FC Vaduz

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FC Vaduz is a Liechtensteiner football team that plays in Vaduz. The club plays at the small Rheinpark Stadion, which has a capacity of 4,548. Vaduz also play in the Challenge League (formerly called Nationalliga B), the second tier of the Swiss league. In recent years Vaduz has been one of the best teams in the Challenge League and have given serious challenges towards promotion to the Axpo Super League. Vaduz came extremely close to promotion to the Axpo Super League in 2004 and 2005, playing two-leg play-offs in both cases. However, Vaduz finished in a disappointing 8th position in the Challenge League this season as a result of a very poor first half of the season.

Fußball Club Vaduz was founded on February 14, 1932 in Vaduz, and the club's first chairman was Johann Walser. In its first training match, which Vaduz played in Balzers on April 24 of that year, the newly-born team emerged as 2-1 winners. In 1933, Vaduz began playing in Switzerland. Over the years Vaduz struggled through the different tiers of Swiss football and won its first Liechtensteiner Cup in 1949. Vaduz enjoyed a lengthy stay in the Swiss first division from 1960 to 1973.

In 1992, Vaduz qualified for European football for the first time, entering the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup as Liechtenstein Cup winners but lost 1-12 on aggregate to FC Chornomorets Odesa of Ukraine. In 1996, Vaduz qualified for the next round with their first European victory, winning 5-3 on aggregate over FC Universitate Riga of Latvia, although Vaduz lost to Paris St-Germain of France 0-7 on aggregate in the next round. After the banishment of the Cup Winners' Cup, Vaduz regularly enter the UEFA Cup as a result of being the only fully professional side in Liechtenstein and therefore have won the Liechtenstein Cup 33 times. Vaduz's most recent Liechtensteiner Cup win came in 2006, when they beat FC Balzers 4-2 in the final, meaning Vaduz will once again qualify for the UEFA Cup.

Vaduz literally came within less than one second of reaching the first round proper of the UEFA Cup in 2002. With the scores tied level at 0-0 and with opponents Livingston 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 before full-time before the ball crossed over the line, and Livingston progressed through in controversial circumstances.

In 2004, Vaduz enjoyed their biggest European success to date, reaching the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup with a 4-2 aggregate victory over Longford Town FC of the Republic of Ireland in the first qualifying round. In the second qualifying round K.S.K. Beveren defeated Vaduz 5-2 on aggregate. This feat was repeated in 2005, when Vaduz reached the 2nd qualifying round but lost to Turkish side Besiktas.

Vaduz's current head coach is the Swede Mats Gren, who was appointed very recently, after the harsh sacking of Liechtensteiner national team coach Martin Andermatt in 2005, as a result of 3 defeats in a row, despite the club still being 2nd in the league. The current chairman of Vaduz is Hanspeter Negele. Vaduz's uniforms are all red, which is their home kit, and all white, which is the away kit. Vaduz has many players from the Liechtensteiner national team, but also has many foreign players from different areas of the world.

External link

[Official website]

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