| Season | 1971–72 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Basel |
| Relegated | Luzern Biel-Bienne |
| Top goalscorer | Herbert Dimmeler (Winterthur) andBernd Dörfel (Servette) both 17 goals |
1972–73 → | |
| Season | 1971–72 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Chiasso |
| Promoted | Chiasso FC Fribourg |
| Relegated | FC Monthey AS Gambarogno |
| Top goalscorer | Jean-Robert Rub (Xamax) 20 goals |
1972–73 → | |
The following is the summary of theSwiss National League in the 1971–72 football season, both Nationalliga A and Nationalliga B. This was the 75th season of top-tier and the 74th season of second-tier football in Switzerland.
TheSwiss Football Association (ASF/SFV) had 28 member clubs at this time which were divided into two divisions of 14 teams each. The teams played a doubleround-robin to decide their table positions. Two points were awarded for a win, and one point was awarded for a draw. The top tier (NLA) was contested by the top 12 teams from theprevious season and the two newly promoted teamsSt. Gallen andFC Grenchen. This season's champions would qualify for the1972–73 European Cup. The second and third placed teams were to be qualified for the1972–73 UEFA Cup, but because second placedZürich won the1971–72 Swiss Cup, these UEFA rights were passed down to the third and fourth placed teams. The last two placed teams were to be relegated to the1972–73 NLB.
The second-tier (NLB) was contested by the two teams that had been relegated from the NLA,Bellinzona andFribourg, the teams that had been in third to twelfth position last season and the two newly promoted teamsCS Chênois and AS Gambarogno. The top two teams at the end of the season would be promoted to the1972–73 NLA and the last two teams would be relegated to the1972–73 Swiss 1. Liga.[1]
The first round of the NLA was played on 14 August 1971. After playing 13 rounds, completed on 12 December, there was a winter break until the 14th round was held on 5 March 1972. The season had 26 rounds and was completed on 10 June 1972.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Basel[2] | 26 | 18 | 7 | 1 | 66 | 28 | +38 | 43 | Swiss champions, qualified for1972–73 European Cup |
| 2 | Zürich[3] | 26 | 17 | 5 | 4 | 55 | 28 | +27 | 39 | Swiss Cup winners, qualified for1972–73 Cup Winners' Cup and entered1972 Intertoto Cup |
| 3 | Grasshopper Club | 26 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 56 | 24 | +32 | 38 | Qualified for1972–73 UEFA Cup and entered1972 Intertoto Cup |
| 4 | Lausanne-Sport | 26 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 50 | 36 | +14 | 30 | Qualified for1972–73 UEFA Cup |
| 5 | Young Boys | 26 | 12 | 5 | 9 | 46 | 31 | +15 | 29 | Entered1972 Intertoto Cup |
| 6 | Winterthur | 26 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 37 | 32 | +5 | 28 | Entered1972 Intertoto Cup |
| 7 | Sion | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 37 | 36 | +1 | 26 | |
| 8 | Servette | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 39 | 47 | −8 | 25 | |
| 9 | Lugano | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 33 | 39 | −6 | 23 | |
| 10 | Grenchen | 26 | 6 | 11 | 9 | 27 | 40 | −13 | 23 | |
| 11 | La Chaux-de-Fonds | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 25 | 45 | −20 | 21 | |
| 12 | St. Gallen | 26 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 27 | 46 | −19 | 15 | To relegation play-out |
| 13 | Luzern | 26 | 6 | 3 | 17 | 24 | 49 | −25 | 15 | To relegation play-out |
| 14 | Biel-Bienne | 26 | 2 | 5 | 19 | 26 | 67 | −41 | 9 | Relegated to1972–73 Nationalliga B |
The decider was played on 13 June 1972 at theHardturm inZürich.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| St. Gallen | 4–1 | Luzern |
St. Gallen won and remained in the top-level.Luzern were relegated to1972–73 Nationalliga B.
| Home \ Away | BAS | BB | CDF | GCZ | GRE | LS | LUG | LUZ | SER | SIO | STG | WIN | YB | ZÜR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basel | 6–2 | 6–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | |
| Biel-Bienne | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–4 | |
| La Chaux-de-Fonds | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | |
| Grasshopper Club | 1–2 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | |
| Grenchen | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 1–1 | |
| Lausanne-Sports | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | |
| Lugano | 0–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | |
| Luzern | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–4 | |
| Servette | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | |
| Sion | 3–3 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | |
| St. Gallen | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–4 | |
| Winterthur | 2–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | |
| Young Boys | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 6–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | |
| Zürich | 3–3 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
Source:[4]
| # | Club | Average attendance | Highest attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Basel | 18,769 | 56,000 |
| 2 | Young Boys | 10,131 | 22,500 |
| 3 | Zürich | 9,662 | 32,000 |
| 4 | Lausanne | 7,885 | 18,000 |
| 5 | GCZ | 7,323 | 29,500 |
| 6 | Luzern | 6,582 | 15,000 |
| 7 | Grenchen | 5,731 | 10,500 |
| 8 | Servette | 5,723 | 13,000 |
| 9 | Sion | 5,492 | 9,500 |
| 10 | St. Gallen | 5,431 | 9,600 |
| 11 | Winterthur | 4,769 | 10,500 |
| 12 | Biel-Bienne | 4,038 | 8,500 |
| 13 | La Chaux-de-Fonds | 3,385 | 8,000 |
| 14 | Lugano | 3,054 | 8,000 |
| Team | Based in | Canton | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Aarau | Aarau | Stadion Brügglifeld | 9,240 | |
| AC Bellinzona | Bellinzona | Stadio Comunale Bellinzona | 5,000 | |
| SC Brühl | St. Gallen | Paul-Grüninger-Stadion | 4,200 | |
| CS Chênois | Thônex | Stade des Trois-Chêne | 8,000 | |
| FC Chiasso | Chiasso | Stadio Comunale Riva IV | 4,000 | |
| Étoile Carouge FC | Carouge | Stade de la Fontenette | 3,690 | |
| FC Fribourg | Fribourg | Stade Universitaire | 9,000 | |
| AS Gambarogno[5] | Gambarogno | Centro Sportivo Regionale Magadino | 1,100 | |
| FC Martigny-Sports | Martigny | Stade d'Octodure | 2,500 | |
| Mendrisiostar | Mendrisio | Centro Sportivo Comunale | 4,000 | |
| FC Monthey | Monthey | Stade Philippe Pottier | 1,800 | |
| Vevey-Sports | Vevey | Stade de Copet | 4,000 | |
| FC Wettingen | Wettingen | Stadion Altenburg | 10,000 | |
| FC Xamax | Neuchâtel | Stade de la Maladière | 25,500 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Chiasso | 26 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 45 | 25 | +20 | 37 | NLB Champions and promoted to1972–73 Nationalliga A |
| 2 | FC Fribourg | 26 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 41 | 22 | +19 | 34 | Promoted to1972–73 Nationalliga A |
| 3 | FC Xamax | 26 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 59 | 41 | +18 | 33 | |
| 4 | Vevey-Sports | 26 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 44 | 39 | +5 | 32 | |
| 5 | FC Martigny-Sports | 26 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 46 | 37 | +9 | 28 | |
| 6 | AC Bellinzona | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 48 | 39 | +9 | 26 | |
| 7 | Mendrisiostar | 26 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 36 | 30 | +6 | 26 | |
| 8 | FC Wettingen | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 34 | 42 | −8 | 25 | |
| 9 | CS Chênois | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 39 | 54 | −15 | 25 | |
| 10 | FC Aarau[6] | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 32 | 31 | +1 | 23 | |
| 11 | Etoile Carouge FC | 26 | 6 | 11 | 9 | 31 | 34 | −3 | 23 | |
| 12 | SC Brühl | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 35 | 49 | −14 | 22 | |
| 13 | FC Monthey[7] | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 35 | 49 | −14 | 21 | Relegated to1972–73 1. Liga |
| 14 | AS Gambarogno[7] | 26 | 0 | 9 | 17 | 21 | 54 | −33 | 9 | Relegated to1972–73 1. Liga |
| Preceded by 1970–71 | Nationalliga seasons in Switzerland | Succeeded by 1972–73 |