The 2017–18 Swiss Challenge League (referred to as the Brack.ch Challenge League for sponsoring reasons) is the 15th season of the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of competitive football in Switzerland, under its current name. The season started on 21 July 2017 and is scheduled to end on 21 May 2018. The winter break began on 11 December 2017 and the league resumed on 2 February 2018.
Participating teams A total of 10 teams participate in the league. 2016–17 Swiss Challenge League champions Zürich were promoted to the 2017–18 Swiss Super League. They were replaced by FC Vaduz, who got relegated after finishing last-placed in the 2016–17 Swiss Super League. Le Mont was relegated after failing to renew their licence. They were replaced by Rapperswil-Jona, who won promotion from the 2016–17 Swiss Promotion League.
Stadia and locations
Team Location Stadium Capacity Aarau Aarau Stadion Brügglifeld 8,000 Chiasso Chiasso Stadio Comunale Riva IV 5,000 Neuchâtel Xamax Neuchâtel Stade de la Maladière 12,000 Rapperswil-Jona Rapperswil-Jona Stadion Grünfeld 2,500 Servette Geneva Stade de Genève 30,084 Schaffhausen Schaffhausen Stadion BreiteLIPO Park Schaffhausen 4,2008,200 Vaduz Vaduz Rheinpark Stadion 7,584 Wil Wil IGP Arena 6,958 Winterthur Winterthur Schützenwiese 8,550 Wohlen Wohlen Stadion Niedermatten 3,624
Personnel Team Manager Aarau Stephan Keller (caretaker) Chiasso Baldassarre Raineri Neuchâtel Xamax Michel Decastel Rapperswil-Jona Urs Meier Schaffhausen Boris Smiljanić Servette Bojan Dimic Vaduz Roland Vrabec Wil Konrad Fünfstück Winterthur Livio Bordoli Wohlen Ranko Jakovljević
Managerial changes Club Name Manner of departure Date of departure Position in table Replacement Date of appointment Wil Maurizio Jacobacci Resign 4 June 2017 Pre-season Konrad Fünfstück 18 June 2017 Aarau Marco Schällibaum Mutual Consent 6 June 2017 Marinko Jurendic 7 June 2017 Chiasso Baldo Raineri Sacked 6 June 2017 Guillermo Abascal 12 June 2017 Wohlen Francesco Gabriele Mutual Consent 15 June 2017 Ranko Jakovljević 15 June 2017 Schaffhausen Murat Yakin Signed by Grasshopper 28 August 2017 1st Boris Smiljanić 28 August 2017 Winterthur Umberto Romano Sacked 3 January 2018 9th Livio Bordoli 3 January 2018 Servette Meho Kodro 3 March 2018 5th Bojan Dimic 3 March 2018 Aarau Marinko Jurendic 21 March 2018 6th Stephan Keller (interim) 22 March 2018 Chiasso Guillermo Abascal 3 April 2018 8th Baldassarre Raineri 3 April 2018
League table
Results
First and Second Round
Third and Fourth Round
Season statistics
Top goalscorers RankPlayerClubGoals1 Raphaël NuzzoloNeuchâtel262 Tunahan CicekSchaffhausen213 Hélios SessoloSchaffhausen164 Mychell Chagas1Servette (6) / Rapperswil-Jona (9)155 Marko DevićVaduz13
1Chagas played 17 games for Rapperswil-Jona then signed for Servette.
Awards +Swiss Football League Awards 2017AwardWinnerNationalityClubPlayer of the Season Raphaël NuzzoloSwitzerlandNeuchâtel Xamax FCS +Brack.ch Challenge League Dream Team 2017PositionPlayerNationalityClubGoalkeeperDjordje Nikolić SerbiaFC ThunDefenderAnthony Sauthier SwitzerlandServette FCDefenderMustafa Sejmenović Bosnia and HerzegovinaNeuchâtel XamaxDefenderNathan BrazilServette FCDefenderWilliam Le Pogam FranceNeuchâtel XamaxMidfielderMiroslav Stevanović Bosnia and HerzegovinaServette FCMidfielderMiguel Castroman SwitzerlandFC AarauMidfielderCharles-André Doudin ChadNeuchâtel XamaxMidfielderSteven Lang SwitzerlandServette FCForwardRaphaël Nuzzolo SwitzerlandNeuchâtel XamaxForwardTunahan Çiçek TurkeyFC Vaduz
References
External links
Soccerway