Neuchâtel Xamax Football Club Serrières () is a Swiss football club based in Neuchâtel. It was created in 1970 through a merger between FC Cantonal, founded in 1906 and Swiss champions of 1916, and FC Xamax founded in 1912. The name Xamax comes from legendary Swiss international player 'Xam' Max Abegglen, one of the founding members. Xamax Neuchâtel FCS obtained its current name after a merger with FC Serrières, another side from Neuchâtel, in May 2013.

History In 1906 the club was founded as FC Cantonal and in 1970 merged with FC Xamax to create the current club.

They have been champions of Switzerland on three occasions, in 1916 and in successive years in 1987 and 1988. The club has also made it to five Swiss Cup finals, the most recent in 2011, but have failed to win any of them.

After many financial crises, the club declared bankruptcy on 26 January 2012 and was consequently excluded from Swiss Super League. The club was reformed, but had to restart in the Swiss amateur leagues, entering the 2. Liga Interregional, the fifth tier of the Swiss football league system, for the 2012–13 season.Meisterschaft 2. Liga interregional accessed: 21 July 2012 The club finished first in 2013 and was promoted to the 1. Liga Classic for 2013–14. Once again, Xamax finished first, winning the play-off to secure a second successive promotion. Xamax won 1. Liga Promotion, the third tier of Swiss league system was and promoted to the Challenge League after having a third successive promotion in 2014–15 season.

The club finally won promotion back to the Swiss Super League in 2018, marking the end of a six-year absence from the top flight of Swiss football. At the end of the 2019–20 Swiss Super League season, the club was relegated back to the second division after finishing bottom of the table.

Stadium The club plays its home matches at the Stade de la Maladière, which began construction in 2004 and was opened in 2007. It has a capacity of 12,500 spectators.

Current squad

Out on loan

Notable players

Cameroon Freddy Mveng Central African Republic Louis Mafouta Egypt Hossam Hassan Ivory Coast Eric Tia Nigeria Brown Ideye Kalu Uche Senegal Papa Bouba Diop Sierra Leone Umaru Bangura Philippines Michael Kempter Saudi Arabia Hussein Abdulghani Bosnia and Herzegovina Mustafa Sejmenović Ensar Arifović Bulgaria Trifon Ivanov Hungary Lajos Détári West Germany Uli Stielike Ireland Don Givens Liechtenstein Noah Frick Spain Víctor Sánchez Switzerland Johan Djourou Lucien Favre Mario Gavranović Haris Seferovic Netherlands Rene van der Gijp

Honours Leagues Swiss Super League Winner (3): 1915–16, 1986–87, 1987–88 Swiss Challenge League Winner (3): 1972–73, 2006–07, 2017–18 Swiss Promotion League Winner: 2014–15 1. Liga Classic Winner: 2013–14 2. Liga Interregional Winner: 2012–13 Cups Swiss Super Cup Winner (3): 1987, 1988, 1990

Former coaches

Coach Nationality Tenure Giovanni Ferrari 1946–1948 Fernand Jaccard 1948–1952 Josef Humpál 1961–1965 Milorad Milutinović 1968–1969 Josef Humpál 1969–1970 Paul Garbani July 1970–Jan 1972 Josef Artimovits Jan 1972–July 1972 Lev Mantula July 1972–Jan 1975 Branko Rezuar Jan 1975–July 1975 Gilbert Gress 1975–1977 Antonio Merlo July 1977–April 1978 Erich Vogel – April 1978–October 1979 Lev Mantula October 1979–July 1980 Jean‑Marc Guillou 1980–1981 Gilbert Gress 1981–1990 Roy Hodgson 1990–1992 Uli Stielike Jan 1992–July 1993 Uli Stielike & Don Givens / 1993–1994 Gilbert Gress 1994–1997 Alain Geiger 1998–2002 Claude Ryf July 2002–Feb 2004 René Lobello & Christophe Moulin / Feb 2004–July 2004 René Lobello & Gianni Della Casa / 2004–2005 Alain Geiger 2005 Miroslav Blažević 2005–2006 Gérard Castella June 2006–March 2008 Néstor Clausen 2008–Jan 2009 Jean‑Michel Aeby Jan 2009–June 2009 Pierre‑André Schürmann June 2009–April 2010 Jean‑Michel Aeby April 2010–Aug 2010 Didier Ollé‑Nicolle Sept 2010–May 2011 Bernard Challandes May 2011 Sonny Anderson 2011 François Ciccolini July 2011 Joaquín Caparrós July 2011–Sept 2011 Víctor Muñoz Sept 2011–Jan 2012 Roberto Cattilaz May 2012–Oct 2015 Michel Decastel Oct 2015–Feb 2019 Stéphane Henchoz Feb 2019–June 2019 Joël Magnin July 2019–July 2020 Stéphane Henchoz July 2020–Dec 2020 Martin Rueda Dec 2020 Andrea Binotto / Jan 2021–Aug 2022 Jeff Saibene / Aug 2022–Apr 2023 Uli Forte Apr 2023–Dec 2024 Anthony Braizat Dec 2024–present

European record Season Competition Round Opponents Home Away Aggregate1981–82UEFA Cup 1R Sparta Prague 4–0 2–3 6–3 2R Malmö 1–0 1–0 2–0 3R Sporting CP 1–0 0–0 1–0 QF Hamburg 0–0 2–3 2–31984–85UEFA Cup 1R Olympiacos 2–2 0–1 2–31985–86UEFA Cup 1R Sportul Studențesc 3–0 4–4 7–4 2R Lokomotiv Sofia 0–0 1–1 1–1 (a) 3R Dundee United 3–1 1–2 4–3 QF Real Madrid 2–0 0–3 2–31986–87UEFA Cup 1R Lyngby 2–0 3–1 5–1 2R Groningen 1–1 0–0 1–1 (a)1987–88European Cup 1R Kuusysi 5–0 1–2 6–2 2R Bayern Munich 2–1 0–2 2–31988–89European Cup 1R AEL 2–1 1–2 3–3 2R Galatasaray 3–0 0–5 3–51990–91European Cup Winners' Cup 1R Estrela de Amadora 1–1 1–1 2–2 1991–92UEFA Cup 1R Floriana 2–0 0–0 2–0 2R Celtic 5–1 0–1 5–2 3R Real Madrid 1–0 0–4 1–41992–93UEFA Cup 1R BK Frem 2–2 1–4 3–61995–96UEFA Cup QR Red Star Belgrade 0–0 1–0 1–0 1R Roma 1–1 0–4 1–41996–97UEFA Cup QR Anorthosis Famagusta 4–0 2–1 6–1 1R Dynamo Kyiv 2–1 0–0 2–1 2R Helsingborg 1–1 0–2 1–31997–98UEFA Cup Q1 Tiligul-Tiras Tiraspol 7–0 3–1 10–1 Q2 Viking 3–0 1–2 4–2 1R Inter Milan 0–2 0–2 0–42003–04UEFA Cup QR Valletta 2–0 2–0 4–0 1R Auxerre 0–1 0–1 0–2

References

External links

Neuchâtel Xamax unofficial website Team profile on Soccerway