# 1996–97 in Swiss football

The following is a summary of the 1996–97 season of competitive football in Switzerland.

## Nationalliga A
### Qualification phase

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Xamax | 22 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 36 | 20 | +16 | 44 | Advance to championship round halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 2 | Grasshopper Club | 22 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 42 | 27 | +15 | 39 | Advance to championship round halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 3 | Sion | 22 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 33 | 21 | +12 | 37 | Advance to championship round halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 4 | Aarau | 22 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 21 | 14 | +7 | 35 | Advance to championship round halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 5 | Lausanne-Sports | 22 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 35 | 32 | +3 | 34 | Advance to championship round halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 6 | St. Gallen | 22 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 20 | 26 | −6 | 28 | Advance to championship round halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 7 | Zürich | 22 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 24 | 25 | −1 | 27 | Advance to championship round halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 8 | Basel | 22 | 5 | 11 | 6 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 26 | Advance to championship round halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 9 | Servette | 22 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 24 | 25 | −1 | 24 | Continue to promotion/relegation round |
| 10 | Luzern | 22 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 27 | 32 | −5 | 23 | Continue to promotion/relegation round |
| 11 | Lugano | 22 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 32 | −18 | 15 | Continue to promotion/relegation round |
| 12 | Young Boys | 22 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 17 | 39 | −22 | 12 | Continue to promotion/relegation round |

### Championship group

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 | Sion | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 10 | +8 | 19 | 49 | Swiss champions, qualified for 1997–98 Champions League |
| 2 | Xamax | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 22 | 14 | +8 | 22 | 46 | qualified for 1997–98 UEFA Cup |
| 3 | Grasshopper Club | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 37 | 18 | +19 | 20 | 45 | qualified for 1997–98 UEFA Cup |
| 4 | Lausanne-Sports | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 16 | +4 | 17 | 43 | entered 1997 UEFA Intertoto Cup |
| 5 | Aarau | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 17 | 22 | −5 | 18 | 31 | entered 1997 UEFA Intertoto Cup |
| 6 | St. Gallen | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 26 | −13 | 14 | 27 | |
| 7 | Zürich | 14 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 18 | −9 | 14 | 24 | |
| 8 | Basel | 14 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 16 | 28 | −12 | 13 | 24 | |

## Nationalliga B
### Qualification phase

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Étoile Carouge | 22 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 39 | 20 | +19 | 42 | Advance to promotion/relegation NLA/LNB round |
| 2 | FC Schaffhausen | 22 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 32 | 18 | +14 | 42 | Advance to promotion/relegation NLA/LNB round |
| 3 | Kriens | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 40 | 25 | +15 | 41 | Advance to promotion/relegation NLA/LNB round |
| 4 | Solothurn | 22 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 28 | 26 | +2 | 37 | Advance to promotion/relegation NLA/LNB round |
| 5 | Yverdon-Sport | 22 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 34 | 26 | +8 | 35 | Continue to relegation round NLB/1. Liga halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 6 | Winterthur | 22 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 30 | 21 | +9 | 34 | Continue to relegation round NLB/1. Liga halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 7 | Locarno | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 28 | 27 | +1 | 28 | Continue to relegation round NLB/1. Liga halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 8 | Wil | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 33 | 30 | +3 | 27 | Continue to relegation round NLB/1. Liga halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 9 | Baden | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 29 | 30 | −1 | 27 | Continue to relegation round NLB/1. Liga halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 10 | Delémont | 22 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 30 | 44 | −14 | 20 | Continue to relegation round NLB/1. Liga halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 11 | Gossau | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 29 | 50 | −21 | 16 | Continue to relegation round NLB/1. Liga halved points (rounded up) as bonus |
| 12 | Meyrin | 22 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 15 | 50 | −35 | 10 | 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 | Servette | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 10 | +8 | 25 | Remain in 1997–98 Nationalliga A |
| 2 | Étoile Carouge | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 13 | +2 | 24 | Promoted |
| 3 | Luzern | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 12 | +4 | 23 | Remain in 1997–98 Nationalliga A |
| 4 | Kriens | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 22 | 16 | +6 | 22 | Promoted |
| 5 | Young Boys | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 19 | 17 | +2 | 20 | Relegated |
| 6 | Solothurn | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 17 | −8 | 14 | Remain in Nationalliga B |
| 7 | Lugano | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 17 | −6 | 11 | Relegated |
| 8 | FC Schaffhausen | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 21 | −8 | 11 | Remain in Nationalliga B |

### 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 | Winterthur | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 21 | 13 | +8 | 17 | 43 | Remain in NLB |
| 2 | Baden | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 28 | 20 | +8 | 14 | 39 | Remain in NLB |
| 3 | Wil | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 23 | 21 | +2 | 14 | 35 | Remain in NLB |
| 4 | Yverdon-Sport | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 21 | −4 | 18 | 34 | Remain in NLB |
| 5 | Locarno | 14 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 33 | Remain in NLB |
| 6 | Delémont | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 28 | 24 | +4 | 10 | 30 | Remain in NLB |
| 7 | Gossau | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 15 | 23 | −8 | 8 | 24 | Relegated to 1. Liga |
| 8 | Meyrin | 14 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 23 | −10 | 5 | 14 | Relegated to 1. Liga |

## 1. Liga
### Group 1

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | FC Renens | 26 | 17 | 9 | 0 | 52 | 14 | +38 | 60 | Play-off to Nationalliga B |
| 2 | FC Fribourg | 26 | 14 | 4 | 8 | 46 | 33 | +13 | 46 | Play-off to Nationalliga B |
| 3 | FC Stade Nyonnais | 26 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 42 | 31 | +11 | 42 | |
| 4 | FC Bulle | 26 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 43 | 43 | 0 | 41 | |
| 5 | FC Martigny-Sports | 26 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 55 | 36 | +19 | 39 | |
| 6 | FC Monthey | 26 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 44 | 47 | −3 | 36 | |
| 7 | FC Stade Lausanne | 26 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 34 | 29 | +5 | 35 | |
| 8 | FC Echallens | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 32 | 34 | −2 | 33 | |
| 9 | Grand-Lancy FC | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 34 | 44 | −10 | 32 | |
| 10 | Vevey Sports | 26 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 31 | |
| 11 | CS Chênois | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 42 | 43 | −1 | 31 | |
| 12 | FC Bex | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 36 | 45 | −9 | 30 | Play-out against relegation |
| 13 | FC Montreux-Sports | 26 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 60 | −39 | 21 | Relegation to 2. Liga |
| 14 | Central Fribourg | 26 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 38 | 60 | −22 | 18 | Relegation to 2. Liga |

### Group 2

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | FC Serrières | 26 | 17 | 5 | 4 | 52 | 19 | +33 | 56 | Play-off to Nationalliga B |
| 2 | FC Thun | 26 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 48 | 26 | +22 | 55 | Play-off to Nationalliga B |
| 3 | FC Biel-Bienne | 26 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 53 | 27 | +26 | 53 | |
| 4 | FC Naters | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 58 | 30 | +28 | 49 | |
| 5 | FC Münsingen | 26 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 41 | 25 | +16 | 45 | |
| 6 | FC Grenchen | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 39 | 29 | +10 | 38 | |
| 7 | FC Wangen bei Olten | 26 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 42 | 35 | +7 | 35 | |
| 8 | FC Colombier | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 41 | 41 | 0 | 31 | |
| 9 | FC La Chaux-de-Fonds | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 37 | 52 | −15 | 30 | |
| 10 | SV Lyss | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 41 | 45 | −4 | 29 | |
| 11 | FC Köniz | 26 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 30 | 54 | −24 | 21 | |
| 12 | SC Bümpliz 78 | 26 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 28 | 46 | −18 | 20 | Play-out against relegation |
| 13 | FC Noiraigue | 26 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 24 | 62 | −38 | 16 | Relegation to 2. Liga |
| 14 | FC Klus-Balsthal | 26 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 66 | −43 | 15 | Relegation to 2. Liga |

### Group 3

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | FC Ascona | 26 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 54 | 21 | +33 | 55 | Play-off to Nationalliga B |
| 2 | Zug 94 | 26 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 39 | 20 | +19 | 46 | Play-off to Nationalliga B |
| 3 | AC Bellinzona | 26 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 39 | 25 | +14 | 45 | |
| 4 | FC Riehen | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 39 | 29 | +10 | 44 | |
| 5 | SC Buochs | 26 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 38 | 22 | +16 | 42 | |
| 6 | FC Chiasso | 26 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 34 | 20 | +14 | 42 | |
| 7 | SV Muttenz | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 40 | 35 | +5 | 39 | |
| 8 | FC Schötz | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 36 | |
| 9 | FC Sursee | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 38 | 42 | −4 | 32 | |
| 10 | FC Muri | 26 | 6 | 11 | 9 | 22 | 30 | −8 | 29 | |
| 11 | FC Hochdorf | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 23 | 46 | −23 | 26 | |
| 12 | FC Concordia Basel | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 27 | 44 | −17 | 25 | Play-out against relegation |
| 13 | FC Mendrisio | 26 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 48 | −32 | 18 | Relegation to 2. Liga |
| 14 | FC Suhr | 26 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 50 | −27 | 15 | Relegation to 2. Liga |

### Group 4

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | FC Tuggen | 26 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 51 | 27 | +24 | 52 | Play-off to Nationalliga B |
| 2 | SV Schaffhausen | 26 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 48 | 34 | +14 | 47 | Play-off to Nationalliga B |
| 3 | FC Rapperswil-Jona | 26 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 58 | 30 | +28 | 46 | |
| 4 | FC Altstetten | 26 | 14 | 4 | 8 | 44 | 29 | +15 | 46 | |
| 5 | FC Frauenfeld | 26 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 53 | 35 | +18 | 42 | |
| 6 | FC Vaduz | 26 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 38 | 31 | +7 | 41 | |
| 7 | FC Rorschach | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 45 | 41 | +4 | 38 | |
| 8 | FC Freienbach | 26 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 38 | 42 | −4 | 37 | |
| 9 | FC Red Star Zürich | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 48 | 52 | −4 | 33 | |
| 10 | FC Bülach | 26 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 37 | 38 | −1 | 32 | |
| 11 | SC Young Fellows Juventus | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 34 | 33 | +1 | 30 | |
| 12 | FC Dübendorf | 26 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 26 | 52 | −26 | 22 | Play-out against relegation |
| 13 | FC Balzers | 26 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 21 | 49 | −28 | 18 | Relegation to 2. Liga |
| 14 | FC Glarus | 26 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 19 | 67 | −48 | 18 | Relegation to 2. Liga |

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

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Fribourg | 1–1 | Serrières |
| Serrières | 3–2 | Fribourg |
Serrières win 4–3 on aggregate and continue to the finals.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Thun | 2–1 | FC Renens |
| FC Renens | 0–1 | Thun |
Thun win 3–1 on aggregate and continue to the finals.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Zug 94 | 1–4 | Tuggen |
| Tuggen | 4–0 | Zug 94 |
Tuggen win 8–1 on aggregate and continue to the finals.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| SV Schaffhausen | 1–0 | FC Ascona |
| FC Ascona | 1–2 | SV Schaffhausen |
SV Schaffhausen win 3–1 on aggregate and continue to the finals.

#### Final round

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Tuggen | 1–0 | Thun |
| Thun | 2–0 | Tuggen |
Thun win 2–1 on aggregate and are promoted to Nationalliga B.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Serrières | 4–3 | SV Schaffhausen |
| SV Schaffhausen | 1–0 | Serrières |
4–4 on aggregate. SV Schaffhausen win on away goals and are promoted to Nationalliga B.

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

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Bümpliz | 2–1 | Bex |
Bex continue to the final.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Concordia | 2–0 | FC Dübendorf |
FC Dübendorf continue to the final.

#### Final round

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Bex | 4–2 | FC Dübendorf |
| FC Dübendorf | 3–4 | Bex |
Bex win 8–5 on aggregate. FC Dübendorf are relegated to 2. Liga.

## Swiss Cup

Clubs that were playing in the European competitions were given a bye in round 4. The route of the finalists to the final:
* Round 4: Sion bye. Grenchen-Luzern 0–3
* Round 5: FC Riehen-Sion 0–2. Lugano-Luzern 0–3.
* Round 6: Sion-Grasshopper Club 2–1. Monthey-Luzern 2–3.
* Quarter-finals: Sion-St. Gallen 5–0. Étoile Carouge-Luzern 0–6.
* Semi-finals: Sion-Fribourg 5–2. Luzern-FC Schaffhausen 2–1

### Final
## Swiss Clubs in Europe

* Grasshopper Club as 1995–96 Nationalliga A champions: 1996–97 Champions League qualifying round
* Sion as 1995–96 Swiss Cup winners: qualifying round of the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
* Xamax as third placed team in the league: qualifying round of the 1996–97 UEFA Cup
* Aarau as fourth placed team: qualifying round of the 1996–97 UEFA Cup
* Luzern: 1996 UEFA Intertoto Cup
* Basel: 1996 UEFA Intertoto Cup
* Vaduz as 1995–96 Liechtenstein Cup winners: qualifying round of the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

### Grasshopper Club
#### Champions League
##### Qualifying round

Grasshopper won 6–0 on aggregate.

##### Group Stage / Group A
###### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | AUX | AJA | GRA | RAN |
| 1 | Auxerre | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| 2 | Ajax | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage | 1–2 | — | 0–1 | 4–1 |
| 3 | Grasshopper Club | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 9 | | 3–1 | 0–1 | — | 3–0 |
| 4 | Rangers | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 13 | −8 | 3 | | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | — |

### Sion
#### Cup Winners' Cup
##### Qualifying round

Sion won 4–2 on aggregate.

##### First round

Sion won 6–0 on aggregate.

##### Second round

Liverpool won 8–4 on aggregate.

### Xamax
#### UEFA Cup
##### Qualifaying round

Neuchâtel Xamax won 6–1 on aggregate.

##### First round

Neuchâtel Xamax won 2–1 on aggregate.

##### Second round

Helsingborg won 3–1 on aggregate.

### Aarau
#### UEFA Cup
##### Qualifaying round

Aarau won 4–2 on aggregate.

##### First round

Brøndby won 7–0 on aggregate.

### Luzern
#### Intertoto Cup
##### Group 6, matches
###### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Segesta | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 10 | Advanced to semi-finals |
| 2 | Örgryte | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 8 | |
| 3 | Luzern | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 6 | |
| 4 | Rennes | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | |
| 5 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 10 | −9 | 0 | |

### Basel
#### Intertoto Cup
##### Group 7, matches
###### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Rotor Volgograd | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 9 | Advanced to semi-finals |
| 2 | Basel | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 7 | +7 | 7 | |
| 3 | Antalyaspor | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | |
| 4 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 4 | |
| 5 | Ataka-Aura Minsk | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 13 | −11 | 3 | |

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

2–2 on aggregate. Vaduz won 4–2 on penalties.

##### Round 1

Paris Saint-Germain won 7–0 on aggregate.