| Season | 1977–78 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Grasshopper Club |
| Relegated | Étoile Carouge Young Fellows |
| European Cup | Grasshopper Club |
| Cup Winners' Cup | Servette |
| UEFA Cup | Basel Lausanne-Sport |
| Top goalscorer | Fritz Künzli (Zürich) 21 goals |
1978–79 → | |
| Season | 1977–78 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Nordstern |
| Promoted | Nordstern Chiasso |
| Relegated | Gossau Bulle |
| Top goalscorer | Helmut Degen (Nordstern) 27 goals |
1978–79 → | |
The following is the summary of theSwiss National League in the 1977–78 football season, both Nationalliga A and Nationalliga B. This was the 81st season of top-tier and the 80th season of second-tier football in Switzerland.
TheSwiss Football Association (ASF/SFV) had 28 members at this time. The clubs were divided into two tiers, the top tier Nationalliga A (NLA) with 12 teams and the second tier Nationalliga B (NLB) with 16. The format in both divisions was that 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. Each club playing every other club twice (home and away), for a total of 22 rounds in the NLA and 30 rounds in the NLB.
In the NLA following this first qualification stage the division was divided in two, the top placed six teams then played a championship stage and the other teams in a relegation play-out. In both groups each team took half of the points gained in the first stage, rounded up to complete units, as bonus with them. They played a further double round-robin within the group. The Swiss champions would qualify for the1978–79 European Cup, the runners-up and third placed team would qualify for the1978–79 UEFA Cup. From the play-out group the bottom two teams were relegated to the second-tier. From the NLB the top two teams were promoted and the bottom two teams relegated to the1978–79 1. Liga.
The first round of the NLA was played on 13 August 1977. There was a winter break between 11 December and 26 February 1978. The qualifying phase was completed by 25 March and the second phase took place between 1 April and 27 May 1978.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grasshopper Club | 22 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 60 | 27 | +33 | 34 | To championship round |
| 2 | Servette | 22 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 44 | 20 | +24 | 33 | |
| 3 | Lausanne-Sport | 22 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 47 | 21 | +26 | 30 | |
| 4 | Basel[1] | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 53 | 34 | +19 | 28 | |
| 5 | FC Zürich[2] | 22 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 38 | 27 | +11 | 28 | |
| 6 | Sion | 22 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 29 | 33 | −4 | 21 | |
| 7 | Xamax | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 32 | 42 | −10 | 19 | To relegation play-out round |
| 8 | Young Boys | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 27 | 45 | −18 | 19 | |
| 9 | Chênois | 22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 27 | 35 | −8 | 18 | |
| 10 | St. Gallen | 22 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 27 | 38 | −11 | 17 | |
| 11 | Étoile Carouge | 22 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 22 | 40 | −18 | 13 | |
| 12 | Young Fellows Zürich | 22 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 14 | 58 | −44 | 4 |
| Home \ Away | BAS | CHÊ | ÉTO | GCZ | LS | NX | SER | SIO | STG | YB | YFZ | ZÜR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basel | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–5 | 1–4 | 6–1 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 2–2 | |
| Chênois | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 0–2 | |
| Étoile Carouge | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | |
| Grasshopper Club | 0–1 | 5–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 7–2 | |
| Lausanne-Sports | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 6–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | |
| Neuchâtel Xamax | 2–5 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | |
| Servette | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | |
| Sion | 4–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | |
| St. Gallen | 1–2 | 5–3 | 2–0 | 2–6 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | |
| Young Boys | 4–5 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | |
| Young Fellows | 1–4 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–4 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | |
| Zürich | 1–1 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 5–1 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grasshopper Club | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 12 | +5 | 17 | 29 | Swiss Champions, qualified for1978–79 European Cup and entered1978 Intertoto Cup |
| 2 | Servette | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 17 | 28 | Swiss Cup winners, qualified for1978–79 Cup Winners' Cup |
| 3 | Basel[1] | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 21 | 14 | +7 | 14 | 27 | qualified for1978–79 UEFA Cup |
| 4 | Lausanne-Sport | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 21 | 14 | +7 | 15 | 26 | qualified for1978–79 UEFA Cup |
| 5 | Zürich[2] | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 14 | 26 | entered1978 Intertoto Cup |
| 6 | Sion | 10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 8 | 27 | −19 | 11 | 12 | entered1978 Intertoto Cup |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Young Boys | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 20 | 13 | +7 | 10 | 23 | entered1978 Intertoto Cup |
| 2 | Chênois | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 19 | 9 | +10 | 9 | 21 | |
| 3 | St. Gallen | 10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 7 | +4 | 9 | 21 | |
| 4 | Xamax | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 15 | −1 | 10 | 20 | |
| 5 | Étoile Carouge | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 12 | +1 | 7 | 18 | Relegated to1978–79 Nationalliga B |
| 6 | Young Fellows Zürich | 10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 31 | −21 | 2 | 4 | Relegated to1978–79 Nationalliga B |
| Home \ Away | CHÊ | ÉTO | NX | STG | YB | YFZ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chênois | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | |
| Étoile Carouge | 1–5 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | |
| Neuchâtel Xamax | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | |
| St. Gallen | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | |
| Young Boys | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | |
| Young Fellows | 1–5 | 1–5 | 3–4 | 1–0 | 2–4 |
| Team | Town | Canton | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Aarau | Aarau | Stadion Brügglifeld | 9,240 | |
| AC Bellinzona | Bellinzona | Stadio Comunale Bellinzona | 5,000 | |
| FC Biel-Bienne | Biel/Bienne | Stadion Gurzelen | 15,000 | |
| FC Bulle | Bulle | Stade de Bouleyres | 7,000 | |
| FC Chiasso | Chiasso | Stadio Comunale Riva IV | 4,000 | |
| FC Fribourg | Fribourg | Stade Universitaire | 9,000 | |
| FC Gossau | Gossau | Sportanlage Buechenwald | 3,500 | |
| FC Grenchen | Grenchen | Stadium Brühl | 15,100 | |
| SC Kriens | Kriens | Stadion Kleinfeld | 5,100 | |
| FC La Chaux-de-Fonds | La Chaux-de-Fonds | Centre Sportif de la Charrière | 12,700 | |
| FC Lugano | Lugano | Cornaredo Stadium | 6,330 | |
| FC Luzern | Lucerne | Stadion Allmend | 25,000 | |
| FC Nordstern Basel | Basel | Rankhof | 7,600 | |
| Vevey-Sports | Vevey | Stade de Copet | 4,000 | |
| FC Wettingen | Wettingen | Stadion Altenburg | 10,000 | |
| FC Winterthur | Winterthur | Schützenwiese | 8,550 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nordstern Basel | 30 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 69 | 23 | +46 | 45 | Champions promoted to1978–79 Nationalliga A |
| 2 | Chiasso | 30 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 70 | 30 | +40 | 45 | Promoted to1978–79 Nationalliga A |
| 3 | Lugano | 30 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 57 | 19 | +38 | 42 | |
| 4 | Biel-Bienne | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 37 | 30 | +7 | 36 | |
| 5 | Vevey-Sports | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 58 | 36 | +22 | 35 | |
| 6 | Winterthur | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 32 | |
| 7 | Grenchen | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 45 | 45 | 0 | 28 | |
| 8 | Kriens | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 38 | 58 | −20 | 28 | |
| 9 | Bellinzona | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 44 | 55 | −11 | 26 | |
| 10 | Fribourg | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 35 | 46 | −11 | 26 | |
| 11 | Aarau[3] | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 44 | 67 | −23 | 26 | |
| 12 | Luzern | 30 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 34 | 39 | −5 | 25 | |
| 13 | Wettingen | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 36 | 48 | −12 | 25 | |
| 14 | La Chaux-de-Fonds | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 44 | 56 | −12 | 23 | |
| 15 | Gossau[4] | 30 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 36 | 64 | −28 | 20 | Relegated to1978–79 1. Liga |
| 16 | Bulle[4] | 30 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 37 | 68 | −31 | 18 |
| Preceded by 1976–77 | Nationalliga seasons in Switzerland | Succeeded by 1978–79 |