1925–26 Swiss Cup

Swiss Cup 1925–26 Switzerland 75 Grasshopper Club Bern Och Cup 1926–27 The 1925–26 Swiss Cup was the initial edition of Switzerland's football cup tournament, organised by the Swiss Football Association and has been organised by them annually since then. Overview Preamble Within Switzerland, men's football began to diversify geographically and socially early on. After the turn of the century, clubs also emerged in rural regions. In 1902, 26 clubs belonged to the national association; by 1914, there were already 115 clubs with around 15,000 members. Football also spread from commercial and academic circles to broader male sections of the population and, from around 1900, also to the working class. The 1920s not only saw a rapid rise in the popularity of top-level football, but also a decade of rapid growth in grassroots football. In the interwar period, young men were gripped by a "football fever" that was repeatedly lamented in educational circles. In the first post-war season, the football section of the Swiss Football and Athletics Federation (SFAV) had 126 clubs with 20,696 members. By the 1930/31 season, this number had risen to 328 clubs with 66,966 members. After the end of the first world war, especially during the early 1920s, many new football clubs were formed. By around 1925 at the latest, every larger Swiss town seems to have had a football pitch and its own club. Top level organised football also experienced a boom. Not only were small clubs being formed, the larger already existing clubs were expanding and growing too. Between 1922 and 1930, twelve new football stadiums were built, each with a capacity of over 10,000 spectators. Semi-professional and fully professional football players began to emerge and transfer fees started to become a reality. Roughly speaking, the Swiss football movement had tripled in size in about a decade. Fabian Brändle Christian Koller 2018 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299279864_4_zu_2_Die_goldene_Zeit_des_Schweizer_Fussballs_1918-1939 Die goldene Zeit des Schweizer Fussballs 1918–1939 The golden times in Swiss football 1918–1939 Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS) de-ch 2024-11-16 The period between the two World Wars is considered the heyday of Swiss football, the golden age. During this time, the Swiss national team won the silver medal at the 1924 Olympic football tournament in Paris and twice reached the quarterfinals of a World Cup. They reached the quarterfinals 1934 in Italy and 1938 in France. Particularly noteworthy was the 4–2 victory against the Greater German selection at the 1938 World Cup, which was considered by many to be part of the "spiritual defence of the country" against Hitler's aggressive policies. Switzerland also developed one of the first professional leagues in Europe, which contributed to the professionalisation of the sport. The clubs were modern and innovative, which put Swiss football on the European stage. During this period, many talented players came to the fore, including Xam Abegglen and Trello Abegglen and Severino Minelli. The golden age of Swiss football was an era of growth, success, and innovation. The combination of sporting success and the development of professional structures laid the foundation for the future development of football in Switzerland and made the country one of the most innovative in European football. However, at this time, the Swiss league system was beginning to suffer a crisis and this would expand further during the following years. The structure of the Swiss championships provided for a Serie A with 27 teams (3 groups of 9 clubs), a Promotion Series of 54 teams (6 groups of 8 teams) and, subsequently, the regional Serie B, C and D. There were disagreements between smaller and larger clubs. For example, the smaller clubs wanted direct promotion without going through play-offs, while the larger clubs, with some professional and semi-professional players, were insisting on separating the championship from the lower leagues, in a system similar to that which had already been implemented in Italy in 1922. However, this wish was overturned and the hoped-for spectator increase failed to materialise. As time progressed, the professionalism came under criticism from various (sports) political camps. This, not least, due to financial problems within some of the clubs. The Swiss Football and Athletics Federation (SFAV), as the Swiss Football Association used to call itself, later issued a complete ban on professional players in 1941. Christian Koller Marianne Meier 16 June 2025 https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/048188/2025-06-16/ Fussball Schweiz Football Switzerland Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS) de-ch 2025-06-16 In the meantime, to try and relieve these uprising confrontations and the resulting awkward situation, upon the initiative of Eugen Landolt (the then President of FC Baden) the competition called Swiss Cup was organized for the season 1925–26 by the SFAV. The introduction of the tournament was approved in principle at the delegate meeting of the SFAV on 27/28 July 1924, despite opposition from the larger, top-tier clubs. The final implementation and corresponding regulations were approved a year later, on 27/28 June 1925. Seventy-five clubs participated in the first edition and the first eleven preliminary round matches were played in September 1925. The Lausanne banker Aurèle-Gilbert Sandoz (1884–1952) donated the "Sandoz Trophy," the 6.86-kilogram, 49-cm-high silver cup for the cup winner, which is still in use today. (red) Schweizerischer Fussballverband (SFV) 2024 https://www.football.ch/sfv/schweizer-cups/schweizer-cup/geschichte/geschichte.aspx Geschichte History SFV de-ch 2024-11-16 Format This season's cup competition began with a preliminary round, which was held in advance of the main competition. This qualifying round was played on the first Sunday in September 1925, thus at the same day as the domestic league seasons began. The first principal round was played on the first Sunday in October. The competition was to be completed on Sunday 11 April 1926 with the final, which this year took place at the Letzigrund in Zürich. The preliminary round was held for the lower league teams that were not qualified for the main competition. Reserve teams were not admitted to the competition. The 27 clubs from this season's top-tier, the 1925–26 Serie A, joined the cup competition in the first principal round, which was played on Sunday 4 October 1925. The matches were played in a knockout format. In the event of a draw after 90 minutes, the match went into extra time. In the event of a draw at the end of extra time, if agreed between the clubs, a second extra time was played, third extra time was not allowed. If the score was still level at the final whistle, a replay was foreseen and this was played on the visiting team's pitch. If no replay was agreed or if the replay ended in a draw after extra time, a toss of a coin would establish which team was qualified for the next round. Erik Garin Peter Kungler 2024 https://www.rsssf.org/tablesz/zwit26.html Switzerland 1925/26 Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation 2024-11-16 Preliminary round The lower league teams that had not qualified for the main competition competed here in a knockout qualification round. Reserve teams were not admitted to the competition. The aim of this preliminary stage was to reduce the number of lower league teams to 37 before the first round was played. The winners of the qualification were to join the clubs from the top-tier that were automatically qualified. The draw in the qualifying stage, and also in the early rounds of the main competition, respected local regionalities. The qualification round was played in advance of the lower leagues regional season, early in September. |colspan="3" style="background-color:#99CCCC"|6 September 1925 Stade Nyonnais 7–2 Racing-Club Lausanne Signal Lausanne 2–0 Concordia Yverdon FC Viktoria Bern (red) Fussballverband Bern/Jura 2024 https://matchcenter.fvbj-afbj.ch/default.aspx?v=1355&oid=6&lng=1 FC Weissenstein Fussballverband Bern/Jura de 2024-11-16 Adrian Lüpold 22 May 2019 https://www.bernerzeitung.ch/das-kam-bei-der-fraktion-von-viktoria-nicht-gut-an-658416238648 Das kam bei der Fraktion von Viktoria nicht gut an This did not go down well with the Viktoria faction Bernerzeitung de-ch 2024-11-16 0–5 FC Forward Morges Delémont 3–0 CA Amical Genève FC Madretsch (Biel) 0–2 FC Le Locle Chiasso 2–3 Frauenfeld FC Oberwinterthur (Tössfeld) 6–1 FC Langenthal FC Horgen 2–0 SV Höngg FC Oerlikon (ZH) 2–1 FC Neumünster Zürich Kickers Luzern 5–0 Wohlen Ballspielklub Zürich 0–1 FFAwd 3–0 * Bellinzona Note to match Ballspielklub–Bellinzona: The score was annulled and was awarded as a 3–0 victory for Ballspielklub Zürich, because a player of Bellinzona was not qualified. First principal round Summary |colspan="3" style="background-color:#99CCCC"|4 October 1925 Monthey 0–7 Cantonal Neuchâtel Etoile Carouge 0–1 Young Boys SV Helvetia Basel 3–4 Black Stars Grasshopper Club 4–2 Vereinigten FC Winterthur-Veltheim Basel 8–1 FC Horgen FC Oerlikon (ZH) 1–4 Aarau Montreux-Sports 2–4 Bern Stade Nyonnais 5–3 Central Fribourg FC Orbe 0–7 La Chaux-de-Fonds SG Biberist-Derendingen 6–3 Cercle des Sports Bienne Servette 7–0 FC Saint-Jean (GE) Lausanne-Sport 9–1 Fribourg Zähringia Bern 1–3 Signal Lausanne Vevey Sports 0–2 FC Forward Morges Solothurn 3–1 Grenchen Étoile-Sporting 6–1 Minerva Bern Delémont 0–7 FC Le Locle Biel-Bienne 3–0 Urania Genève Sport FC Diana Zürich 1–6 Blue Stars Sparta Schaffhausen 2–1 Young Fellows FC Romanshorn 2–2 Zürich SC Veltheim 6–1 Ballspielklub Zürich FC Olten 0–1 Old Boys FC Töss (Winterthur) 1–3 St. Gallen Baden 0–3 Luzern Concordia Basel 17–1 Kreuzlingen-Emmishofen Kickers Luzern 2–0 SC Zug Nordstern 17–1 Frauenfeld FC Liestal 3–1 FC Oberwinterthur (Tössfeld) Lugano 10–3 Arbon Brühl 5–0 Sirius Zürich FC Breite (Basel) 4–3 FC Buchs (AG) Replay |colspan="3" style="background-color:#99CCCC"|18 October 1925 Zürich 7–2 FC Romanshorn Matches 4 October 1925 FC Oerlikon (ZH) (red) Fussballverband Region Zürich 2024 https://matchcenter.fvrz.ch/default.aspx?v=613858&oid=11&lng=1 FC Oerlikon/Polizei ZH Fussballverband Region Zürich de 2024-11-16 1–4 FCA summary Aarau Sportanlage Neudorf, Oerlikon Oerlikon played the 1925/26 season in the Serie Promotion (second-tier), Aarau in the Serie A (top-tier). 4 October 1925 15:00 Basel 8–1 FCB summary FC Horgen (red) Fussballverband Region Zürich 2024 https://matchcenter.fvrz.ch/default.aspx?v=1483&oid=11&lng=1 FC Horgen fvrz.ch / Fussballverband Region Zürich de 2024-11-16 6x Hürzeler 1x Strasser 1x Wegmüller o.g. Pfitsch Landhof, Basel 1,500 SUI Ritter (La Chaux-de-Fonds) Basel played the 1925/26 season in the Serie A (top-tier), Horgen in the Serie Promotion (second-tier), 4 October 1925 Servette 7–0 Servette summary FC Saint-Jean (GE) 3x Passello 1x Matringe 1x Pichler 2x Lüthy Parc des Sports, Geneva Servette played the 1925/26 season in the Serie A (top-tier), Saint-Jean in the Serie Promotion (second-tier), 4 October 1925 FC Romanshorn 2–2 yes FCZ summary Zürich Hugentobler 10 1:0Hugentobler 46 2:0 30 pen 1:140 1:1 Sportplatz Romanshorn 800 SUI Weidmann (Töss) Romanshorn played the 1925/26 season in the Serie Promotion (second-tier), Zürich in the Serie A (top-tier) 18 October 1925 Zürich 7–2 FCZ summary FC Romanshorn Schenker 5 1:0Mantel 7 2:0Hintermann Hintermann Hintermann Mantel 6:2Schenker 7:2 2:1 Grossmann20 2:2 Hugentobler Sportplatz Hardturmstrasse, Zürich 1,000 SUI Ernst Meier (St. Gallen) Round 2 Summary |colspan="3" style="background-color:#99CCCC"|1 November 1925 Servette 5–2 Lausanne-Sport Cantonal Neuchâtel 1–5 Young Boys Solothurn 0–1 Étoile-Sporting FC Le Locle 0–1 Biel-Bienne Black Stars 0–4 Grasshopper Club Brühl 6–0 FC Breite (Basel) Kickers Luzern 0–3 Nordstern Old Boys 4–6 St. Gallen FC Liestal 1–6 Lugano Bern 2–1 Stade Nyonnais Signal Lausanne 2–0 FC Forward Morges Luzern 1–2 Concordia Basel Zürich 8–1 SC Veltheim (Winterthur) Basel 1–1 * Aarau (t) La Chaux-de-Fonds 2–1 SG Biberist-Derendingen Blue Stars 3–2 Sparta Schaffhausen Note (t): Match Basel–Aarau no replay was agreed between the two teams. Aarau qualified on toss of a coin. Matches 1 November 1925 Servette 5–2 Servette summary Lausanne-Sport Jan Zila 1:03x Passello 1x Bailly Parc des Sports, Geneva Both teams played the 1925/26 season in the Serie A (top-tier). 1 November 1925 15:00 Zürich 8–1 FCZ summary SC Veltheim (Winterthur) (red) Fussballverband Region Zürich 2024 https://matchcenter.fvrz.ch/default.aspx?v=1556&oid=11&lng=1 SC Veltheim fvrz.ch - Fussballverband Region Zürich de 2024-11-16 Schenker 1:0Hintermann 30 2:0Schenker 3:0Pfändler48 4:0Schenker 5:0Wydler 6:0Pfändler 7:0Schenker 8:1 7:1 Paul Lätsch Sportplatz Hardturmstrasse, Zürich 2,000 SUI Ernst Meier (St. Gallen) Both teams played the 1925/26 season in the Serie A (top-tier). 1 November 1925 15:00 Basel 1–1 FCB summary Aarau Hürzeler 1:0 1:1 Hürzeler Landhof, Basel 1,200 SUI Fritz Beuchat Bern After 82 minutes, with the score at 1–1, the game was interrupted due to the falling darkness. The Aarau captain Imhof demanded the game to be abandoned, due to shortsightedness of some players. Basel also requested that the game be abandoned. The referee does not accept the suggestion and after several minutes of discussion, the game continued until the end. Due to the darkness, extra time could not be played and the game should have been replayed. The two clubs could not agree to a date. The FCA was ultimately qualified on toss of a coin. Both teams played the 1925/26 season in the Serie A (top-tier). Round 3 Summary |colspan="3" style="background-color:#99CCCC"|6 December 1925 Zürich 2–3 Grasshopper Club Signal Lausanne 0–2 Servette Biel-Bienne 2–0 Etoile Carouge Blue Stars 3–2 Aarau Lugano 2–1 Nordstern |- |colspan="3" style="background-color:#99CCCC"|13 December 1925 St. Gallen 2–4 La Chaux-de-Fonds |- |colspan="3" style="background-color:#99CCCC"|20 December 1925 Brühl 8–1 Concordia Basel |- |colspan="3" style="background-color:#99CCCC"|3 January 1926 Young Boys 1–3 Bern Matches 6 December 1925 14:15 Zürich 2–3 FCZ summary Grasshopper Club Eggler 1:1Schenker 50 2:1 20 0:1 Hofmann58 2:2 M. Weiler 60 og 2:3 Güttinger Letzigrund, Zürich 1,500 SUI Edmond Dizérens (Lausanne) Both teams played the 1925/26 season in the Serie A (top-tier). 6 December 1925 Signal Lausanne 0–2 Servette summary Servette 4 0:1 Lüthy23 0:2 Zila Signal Lausanne played the 1925/26 season in Serie Promotion (second-tier) Servette in the Serie A (top-tier). 6 December 1925 Blue Stars 3–2 FCA summary Aarau Tisi Wettstein Springer Hürzeler Treier Hardhof, Zürich Both teams played the 1925/26 season in the Serie A (top-tier). Quarter-finals Summary |colspan="3" style="background-color:#99CCCC"|7 February 1926 Lugano 9–1 La Chaux-de-Fonds Biel-Bienne 2–6 Grasshopper Club Brühl 2–3 Servette Bern 2–0 Blue Stars Matches 7 February 1926 Lugano 9–1 RSSSF summary La Chaux-de-Fonds Beretta 3 1:0Beretta 5 2:0Fink 3:04x Poretti Sturzenegger 75 8:0Sturzenegger 86 891 77 8:1 Daepp Campo Marzio, Lugano Both teams played the 1925/26 season in the Serie A (top-tier). 7 February 1926 Biel-Bienne 2–6 RSSSF summary Grasshopper Club Buffat 44Strasser I Frankenfeldt Neuenschwander Honegger M. Weiler Max Abegglen Max Abegglen Stadion Gurzelen, Biel/Bienne Both teams played the 1925/26 season in the Serie A (top-tier). 7 February 1926 Brühl 2–3 Servette summary Servette Schmid Lüthy Lüthy Passello Paul-Grüninger-Stadion, St. Gallen Both teams played the 1925/26 season in the Serie A (top-tier). 7 February 1926 Bern 2–0 RSSSF summary Blue Stars Motta Motta Stadion Neufeld, Bern Both teams played the 1925/26 season in the Serie A (top-tier). Semi-finals Summary |colspan="3" style="background-color:#99CCCC"|7 March 1926 Servette 0–1 Bern Grasshopper Club 6–0 Lugano Matches 7 March 1926 Servette 0–1 Servette summary Bern 75 0:1 Stämpfli Parc des Sports des Charmilles, Genève 5,000 SUI Felix Herren (Basel) 7 March 1926 Grasshopper Club 6–0 RSSSF summary Lugano Frankenfeldt 25 penFrankenfeldt 41 penMax Abegglen 42 3:0Max Abegglen 60 4:0M. Weiler 76 5:0Honegger 79 6:0 Sportplatz Hardturmstrasse, Zürich 3,000 SUI Jules Rutschmann (Vevey) Final The final was held during mid April 1926. The location for the final was decided by a toss of a coin between the two finalists. Grasshopper Club won this draw and so the final was held in Zürich, however not in their own home stadium, but in the Letzigrund. Summary |colspan="3" style="background-color:#99CCCC"|11 April 1926 Grasshopper Club 2–1 Bern Telegram 11 April 1926 14:30 Grasshopper Club 2–1 Fussball-Schweiz summary Bern Honegger 17 1:0Max Abegglen 72 2:0 83 2:1 Küng Letzigrund, Zürich 9,000 SUI Edmond Dizérens (Lausanne) The SFAV President Jakob Schlegel presented the "Sandoz Trophy" to the first Swiss Cup tournament winner in history, the Grasshopper Club. Further in Swiss football 1925–26 Swiss Serie A 1925–26 FC Basel season References Sources Fussball-Schweiz Switzerland 1925–26 at RSSSF Swiss Cupseasons Och Cup 1926–27 Category:Swiss Cup seasons Swiss Cup Swiss Cup