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| Full name | Fussball Club Vaduz | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Residenzler (Residents) Fürstenverein (The Duke's club) Stolz von Liechtenstein (Pride of Liechtenstein) | ||
| Short name | FCV | ||
| Founded | 14 February 1932; 93 years ago (14 February 1932) | ||
| Ground | Rheinpark Stadion Vaduz, Liechtenstein | ||
| Capacity | 7,584 (5,873 seated) | ||
| Coordinates | 47°08′25″N9°30′37″E / 47.1403°N 9.5103°E /47.1403; 9.5103 | ||
| Chairman | Patrick Burgmeier | ||
| Manager | Marc Schneider | ||
| League | Challenge League | ||
| 2024–25 | 6th of 10 | ||
| Website | fcvaduz.li | ||
 Current season | |||
Fussball Club Vaduz (En:Football Club Vaduz) is a professionalfootball club fromVaduz, Liechtenstein that plays in theChallenge League, the second tier of Swiss football. The club plays at the nationalRheinpark Stadion, which has a capacity of 5,873 when all are seated but has additional standing places in the North and South ends of the ground, giving a total stadium capacity of 7,838.[1]
Vaduz currently plays in theChallenge League followingrelegation from theSwiss Super League after the2020–21 season. Vaduz is unique in that it represents its own national association in theUEFA Europa Conference League when winning the domestic cup, whilst playing in another country's league. This is due to Liechtenstein not organising its own league. Vaduz is ineligible to represent Switzerland internationally and do not participate in theSwiss Cup due to this arrangement.
Vaduz has historically had many players from Liechtenstein, many of whom have played for theLiechtenstein national team, but nearly all these players have moved abroad, and now the majority of the first team squad are foreign players from different areas of the world. With the club playing in its league system, Swiss players have usually been common in the squad.
On 25 August 2022, after beatingRapid Wien away in Austria, Vaduz made history by qualifying for theEuropa Conference League group stage, becoming the first ever club from Liechtenstein to reach the group stages of a UEFA club competition.
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Fussball Club Vaduz was founded on 14 February 1932 inVaduz, and the club's first chairman was Johann Walser. FC Vaduz is the only professional football club in Liechtenstein. In its first training match, which Vaduz played inBalzers on 24 April of that year, the newly born team emerged as 2–1 winners. The club played in Vorarlberger Football Association in Austria for the 1932–33 season. In 1933, Vaduz began playing inSwitzerland. Over the years, Vaduz struggled through various tiers of Swissfootball and won its firstLiechtensteiner Cup in 1949. Vaduz enjoyed a lengthy stay in theSwiss 1. Liga from 1960 to 1973, then the third tier of the Swiss football league system.
Vaduz has been required to pay a fee to the Swiss Football Association in order to participate as a foreign club, around £150,000 a year. There have been calls for this agreement to be revoked, but discussions have meant that a permanent arrangement has now taken place for a Liechtenstein representative to be allowed to participate in the Challenge League or Super League in the future.[2]
From the 2001–02 season, Vaduz played in theSwiss Challenge League (formerly called Nationalliga B), the second tier of the Swiss league system. Since then, Vaduz has remained one of the best-performing teams in theChallenge League and gave serious challenges towards promotion to the Super League, especially in 2004 and 2005, playing two-leg play-offs in both cases. In the 2007–08 season, Vaduz secured promotion to theSwiss Super League on 12 May 2008 by winning the Challenge League on the season's final day, giving Liechtenstein a representative at the highest level of Swiss football for the first time. Vaduz, however, was relegated back to theChallenge League after one season in the top flight. Vaduz finally returned to the top level after five years in the Challenge League.
In May 2010, the two Liechtenstein teams, FC Vaduz andUSV Eschen/Mauren, decided on better cooperation, especially on the exchange and the development possibilities of the players of both teams. In principle, the agreement should replace the missing substructure at FC Vaduz and promote cooperation in the sense of Liechtenstein football. FC Vaduz is the first address for professional footballers.
In 1992, Vaduz qualified for Europeanfootball for the first time, entering theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup asLiechtenstein Cup winners, but lost 12–1 on aggregate toChornomorets Odesa of Ukraine in the qualifying round. In 1996, Vaduz qualified for the first round proper with their first European victory, winning 5–3 on penalties againstUniversitate Riga of Latvia, after a 2–2 aggregate scoreline, although Vaduz lost their first round tie toParis Saint-Germain of France 7–0 on aggregate.
After the Cup Winners' Cup was abolished, Vaduz has annually entered theUEFA Cup (now the UEFA Europa League) as a result of winning theLiechtenstein Cup every year since 1998, except in 2012.
Vaduz came within one second of reaching the first round proper of the UEFA Cup in 2002. With the aggregate scores level and opponentsLivingston scheduled to go through on away goals, Vaduz won a late corner. The ball was sent into the box, and Marius Zarn hit a goal-bound shot. However, the referee blew the whistle for full-time just before the ball crossed over the line, and Livingston progressed through under controversial circumstances.[3]
For the 2005–06 season,Mats Gren was the coach. In the first round of the2005–06 UEFA Cup qualifying, Vaduz defeated Moldovan opponentFC Dacia Chişinău. In the second round they faced Turkish clubBeşiktaş J.K., who they were eliminated by.
FC Vaduz started their European campaign in2009–10 by beating Scottish sideFalkirk in the second qualifying round of theEuropa League. However, they lost 3–0 on aggregate[4][5] to Czech sideSlovan Liberec in the third qualifying round.
In the2014–15 Swiss Super League season, Vaduz survived in the Swiss Super League for the first time in their history. They finished in 9th place with 31 points won. They also won their 43rd Liechtenstein cup, becoming world record holders of a domestic cup in the process.
In season 2015–16 FC Vaduz started their European campaign in the2015–16 UEFA Europa League by beatingS.P. La Fiorita fromSan Marino in the first qualifying round of theEuropa League. In the second round, Vaduz progressed againstNõmme Kalju FC to progress into the third qualifying round of the Europa League where they were drawn against fellow Swiss Super League clubFC Thun. FC Thun won 2–2 on the away goals rule.
Vaduz won their domestic cup for the forty-fourth time and were eighth in theSwiss Super League. They won a team record thirty-six points. Vaduz playerArmando Sadiku represented Albania atEuro 2016.
The team appeared for the first time in a popular sports video game,FIFA 17. This was the first time in history that a team fromLiechtenstein appeared in the sports video game series.
After three years in the highest tier of Swiss football the2016–17 season led to Vaduz's relegation, replacingGiorgio Contini with German coachRoland Vrabec after almost 5 years at the helm; Vaduz has not reached theSwiss Super League again.
On 5 September 2018, they terminated their contract withRoland Vrabec. On September 17, they presentedMario Frick as their coach. He is the first coach from Liechtenstein in the club's history.
In season 2019–20 FC Vaduz started their European campaign in the2019–20 UEFA Europa League by beatingBreiðablik fromIceland in the first qualifying round of theEuropa League. In the second round, Vaduz caused a shock by knocking out Hungarian sideMOL Fehérvár. In the third qualifying round of the Europa League they played against German clubEintracht Frankfurt- theBundesliga side easily won both matches. However, these matches were historic for Vaduz, as at the first match in Vaduz there were 5,908 spectators present, while the city as a whole has a population of only 5,521.
On 25 August 2022, after an away victory againstRapid Wien, Vaduz secured qualification for the group stages of theEuropa Conference League, becoming the first ever team from Liechtenstein to reach the group stages of a European club competition. They were subsequently drawn into Group E where they played against Dutch sideAZ, Cypriot championsApollon Limassol and Ukrainian sideDnipro-1. After a solid start to the group, with a goalless draw at home to Apollon, Vaduz would only go on and collect one more point, away against Dnipro-1, thus finishing bottom of the group with two points from their six games.
On 20 June 2023, Vaduz drewBelarusian sideNeman Grodno in the2023-24 UEFA Europa Conference Leaguefirst qualifying round.
Vaduz is one of several expatriatemicrostate European football clubs, playing in the Swiss Football League, alongsideAS Monaco playing in France,San Marino Calcio playing in Italy andFC Andorra playing in Spain. The difference between Vaduz and the aforementioned clubs is that its status in Switzerland is a "guest club", and as such it does not participate in theSwiss Cup and cannot represent Switzerland internationally. This makesChampions League qualification from league football impossible under current rules other than by winning theEuropa League or the Champions League itself. If Vaduz would win the Swiss championship, the Champions League places would be distributed among the top Swiss clubs in the league. Since the invention of theUEFA Conference League, this has been further improbable since the team would need to win first the Conference League and then the Europa League the following year unless the country coefficient would improve enough for the Liechtenstein Cup winners to get a Europa League spot. Since Vaduz has never finished higher than 8th in the Super League and therefore could not be argued to have qualified, such a situation has not occurred.
TheRheinpark Stadion inVaduz is the national stadium ofLiechtenstein. It plays host to the home matches of theLiechtenstein national football team, and is also the home of Liechtenstein's top football club, FC Vaduz. It lies on the banks of the River Rhine, just metres from the border withSwitzerland. The stadium has a fully seated capacity of 5,873, plus additional standing places, giving it a total capacity of 7,584. The building of the stadium cost roughly 19 millionCHF.
The stadium was officially opened on 31 July 1998 with a match between FC Vaduz, theLiechtenstein Cup holders at the time, and1. FC Kaiserslautern, the thenBundesliga champions. Kaiserslautern won the match 8–0.Liverpool F.C. played here againstOlympiacos F.C. in a friendly in 2005. Rheinpark Stadion hosted the likes ofFC Chornomorets Odesa andParis Saint-Germain F.C. in this tournament but failed to progress past the qualification rounds.
The construction of the stadium became necessary because the world governing bodyFIFA and the European associationUEFA threatened not to allow more European and international matches in Liechtenstein if the country did not provide a modern venue in accordance with international standards. In Liechtenstein, no domestic football league is played, but a cup competition is organized. Vaduz being by far the most prolific Liechtenstein club is therefore represented in the Conference League almost every year. The national team has only been represented in the qualifying rounds of a major competition.
Rheinpark Stadion sits less than 1 km west ofVaduz city centre on the eastern bank of theRhein River. Vaduz holds the distinction of being one of the few capitals in the world to lack its own airport and railway station, although there is a train station calledSchaan-Vaduz in the nearby town ofSchaan.
Rheinpark Stadion consists of four stands: North, East, South and West.
There are a limited number offree parking spaces located at Rheinpark Stadion on matchdays which are allocated on a first-come first-served basis.
Companies that FC Vaduz currently has sponsorship deals with include:
Liechtensteinische Landesbank – main sponsorMBPI AG – main sponsor
Puma – kit manufacturer
Accurata Treuhand und Revisions AG – official sponsor Brauerei Schützengarten AG – official sponsor Heim Bohrtechnik AG – official sponsor Kibernetik AG – official sponsorHirslanden Private Hospital Group – medical partner Orthopädie St. Gallen – medical partner| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–19 | Adidas | Liechtensteinische Landesbank/MBPI AG | [6] |
| 2019–20 | Puma | ||
| 2020–22 | Casino Admiral | ||
| 2022–23 | MBPI AG |
Liechtenstein Football ChampionshipLiechtenstein Football CupSwiss Challenge League (2nd tier)1. Liga Classic (3rd tier)| Competition | Matches | W | D | L | GF | GA | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 10 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 40 | −36 |
| UEFA Cup /UEFA Europa League | 67 | 21 | 14 | 32 | 76 | 93 | −17 |
| UEFA Europa Conference League /UEFA Conference League | 22 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 24 | 34 | −10 |
| Total | 99 | 25 | 23 | 51 | 104 | 167 | −63 |
Biggest win in UEFA competition:
| Season | Match | Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League | ||||
| 2006–07 |  Újpest FC – FC Vaduz | 0–4 | ||
| 2014–15 | FC Vaduz – College Europa | 3–0 | ||
| 2015–16 |  S.P. La Fiorita – FC Vaduz | 0–5 | ||
| 2015–16 | FC Vaduz –S.P. La Fiorita | 5–1 | ||
| 2017–18 | FC Vaduz – Bala Town F.C. | 3–0 | ||
La Fiorita (09.07.2015, UEFA Europa League First qualifying round second leg)La Fiorita 0–5 FC Vaduz (02.07.2015, UEFA Europa League First qualifying round first leg)
Chornomorets Odesa (19.08.1992, European Cup Winners' Cup), FC Vaduz 0–5
Hradec Králové (10.08.1995, European Cup Winners' Cup), FC Vaduz 0–5Eintracht Frankfurt (08.08.2019, Europa League)Hradec Králové 9–1 FC Vaduz (24.08.1995, European Cup Winners' Cup)FC Schaan (04.05.2016, FL–Cup Final)FC Triesen II 0–22 FC Vaduz (09.11.1999, FL–Cup Quarter-Finals)Franz Burgmeier (16)Franz Burgmeier (371) Daniele Polverino (91)Daniel Hasler,Peter Jehle,Franz Burgmeier (22)Philipp Muntwiler (90)Moreno Costanzo,Moreno Merenda (5)Moreno Costanzo (12) Daniele Polverino (76)FC Basel,FC St. Gallen)FC Basel)Eintracht Frankfurt)Eintracht Frankfurt)
Miguel Mea Vitali, 87 caps,VenezuelaPeter Jehle, 132 caps (National Record)
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The player of the year inLiechtenstein has been announced as the season 1980/81 to 2007/08 as of the end of the season. The open for all election was organized by media houseVaduz. Since 2009, theLiechtenstein Football Association draws the title holder of its own. To this end, the LFV-Award has been launched, annually awarded a title in which professional bodies and public in three categories. The categories are Footballer of the Year, Young Player of the Year and Coach of the Year.
Liechtensteiner Footballer of the Year
| Liechtensteiner Young Player of the Year
Special prize LFV Award
Liechtensteiner Coach of the Year
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Swiss Challenge League top scorers
| Season | Name | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 |  Gaspar Odirlei | 31 |
| 2010 | Nick Proschwitz | 23 |
Swiss Challenge League dream team
| Season | Name |
|---|---|
| 2013 | Markus Neumayr |
| 2013 | Nick von Niederhäusern |
| 2013 | Peter Jehle |
| 2018 | Philipp Muntwiler |
To celebrate theUnion of European Football Associations (UEFA)'s 50th anniversary in 2004, each of its member associations was asked by UEFA to choose one of its own players as the single most outstanding player of the past 50 years (1954–2003).
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 2004 | Rainer Hasler |
Fairplay Trophy
| Season | League | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | Swiss Challenge League | 65 |
| 2022–23 | Swiss Challenge League | 90 |
UEFA ranking[edit]See also:UEFA coefficient As of 20 March 2023[8]
| Club world ranking[edit]See also:IFFHS As of 31 December 2015[9]
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In the2007–08 season, for the first time in their history, FC Vaduz earned promotion toSwiss Super League. Two times before was relegated in Barrage in the season2003–04 againstNeuchâtel Xamax and2004–05 againstFC Schaffhausen. In the2015–16 season they finished on the 8th place in front ofFC Lugano andFC Zürich who is that season relegated inSwiss Challenge League. After two seasons FC Vaduz was relegated inSwiss Challenge League. In the2019–20 season Vaduz finished in second place and played in the barrage againstFC Thun and Vaduz promoted inSuper League fifth time in history.
| Season | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | Att.[10] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | 10 | 36 | 5 | 7 | 24 | 28 | 85 | 22 | 2,177 |
| 2014–15 | 9 | 36 | 7 | 10 | 19 | 28 | 59 | 31 | 4,152 |
| 2015–16 | 8 | 36 | 7 | 15 | 14 | 44 | 60 | 36 | 4,006 |
| 2016–17 | 10 | 36 | 7 | 9 | 20 | 45 | 78 | 30 | 4,086 |
| 2020–21 | 10 | 36 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 36 | 58 | 36 | 227 |
| Total | 180 | 35 | 50 | 95 | 181 | 340 | 155 | 2,930 |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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FC Vaduz U23 is the reserve team of FC Vaduz. They currently play in the2. Liga (sixth tier of theSwiss football league system). In the season2014–15 they played semi-finals inLiechtenstein Cup againstFC Triesenberg and they lost 1–0after extra time.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Recent season-by-season performance of the club:
P - games played;W- wins;D- draws;L- losses;GF- goals for;GA - goals against;PTS - points
QR - Qualifying Round;QR1 - Qualifying Round 1;QR2 - Qualifying Round 2;QR3 - Qualifying Round 3
| ↑Promoted | ↓Relegated |
A few former players are considered by the fans to be especially memorable because of their long and outstanding contributions towards the club, to some degree even decades after the end of their careers. Therefore, they have a very special status with the fans. The following are a few examples:
| This sectionmay containunverified orindiscriminate information inembedded lists. Please helpclean up the lists by removing items or incorporating them into the text of the article.(December 2021) |
(player 2016)
(player 2018–2019) (player 2005–2009)
(player 2015–2017) (player 2013–2015) (player 2010–2011)
(player 2013–2015)
(player 2014–2015) (player 2011–2017) (player 1997–1999, 2002–2006) (player 1978–1979)
(player 2006–2007)
(player 2011–2013)
(player 2005) (player 2013–2017) (player 2013–2017) (player 2001–2002, 2010–2012) (player 2007–2009)
(player 2008–2009) (player 2017–2018)
(player 2016–2017).jpg)
Players of Vaduz at major international tournaments
| Tournament | |
|---|---|
 AFC Asian Cup 2015 | Pak Kwang-Ryong |
 UEFA Euro 2016 | Armando Sadiku |
| Naser Aliji | |
 Africa Cup of Nations 2019 | Jodel Dossou |
Otto Pfister (1961–63)
Tibor Lőrincz (1969–71)
Željko Perušić (1974–75)Peter Blusch (1980–82)Hans Krostina (1983–85)Helmut Richert (1989–90)
Hans Trittinger (1990–91)Hans-Joachim Abel (1994–96)Hansruedi Fässler (1996–97)Alfons Dobler (1997–99)Uwe Wegmann (1999–02)Walter Hörmann (2002–03)Martin Andermatt (2003–05)Hans-Joachim Weller (2005)
Mats Gren (2005–06)
Maurizio Jacobacci (2006–07)Hans-Joachim Weller (2007)Heinz Hermann (2007–08)Pierre Littbarski (2008–10)
Eric Orie (2010–12)Sebastian Selke (2012) (Interim)Giorgio Contini (2012–17)Daniel Hasler (2017) (Interim)Roland Vrabec (2017–2018)Mario Frick (2018–2022)Alessandro Mangiarratti (2022)Jürgen Seeberger (2023) Jan Meyer(interim) (2023)Martin Stocklasa (2023–2024)Marc Schneider[12] (2024–present)
.jpg)
Johannes Walser (1932–1933) Willy Huber (1933–1934) Anton Konrad (1934–1936) Rudolf Strub (1936–1943) Hans Verling (1943–1948) Albert Caminada (1948–1950) Felix Real (1950–1951) Hans Verling (1951–1955) Anton Ospelt (1955–1956) Otto Hasler (1956–1961) Engelbert Schreiber (1961–1964) Hilmar Ospelt (1964–1967) Kurt Frommelt (1967–1971) Norbert Vogt (1971–1973) Reinhard Walser (1973–1979) Reinold Ospelt (1979–1983) Alfons Thöny (1983–1988) Andy Rechsteiner (1988–1990) Werner Keicher (1990–1997) Manfred Moser (1997–2001) Marc Brogle (2001–2003) Hanspeter Negele (2003–2008)Franz Schädler (2008–2009) (Interim) Lorenz Gassner (2009–2010) (Acting) Albin Johann (2010–2013)Ruth Ospelt (2013–2019)Patrick Burgmeier (2019–)On 12 March 2012 the new club FC Vaduz Rugby was founded. Therugby union club is involved in the grassroots of the FC Vaduz. Rugby union in Liechtenstein is a minor but growing sport. Liechtenstein has no national governing body of its own, but comes under theSwiss Rugby Federation.
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