Oliver Dzuba

The 2007/2008 season of the Swiss Super League kicked off with many teams hoping to achieve big things this year. The five hopeful Swiss teams competing for their place in the UEFA Cup had the potential to establish the Swiss League as a force within European football.

However, it seems history repeats itself every year in Switzerland. All but two teams were eliminated in the qualifying rounds, disappointing many fans.

Fortunately, FC Zurich was one of those teams that progressed to the group stage. Originally, Zurich was involved in trying to qualify for the Champions League against Turkish side Besiktas JK. After a 3-1 aggregate defeat, Zurich moved down to UEFA Cup qualifying. Here they faced Italian side Empoli, who they beat on a 4-2 aggregate, advancing them to the group stage.

Zurich were successful in their first two group games, but were dealt two devastating defeats, including a 5-0 humbling at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen.

However, Zurich still managed to make their way to the knockout rounds, where they are going to face German giants Hamburg SV. The fans remain optimistic but this seems to be the last stop for Zurich. They face tough opposition and all signs are pointing to elimination.

There will always be next year for the UEFA Cup, and Zurich’s standing right now (2^nd place) means that there is a good chance we will see them again next year,

The St.Gallen story was a huge disappointment and a greater embarrassment, even by Swiss standards. They had an outside chance of competing through the UEFA Intertoto Cup but they failed to beat the Moldavian outfit Dacia Chisnau in a shootout. As the season progressed this result proved to be not entirely shocking, St.Gallen now sit in 10^th place and face relegation from the Swiss Super League.

Similar fates were dealt to Sion and BSC Young Boys. Both were defeated in the qualifying rounds, Sion in the 1^st round to Galatasaray and BSC Young Boys in the 2^nd round to Lens.

Although they were defeated, Sion still seemed to surprise many when they beat Galatasaray 3-2 at home. All seemed well until the ^2nd leg, where they were dismantled 5-1 by the Turkish giants.

The biggest Swiss success in the UEFA Cup this year is obviously FC Basel. Finishing as Runners-Up last year earned them a spot in the 2^nd stage of qualifying rounds. It was an easy trip to the group stage for Basel, which included an astounding 8-1 aggregate humiliation of FK Sarajevo.

Basel did extremely well in the group stage, not suffering any defeats and only conceding one goal. The most impressive fixture was a grueling match against Hamburg SV where they drew 1-1 away from home. Other games Basel played in were also successes, two wins and a draw, which earned them 2^nd place in the final group standings.

Basel now faces Sporting Lisbon in February, which will turn out to an excellent match as these two sides are evenly matched. The Basel fans are filled with optimism as this might be the year they finally succeed in a competition outside of Switzerland.

Basel are now in 1^st place in the league, meaning an automatic entry into next season’s UEFA Champions League qualifiers, should they finish 1^st of course. With this, there is still hope that a Swiss team will show the underestimated strength of Swiss Football.