Servette FC - last updated on 18 July 2008
(Courtesy of Johnny Beaufays)
Club name: Association du Servette Football Club
Foundation: March 20th 1890
City: Genève
Colours: Grenat and white
Website: www.servettefc.ch
Honours:
Swiss League - 17 (1907, 1918, 1922, 1925, 1926, 1930, 1933, 1934, 1940, 1946, 1950, 1961, 1962, 1979, 1985, 1994, 1999)
Swiss Cup - 7 (1928, 1949, 1971, 1978, 1979, 1984, 2001)
Swiss League Cup - 3 (1977, 1979, 1980)
Coppa Delle Alpi - 4 (1973, 1975, 1976, 1979)
A bit of history:
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 very first international football competitions in the world, in 1908. In 1930 Servette organized Coupe des Nations, the predecessor of UEFA Champions League. In the 2003-04 season the club finished third in the Swiss Super League, the top league in Switzerland.
Led by Umberto Barberis and Claude "Didi" Andrey, in 1978-1979 the club won all the competitions it had entered - with the exception of the European Cup Winners' Cup where it was eliminated in quarter finals without losing by Fortuna Dusseldorf, that year's finalist. Barberis then became French champion in 1982 with AS Monaco. Servette was the only club to have remained in the top league since its creation in the 1930s.
On 4 February 2005 the parent company of the club was declared bankrupt. 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 continue 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.
Club crests: (roll on the crest to get more informations)
Servette FC -
Founded on March 20th 1890
