2008–09 Swiss Challenge League

The 2008–09 Swiss Challenge League was the sixth season of the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of the Swiss football league pyramid. It began on 25 July 2008 and ended on 30 May 2009. The champions of this season, FC St. Gallen, earned promotion to the 2009–10 Super League. The two teams, FC Concordia Basel and FC La Chaux-de-Fonds, were administratively relegated to the 1. Liga due to the financial reasons.

Teams

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Club City Stadium 2007–08 season
FC Biel/Bienne Biel/Bienne, Bern Gurzelen Stadium 1. Liga play-offs round finalists
FC La Chaux-de-Fonds La Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchâtel Centre Sportif de la Charrière 13th in Challenge League
FC Concordia Basel Basel Rankhof 7th in Challenge League
FC Gossau Gossau, St. Gallen Buechenwald 11th in Challenge League
FC Lausanne-Sport Lausanne, Vaud Stade Olympique de la Pontaise 13th in Challenge League
FC Locarno Locarno, Ticino Stadio comunale Lido 14th in Challenge League
AC Lugano Lugano, Ticino Stadio comunale Cornaredo 9th in Challenge League
FC St. Gallen St. Gallen Espenmoos 9th in Super League
FC Schaffhausen Schaffhausen Stadion Breite 6th in Challenge League
Servette FC Geneva Stade de Genève 8th in Challenge League
FC Stade Nyonnais Nyon, Vaud Colovray 1. Liga play-offs round finalists
FC Thun Thun, Bern Stadion Lachen 10th in Super League
FC Wil 1900 Wil, St. Gallen Bergholz Stadium 3rd in Challenge League
FC Winterthur Winterthur, Zürich Schützenwiese 5th in Challenge League
FC Wohlen Wohlen, Aargau Niedermatten 4th in Challenge League
FC Yverdon-Sport Yverdon-les-Bains, Vaud Stade Municipal 10th in Challenge League

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 St. Gallen (C, P) 30 25 3 2 78 22 +56 78 Promotion to 2009–10 Swiss Super League
2 Lugano 30 22 4 4 72 30 +42 70 Qualification for Promotion play-off
3 Wil 30 14 9 7 41 25 +16 51
4 Yverdon-Sport 30 14 9 7 52 41 +11 51
5 Biel-Bienne 30 14 5 11 58 53 +5 47
6 Wohlen 30 13 6 11 43 47 −4 45
7 Lausanne-Sport 30 11 8 11 41 43 −2 41
8 Concordia Basel (R) 30 11 7 12 48 51 −3 40 Relegation to 2009–10 Swiss 1. Liga
9 Thun 30 11 5 14 54 65 −11 38
10 Winterthur 30 9 9 12 46 46 0 36
11 Schaffhausen 30 8 10 12 40 45 −5 34
12 La Chaux-de-Fonds (R) 30 9 6 15 39 46 −7 33 Relegation to 2009–10 Swiss 1. Liga
13 Servette 30 7 10 13 31 46 −15 31
14 Stade Nyonnais 30 8 4 18 26 56 −30 28
15 Locarno 30 7 5 18 46 57 −11 26
16 Gossau 30 5 4 21 27 69 −42 19
Source: Football.ch
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Promotion/relegation play-offs

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Luzern as 9th-placed team of the 2008–09 Swiss Super League played a two-legged play-off against Challenge League runners-up AC Lugano for a spot in the 2009–10 Super League.

Lugano1–0Luzern
Renfer   15'
Attendance: 7,200

Luzern5–0Lugano
Renggli   14'
Chiumiento   52' (pen.)
Paiva   77', 83'
Scarione   80'
Attendance: 12,500

Luzern won 5–1 on aggregate and remained in the Swiss Super League. Lugano remained in the Swiss Challenge League

Top goal scorers

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24 goals
22 goals
17 goals
15 goals
14 goals
13 goals
12 goals
11 goals
10 goals
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