzoni |
| CEO | Michele Zanetti |
| Sporting director | Benito Martinelli |
| Press officer | Luca Di Tommasso |
| Team coordinator | Riccardo Rigamonti |
| Head coach | Mattia Croci-Torti |
| Assistant coaches | Piercesare Gallo Saverio Valentini |
| Goalkeeper coach | Enrico Rossi |
| Fitness coach | Mirko Antonelli |
| Match analyst | Salvatore Colucci |
| Performance coach | Andrea Giudici |
| Team doctors | Dr. Giuseppe Montini Dr. Giampaolo Golinucci |
| Physiotherapists | Nicolò Giovanninni Vittorio Silvestri Francesco Vialli Pietro Simonetti |