FC Lugano

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Lugano
File:Logo FC Lugano 2025.svg
Full nameFootball Club Lugano
NicknamesBianconeri (Black and White)
L'orgoglio del Ticino (The Pride of Ticino)
Founded28 July 1908; 117 years ago (28 July 1908)
GroundCornaredo Stadium,
Lugano, Switzerland
Capacity6,330
OwnerJoe Mansueto
ChairmanPhilippe Regazzoni
ManagerMattia Croci-Torti
LeagueSwiss Super League
2024–25Swiss Super League, 4th of 12
Websitewww.fclugano.com
File:Soccerball current event.svg Current season

Football Club 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

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File:AC Lugano.jpg
Former club crest
File:Lugano Performance Graph.png
Chart of FC Lugano table positions in the Swiss football league system

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.[1] 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.[2] On 1 September 2021, assistant coach Mattia Croci-Torti took over coaching duties at the club, replacing Abel Braga.[3] 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.[4] A year later, they failed to defend the cup title, losing 2–3 in the exciting final to Swiss champions Young Boys.[5]

European record

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Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
1968–69 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Spain Barcelona 0–1 0–3 0–4
1971–72 UEFA Cup First round Poland Legia Warsaw 1–3 0–0 1–3
1993–94 European Cup Winners' Cup Qualifying round Belarus Neman Grodno 5–0 1–2 6–2
First round Spain Real Madrid 1–3 0–3 1–6
1995–96 UEFA Cup Preliminary round Luxembourg Jeunesse Esch 4–0 0–0 4–0
First round Italy Inter Milan 1–1 1–0 2–1
Second round Czech Republic Slavia Prague 1–2 0–1 1–3
2001–02 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 2–1 0–3 2–4
2002–03 UEFA Cup Qualifying round Latvia FK Ventspils 1–0 0–3 1–3
2017–18 UEFA Europa League Group G Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva 1–0 1–2 3rd
Romania FCSB 1–2 2–1
Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň 3–2 1–4
2019–20 UEFA Europa League Group B Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv 0–0 1–1 4th
Denmark Copenhagen 0–1 0–1
Sweden Malmö FF 0–0 1–2
2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League Third qualifying round Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva 0–2 1–3 1–5
2023–24 UEFA Europa League Play-off round Belgium Union Saint-Gilloise 0–1 0–2 0–3
UEFA Europa Conference League Group D Belgium Club Brugge 1–3 0–2 4th
Norway Bodø/Glimt 0–0 2–5
Turkey Beşiktaş 0–2 3–2
2024–25 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round Turkey Fenerbahçe 3–4 1–2 4–6
UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round Serbia Partizan 2–2 (a.e.t.) 1–0 3–2
Play-off round Turkey Beşiktaş 3–3 1–5 4–8
UEFA Europa Conference League League Phase Finland HJK 3–0 6th
Czech Republic Mladá Boleslav 1–0
Serbia TSC 1–4
Belgium Gent 2–0
Poland Legia Warsaw 2–1
Cyprus Pafos 2–2
Round of 16 Slovenia Celje 5–4 (a.e.t.) 0–1 5–5 (1–3 p)
2025–26 UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round Romania CFR Cluj 0–0 0–1 (a.e.t.) 0–1
UEFA Conference League Third qualifying round Slovenia Celje 0–5 4–2 4–7

Players

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Current squad

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As of 16 December, 2025[6]

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 File:Flag of Kosovo.svg KOS Amir Saipi
2 DF File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg CAN Zachary Brault-Guillard
4 DF File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg SUI Damian Kelvin
6 DF File:Flag of Germany.svg GER Antonios Papadopoulos
7 MF File:Flag of North Macedonia.svg MKD Ezgjan Alioski
8 MF File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg SUI Anto Grgić
10 FW File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg SUI Mattia Bottani (captain)
11 FW File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg SUI Renato Steffen
14 MF File:Flag of Algeria.svg ALG Ahmed Kendouci
15 GK File:Flag of Greece.svg GRE Fotis Pseftis
16 GK File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg SUI David von Ballmoos (on loan from Young Boys)
17 DF File:Flag of Germany.svg GER Lars Lukas Mai
18 MF File:Flag of France.svg FRA Hicham Mahou
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 MF File:Flag of Italy.svg ITA Claudio Cassano (on loan from Chicago Fire)
20 MF File:Flag of Côte d'Ivoire.svg CIV Ousmane Doumbia
21 MF File:Flag of France.svg FRA Yanis Cimignani
22 DF File:Flag of Morocco.svg MAR Ayman El Wafi
24 FW File:Flag of Sweden.svg SWE Elias Pihlström
25 MF File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg SUI Uran Bislimi
26 DF File:Flag of Portugal (official).svg POR Martim Marques
27 FW File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg SUI Daniel Dos Santos
29 MF File:Flag of Tunisia.svg TUN Hadj Mahmoud
46 DF File:Flag of Italy.svg ITA Mattia Zanotti
47 MF File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg SUI Ilija Maslarov
91 FW File:Flag of Germany.svg GER Kevin Behrens
97 FW File:Flag of France.svg FRA Alexandre Parsemain
99 GK File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg SUI Diego Mina

Out on loan

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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
FW File:Flag of Kosovo.svg KOS Shkelqim Vladi (at St. Gallen until 30 June 2026)

Honours

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Former coaches

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Coaching staff

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

References

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