Servette FC

Servette FC is a Swiss football club based in Geneva. They play in the Swiss Super League.

"Servette Geneva" redirects here. For ice hockey club, see Genève-Servette HC.

Servette
Full nameAssociation du
Servette Football Club
Nickname(s)Les Grenats (The Maroons)
Founded20 March 1890 (1890-03-20)
GroundStade de Genève
Capacity30,084
Owner1890 Foundation
ChairmanDidier Fischer
ManagerAlain Geiger
LeagueSwiss Super League
2019–20Swiss Super League, 4th of 10
WebsiteClub website

Servette is one of Switzerland's most successful clubs and the most successful club from the Francophone part of the country, winning 17 national titles, as well as 7 Swiss cups. Founded in 1890, the team has spent the majority of its history in the top flight of Swiss football, regularly contesting for the title with rivals Grasshopper Zürich.

However, after their last league title in 1998, Servette began experiencing financial problems, which led to a turbulent decade. The club was relegated to the third division in 2004–05 due to a bankruptcy, but achieved promotion to the Swiss Challenge League after the 2005–06 season, where the club remained until 2011. Servette earned promotion to the Swiss Super League after defeating Bellinzona in a relegation/promotion playoff on 31 May 2011. The club finished fourth in its first season back in the top flight, thereby gaining entrance to the Europa League second round qualification round for the 2012–13 season. However, they were relegated at the end of the 2013 season. They are back in Swiss first tier in 2019, being promoted from a playoff against FC Lausanne-Sport.

History
Chart of FC Servette table positions in the Swiss football league system

Early years to bankruptcy

Founded in 1890, Servette was the leading club in French-speaking Switzerland, having won 17 Swiss league championships and seven Swiss cups. Servette were also winners of the Torneo Internazionale Stampa Sportiva, one of the first international football competitions in the world, in 1908. In 1930 Servette organized Coupe des Nations, the predecessor of UEFA Champions League.

Led by Umberto Barberis and Claude "Didi" Andrey, in 1978–1979 the club won all of the competitions it entered – with the exception of the European Cup Winners' Cup where they were eliminated in the quarter-finals on away goals by Fortuna Düsseldorf, that year's finalist. Barberis later became French champion in 1982 with AS Monaco.

Until its bankruptcy, Servette was the only Swiss club to have remained in the top league since its creation in 1890. Servette remained the only club to have never been relegated for sporting reasons, until they finished at the last place, following the 2012–2013 season.

Bankruptcy and revival
Old Servette FC Logo

On 4 February 2005, the parent company of the club was declared bankrupt.[1] It had run debts of over 10 million Swiss francs, having not paid the players since the previous November, and consequently the club suffered an exodus of players looking for paying clubs. As a consequence of the bankruptcy Servette Under 21s took over the club name playing two divisions below the original Servette team in 1. Liga, a fate already experienced by regional rivals Lausanne Sports in 2003, and continued to play at the Stade de Geneve in front of smaller crowds.

In the 2005–06 season, a rejuvenated Servette secured promotion to the Challenge League, the second highest division in Switzerland.

In the 2010–11 season, Servette finished 2nd in the Challenge League, thereby qualifying for a relegation/promotion play-off against Super League team AC Bellinzona. Servette lost the initial match in Bellinzona 1–0, but won the return match 3–1 and winning the tie 3–2 on aggregate, securing promotion to the Swiss Super League.[2]

2011 to present

During the Summer 2011 transfer window, Servette FC made very few signings, considering the club had been promoted from the second division to the Super League. Barroca, Issaga Diallo, Carlos Saleiro and Abdoulaye Fall (the latter failed to receive a work permit) were signed as permanent transfers,[3] in addition to Ishmael Yartey[4] and Roderick Miranda[5] joining the club on loan from Benfica. Costinha, a former Portugal international and Champions League winner with FC Porto, was appointed as the club's Sporting Director, after he had been previously fired by Sporting Lisbon. With a largely unchanged squad from their previous season in the second division, Servette achieved very impressive results in the first half of the season, including victories over FC Zurich, BSC Young Boys, Neuchatel Xamax, FC Lucerne, local rivals FC Lausanne-Sport and a 4–0 away win over arch-rivals FC Sion.[6] Despite achieving overall impressive results in the first half of the season, manager João Alves was fired, and was replaced by his compatriot João Pereira,[7] to the disappointment of many of Servette's supporters.

In December 2011, reports surfaced that Servette was unable to pay players' salaries, in addition to other expenses. In January 2012, one of the club's star performers and leading goalscorers, Matías Vitkieviez, was sold to Young Boys for only 150,000 CHF.[8] In February 2012, Servette filed for bankruptcy a second time. On 12 March 2012, chairman Majid Pishyar sold the club to a consortium headed by Hugh Quennec, president of the city's hockey club, Genève-Servette HC. The club was initially given one month to secure the funding necessary to come out of bankruptcy proceedings, and was successful in doing so. Pishyar remains as "honorary president" through the end of the 2011–12 season.[9]

In April 2012, the decision was made to reinstate manager João Alves, who had achieved promotion and impressive results in the first half of the season, and to fire his replacement João Pereira,[10] who had failed to improve the club's results. Alves' return immediately led to improved results, and the club finished the season's final five matches with four wins and one draw.[6] This included a 2–1 victory over FC Basel on the final day of the season, which ended a run of 17 consecutive losses against FC Basel dating back to 2001, as well as ending Basel's 26 match unbeaten streak.[11] The victory also meant that Servette secured fourth place in their first season back in Switzerland's top flight, granting Servette entry into the second round of qualifying for the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League. The season ended with further good news, as on 24 May 2012, the Swiss Football League granted Servette its license for the 2012–13 season,[12] thus marking the end of Servette's financial worries for the time being.

Servette announced that it would be preparing for the 2012–13 season with friendly matches against Thun, Shakhtar Donetsk, Yverdon-Sport, Étoile Carouge, Lausanne-Sport and Porto.[13] In the transfer market, Servette sold Stéphane Nater and Carlos Saleiro, while Ishmael Yartey and Roderick Miranda were recalled to Benfica from their loan spells. Servette bolstered its ranks by signing Geoffrey Tréand,[14] Alexandre Pasche,[15] Christopher Mfuyi,[16] Kevin Gissi,[17] Simone Grippo,[18] Mike Gomes,[19] and Samir Ramizi.[20] Servette also brought in Genséric Kusunga,[21] Steven Lang,[22] and Kelvin on loan for the season.

On 12 July 2012, it was confirmed that Servette would face Gandzasar FC in the second round of qualifying for the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League. The club won the tie 5–1, progressing to face Rosenborg BK in the third qualifier round, against whom they were eliminated on away goals. Servette's league campaign, meanwhile, went poorly, and the club was relegated (for sporting reasons) for the first time in its 113-year history in May 2013, following a 3–0 away defeat by relegation rivals FC Lausanne-Sport.[23]

On 14 July 2013, Servette began the 2013–14 season in the Swiss Challenge League with a 2–1 win at FC Wohlen.[24]

After finishing 2nd in the 2014–15 Swiss Challenge League, the Swiss Football League refused Servette FC a Challenge League licence meaning that Servette would play in the 1st Promotion League (third tier) during 2015–16.[25] In June 2015 the club held a press conference where it was revealed that Servette FC had new owners – 1890 Foundation – holding 100% of the capital stock of SFC SA.[26] At the same press conference it was declared that 1890 Foundation was a private foundation subject to scrutiny by the public supervisory authority.

While Kevin Cooper stayed on as coach, many players left. On 3 November 2015, Servette FC announced that Kevin Cooper had left the club and William Niederhauser and Thierry Cotting would be temporarily in charge of first team affairs.[27] In January 2016 the club announced that Anthony Braizat had taken charge of first team affairs.[28]

Stadium

The home ground of Servette is the Stade de Genève. It was inaugurated on 16 March 2003 after three years of construction. The opening match was played between Servette and Young Boys. With an all-seater capacity of 30,084, the Stade de Genève is the third largest stadium in Switzerland, and hosted three group matches in the 2008 European Football Championship.

Servette moved to the Stade de Genève from their old ground, the Stade des Charmilles, in 2003. The Charmilles was inaugurated on 28 June 1930, with the first game drawing a crowd of 14,000 on the first match of the Coupe des Nations. The official capacity peaked at 30,000, but a record 40,000 spectators managed to squeeze in for the international game between Switzerland and France on 14 October 1951. Flood lights were installed in 1977 and the stands were entirely covered in 1983. The capacity gradually diminished from the 1980s onward, first to 20,000 in 1985 and then to 9,250 in 1998 when the stadium became an all-seater.

Plans for a new stadium were first launched in 1984, in response to the Charmilles becoming increasingly outdated and run down. A project committee was established in 1992, which proposed to either rebuild the stadium over the course of four years or construct a new stadium elsewhere in Geneva. Meanwhile, with more substantial plans failing to materialize, the poor state of the old stadium became apparent when the main stand, the Tribune A, was declared unsafe in 1995 and closed off. A renovation project began the following year, which saw the main stand re-opened and seats eventually being installed throughout the stadium. Servette would secure another Swiss Championship and a Cup trophy while playing at the Charmilles, before construction on the new Stade de Genève finally commenced in 2000. The last match was played on 8 December 2002 in front of a capacity crowd.

Current squad
As of 24 January 2020[29]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  COD Joël Kiassumbua
2 DF   SUI Anthony Sauthier
4 DF   SUI Steve Rouiller
5 MF   SUI Boris Cespedes
8 MF  FRA Timothé Cognat
9 MF  BIH Miroslav Stevanović
11 FW  NED Alex Schalk
14 MF  ITA Andrea Maccoppi
-- DF  SEN Arial Mendy
17 MF   SUI Kastriot Imeri
18 FW  CIV Koro Kone
19 DF  FRA Yoan Severin
20 FW  GER Varol Tasar
21 DF   SUI Dennis Iapichino
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 MF   SUI Ricardo Azevedo
23 DF  FRA Vincent Sasso
25 FW  FRA Grejohn Kyei
29 MF  CMR Gaël Ondoua
32 GK   SUI Jérémy Frick
38 MF   SUI Mathis Holcbecher
37 DF   SUI Nicolas Vouilloz
39 MF  FRA Alexis Martial
40 MF   SUI Noah Henchoz
44 MF  FRA Alexis Guérin
42 DF   SUI Lucas Monteiro
46 MF  FRA Matteo Mazzolini
-- DF  FRA Moussa Diallo

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
27 MF   SUI Alexis Antunes (at FC Chiasso until 30 June 2020)
No. Pos. Nation Player
33 DF   SUI Robin Busset (at SC Kriens until 30 June 2020)

Staff

Manager

Assistant Coach

  • Bojan Dimic

Sporting Director

    Goalkeeper Coach

    • Daniel Blanco

    Team Manager

    • Lionel Pizzinat

    Doctor

    • Finn Mahler

    Honours

    Notable players

    Managers

    [31]

    gollark: Measuring CPU usage by *frequency* instead of % seems *really* weird to me.
    gollark: They also don't need to run a new memory-eating kernel for every, er, container.
    gollark: Surely if making money through server hosting was as easy as just renting a VPS/dedicated box, sticking some software on it, and charging giant margins, more people would do it.
    gollark: I think you *can* limit RAM with containers.
    gollark: Versus VMs, yes.

    References
    1. "Final curtain for Servette". UEFA. 16 February 2005.
    2. "Servette FC en Super League!" (in French). Tribune De Geneve. 31 May 2011. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012.
    3. "Conference de Press" (in French). Servette FC. 2 July 2012. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
    4. "Yartey prêté par Benfica à Servette" [Yartey loaned to Servette by Benfica] (in French). Tribune De Geneve. 21 June 2011. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
    5. "Roderick: "Servette, c'est une décision évidente"" [Roderick: Servette is an obvious choice] (in French). Tribune De Geneve. 6 September 2011. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014.
    6. "Servette Football Club Calandrier 2011–12" (in French). Servette FC. 21 May 2012. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
    7. "Servette remercie son entraineur" [Servette sacks its manager] (in French). 20 Minutes. 28 November 2011.
    8. "Vitkieviez à Young Boys" (in French). Le Matin. 16 January 2011.
    9. "Communiqué de presse" (in French). Servette FC. 8 March 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
    10. "Surprise: Hugh Quennec rappelle Alves à la tête du Servette FC!" [Surprise: Hugh Quennec recalls Alves to the head of Servette FC!] (in French). Tribune De Geneve. 24 April 2012.
    11. "Extraordinaire apothéose pour un Servette follement européen" [Extraordinary climax for a wildly European Servette] (in French). Tribune De Geneve. 21 May 2012.
    12. "Le Servette FC obtient sa licence 2012–2013" [Servette FC obtains its 2012–13 license] (in French). Tribune De Geneve. 24 May 2012.
    13. "Calendrier 2012–13" (in French). Servette FC. 11 June 2012. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
    14. "Servette: Tréand a signé pour trois ans" (in French). Tribune De Geneve. 18 June 2012.
    15. "Alexandre Pasche signe à Servette pour trois ans" (in French). Le Matin. 20 June 2012.
    16. "Mfuyi de retour pour 2 saisons" (in French). Servette FC. 21 June 2012. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014.
    17. "Kevin Gissi en grenat pour une saison". Servette FC. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013.
    18. "Le Servette FC engage le milieu Simone Grippo pour les trois prochaines saisons" (in French). RTS.ch. 16 July 2012.
    19. "Mike Gomes rejoint le Servette FC" (in French). Servette. 24 July 2012. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014.
    20. "Samir Ramizi en grenat pour 3 saisons" (in French). Servette. 24 July 2012. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014.
    21. "Kusunga redevient Servettien" (in French). Le Matin. 25 June 2012.
    22. "Lang suit Pasche à Servette" (in French). Le Matin. 29 June 2012.
    23. "Triste sort pour Servette, relégué en Challenge League" (in French). Tribune de Geneve. 29 May 2013.
    24. "Wohlen vs. Servette 1–2". Soccerway. 13 July 2013.
    25. "Servette FC booted from local league". The Local. 2 June 2015.
    26. "Servette FC press conference 17.06.2015". Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
    27. "Servette FC news release 03.11.2015". Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
    28. "Servette FC news release, 18.01.2016". Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
    29. League, Swiss Football. "Servette FC- Swiss Football League". www.sfl.ch.
    30. "International Tournaments (Paris) 1904–1935". www.rsssf.com.
    31. "SERVETTE F. C. – Trainer" (PDF). Super-Servette. Retrieved 7 April 2008.

    General

    Fansites

    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.