FC Balzers is a
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German language, German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constit ...
er
football team based in
Balzers
Balzers is a village located in southern Liechtenstein. As of 2019, the village had a total population of 4,642. The main part of the village is situated along the east bank of the Rhine.
History and culture
Historically, the present-day form o ...
. They currently compete in the
Swiss 2nd League inter-regional, the fifth tier of
Swiss football
Football is the most popular sport in Switzerland. The Swiss Football Association was formed in 1895 and was a founder member of the sport's international governing body FIFA in 1904. The Swiss cities of Zürich and Nyon are home to FIFA and ...
.
Balzers play at Sportplatz Rheinau which is situated right next to the
Rhine
The Rhine ; french: Rhin ; nl, Rijn ; wa, Rén ; li, Rien; rm, label=Sursilvan, Rein, rm, label=Sutsilvan and Surmiran, Ragn, rm, label=Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader and Puter, Rain; it, Reno ; gsw, Rhi(n), including in Alsatian dialect, Al ...
next to the border with
Switzerland where the town of
Trübbach lies.
History
Formation and early years (1932–1970)
Founded in Balzers in 1932, FC Balzers was the first foreign team to join the
Swiss Football Association
The Swiss Football Association (german: Schweizerischer Fussballverband, french: Association Suisse de Football, it, Associazione Svizzera di Football/Calcio, rm, Associaziun Svizra da Ballape) is the governing body of football in Switzerlan ...
and therefore is the oldest football team from Liechtenstein. On 22 May 1932, the team played its first friendly match against
FC Chur. In 1947, the team was promoted to the 3. Liga for the first time, after winning their league in the 1946/47 season. The team won its first
Liechtenstein Cup
The Liechtenstein Football Cup is Liechtenstein's premier football competition, and has been organised annually by the Liechtenstein Football Association (LFV) since 1946. The winner qualifies to take part in the UEFA Europa Conference League. ...
in 1964, becoming the fourth team to win the competition after
FC Triesen
FC Triesen is a Liechtensteiner football club that plays in Triesen. It is one of the seven official teams in the nation, and it plays in the Swiss Football League in 3. Liga, which is the seventh tier. The team annually competes in the Liech ...
,
FC Vaduz
FC may refer to:
Businesses, organisations, and schools
* Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India
* Finncomm Airlines (IATA code)
* FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC
* Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...
and
FC Schaan.
Promotions and Liechtenstein Cup domination (1970–1992)
The club moved to the Sportplatz Rheinhau in 1970, where it has remained ever since. In the same year, the Liechtenstein Cup Final was hosted in Balzers for the first time, in which FC Vaduz beat FC Schaan 2-1. This was also the year in which Balzers were promoted to the
2. Liga for the first time, after overcoming a 2-0 half time deficit to win 3-2, in a match for promotion against FC Altstätten. In 1973, the club won its second Liechtenstein Cup after beating
FC Ruggell
FC Ruggell is a Liechtensteiner amateur football (soccer) team that plays in Ruggell. They currently play in the Swiss Football League, in 2. Liga, which is the sixth tier of Swiss football. Like all Liechtensteiner clubs, they play in the Swi ...
2-1 in the final. In 1975, the
1964-65 Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...
top goalscorer
Rudolf Brunnenmeier
Rudolf "Rudi" Brunnenmeier (11 February 1941 – 18 April 2003) was a German football player. The former top scorer of the Bundesliga and five times player for Germany is closely associated with the great era of 1860 Munich in the 1960s.
Career ...
joined Balzers, and the team was promoted to the
1. Liga for the first time at the end of the 1975/76 season. From 1978 to 1984, Balzers won the Liechtenstein Cup 5 out of a possible 6 times, only finishing as runners up in 1979-80. Between 1986 and 1992 the club was relegated down to the 2. Liga and then promoted back up to the 1. Liga several times, however the club still won the Liechtenstein Cup twice in this period - in 1988-89 and 1990-91.
First European matches (1992–2000)
In 1992, having been relegated to the 2. Liga, the club signed former Bundesliga professional
Michael Nushöhr
Michael Nushöhr (born 14 August 1962) is a German retired footballer who played as a defender. He appeared at the 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship
The 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship, the third edition of the FIFA World Youth Champio ...
as a
player-manager
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...
. The club beat FC Schaan 5-2 in the Liechtenstein Cup Final after extra time, which meant the club qualified for the qualifying round of the
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...
. Balzers faced Albanian champions
KS Albpetrol
KF Albpetrol Patos is an Albanian football club located in the city of Patos in Fier County. Their home ground is the Alush Noga Stadium and they currently compete in the Kategoria e Dytë.
History Punëtori Patos
The club was founded in 1947 u ...
at home in the first leg, and won 3-1 after a goal by Nushöhr and two goals by an 18 year old
Mario Frick. The second leg finished 0-0, which meant that for the first time a club from Liechtenstein had reached the first round for the first time. The club were eliminated from the competition after losing 11-1 on aggregate against Bulgarian side
CSKA Sofia
CSKA Sofia ( bg, ЦСКА София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sport ...
. In 1997, Balzers won the Liechtenstein cup for the 11th time, beating Vaduz 3-2 in the final, with Mario Frick scoring twice in extra time after being 2-1 down. This granted the team entry to the qualifying round of the Cup Winners' Cup for the second time, however this time they did not progress any further, losing 5-1 on aggregate to Hungarian side
BVSC Budapest
Budapesti Vasutas Sport Club-Zugló is a professional football club based in Zugló, Budapest, Hungary, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság III.
The club was founded in 1911. Its football section became closed in 2001, but has now reopened, ...
.
Recent history (2000 – present)
In 2001, Balzers were promoted to the 2.Liga interregional, however were relegated after just one season. In 2005-06 the club played in the Liechtenstein Cup Final, having not won the competition for 9 years and having lost in the final 4 times since their last triumph. Balzers were trailing 2-1 to professionals and winners in the past 8 seasons Vaduz, but in the 90th minute Balzers were awarded a penalty. This was scored by club captain Marco Büchel, forcing the game into extra time. Despite this, Balzers still lost the match 4-2 after extra time. In 2007 former player and manager Michael Nushöhr returned to manage the club, and in 2010 Balzers were promoted back into the 1. Liga, after a 14 year absence. In 2011,
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German language, German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constit ...
record goalscorer Mario Frick rejoined his former club, and in 2011 he became the club's manager after the departure of Nushöhr. He retired from playing in 2015, continuing his managerial role until 2017. In 2018 the club was relegated down to the 2. Liga Interregional however the next season they were promoted as league champions back to the 1. Liga
Reserve teams
FC Balzers 2
FC Balzers 2 is the reserve team of FC Balzers. They currently play in the
4. Liga (eighth tier of the
Swiss football league system), and also compete in the Liechtenstein Cup.
In the
2015-16 Liechtenstein Cup, they reached the semifinals (2 rounds further than the 1st team), losing 5-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw against
FC Schaan. In the
2002-03 Liechtenstein Cup they faced the FC Balzers 1st team in the quarter finals, with the 1st team winning 6-0
FC Balzers 3
FC Balzers 3 (also known as FC Balzers 2b) was the 3rd team of FC Balzers, however as of the 2019-20 season the team no longer exists. It last competed in the
4. Liga Group 3, finishing 9th out of 10 with just 16 points.
The team's final appearance in the
Liechtenstein Cup
The Liechtenstein Football Cup is Liechtenstein's premier football competition, and has been organised annually by the Liechtenstein Football Association (LFV) since 1946. The winner qualifies to take part in the UEFA Europa Conference League. ...
was a 4-1 defeat against FC Ruggell 2.
Honours
*
Liechtenstein Football Cup
The Liechtenstein Football Cup is Liechtenstein's premier association football, football competition, and has been organised annually by the Liechtenstein Football Association, Liechtenstein Football Association (LFV) since 1946. The winner qual ...
:Winners (11): 1963–64, 1972–73, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1988–89, 1990–91,
1992–93
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since th ...
,
1996–97
::''Runners-up (15)'': 1973–74, 1974–75, 1976, 1979–80, 1985–86, 1991–92,
1993–94,
1998–99,
1999–2000,
2002–03,
2003–04,
2005–06,
2007–08,
2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...
,
2017–18
European record
Current squad
''As of 2 November, 2021.''
Notable former players
*
Mario Frick
*
Rudolf Brunnenmeier
Rudolf "Rudi" Brunnenmeier (11 February 1941 – 18 April 2003) was a German football player. The former top scorer of the Bundesliga and five times player for Germany is closely associated with the great era of 1860 Munich in the 1960s.
Career ...
*
Michael Nushöhr
Michael Nushöhr (born 14 August 1962) is a German retired footballer who played as a defender. He appeared at the 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship
The 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship, the third edition of the FIFA World Youth Champio ...
*
Thomas Beck
*
Martin Telser
Martin Telser (born 16 October 1978) is a former Liechtenstein football defender, who last played for FC Balzers in the 2. Liga Interregional.
International career
He made his international debut in friendly versus Germany
Germany, ...
*
Ralekoti Mokhahlane
Former chairmen
*
Robi Agnolazza Robi may refer to:
People Given name
*Robi Botos, Hungarian-Canadian jazz pianist
*Robi Das, Indian footballer
* Robi Domingo (born 1989), Filipino VJ, actor, dancer and host
* Robi Ghosh (1931–1997), Indian actor and comedian who worked in Beng ...
*
Stefan Wolfinger
Stefan may refer to:
* Stefan (given name)
* Stefan (surname)
* Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname
* Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname
* Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer
* Stefan Heym, pseudonym of Germa ...
References
External links
Official web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balzers
Football clubs in Liechtenstein
Sport in Balzers
Expatriated football clubs
1932 establishments in Liechtenstein