The Swiss Cup turns 100 – these eight stories are a must-know

GC beat FC Lugano 2-1 at the Wankdorf stadium. It was their fourth consecutive cup victory. No other club would ever achieve such a streak, just as no other club has won the cup more often than GC, 19 times in total. Basel and Sion are in second place with 13 wins each.

In 1943, the GC coach was Karl Rappan, who shaped the history of the competition like no other coach. He won the cup a record eight times, seven of which with GC. In the 1930s and 1940s, legends like Severino Minelli, Alfred Bickel, and Willy Huber collected title after title.

These are golden years for GC. Coach Karl Rappan, an Austrian who also serves as the Swiss national coach, is shaping the team and is bringing a revolutionary playing system to the country: the "Riegel," a combination of man-to-man and zonal marking.

When World War II ended in 1945 and the Swiss authorities expelled numerous Nazis from the country, Rappan, still the coach of Switzerland and GC at the time, also came under their scrutiny. His family had been involved in Nazi organizations during the war; Rappan himself was accused of being a member of the Nazi Party. Rappan, who defended himself against the accusations, was ultimately allowed to stay because the authorities could not prove the allegations. He later became the first foreigner to be an honorary member of the SFV.

It didn't take much for Helmut Hauser to fall to the ground in Bern's Wankdorf. Many years later, Karl Odermatt, Basel's captain that day, would say of Hauser that everyone knew he was someone who would fall easily.

On this day, it happened in the 88th minute of the 1967 Cup Final, Basel versus Lausanne, 1-1, and then: a gentle shove in the back of center forward Hauser by defender André Grobéty. Hauser fell, referee Karl Göppel called for a penalty, and Hauser did what fouled players shouldn't do: He shot. But he also scored – 2-1 for Basel.

The Lausanne players won't accept this; they felt unfairly treated and simply sat down on the ground. And they stayed there, partly because Karl Rappan, who is now the coach in Lausanne, encouraged them to do so. Lausanne sat and let the three-minute time limit set by referee Göppel pass. Then he blew the final whistle, and Basel won by forfeit, 3-0, the only team in the history of the Swiss Cup.

In 1991, the old Wankdorf Stadium was the scene of a furious final that cemented FC Sion's cup-winning legacy and left Young Boys with a tale of woe they would remember for years to come. 50,000 people were in the stadium, and it was a sweltering afternoon. YB led 2-0 at halftime. Everything was clear so far. From Bern's perspective.

But then Argentinian Enzo Trossero, later the Swiss national team coach, brought on attackers Davide Orlando and Alexandre Rey, both under 20, for FC Sion. Both are from Valais. At that time, FC Sion's personnel still had some ties to the canton. When Orlando scored to make it 1-2 shortly after halftime, emotions threatened to boil over. YB was definitely no longer playing at home – and lost control and composure in the simmering atmosphere.

YB captain Martin Weber flails his arms, the young Norwegian Lars Bohinen suffers from the heat, his face red, but he isn't substituted. Trossero fires up the ball, Orlando scores in the 80th minute to make it 2-2, and 18-year-old Rey makes it 3-2 a minute later. From there, there's no stopping the Valais team. They later added several more cup wins, including against YB. It wasn't until the 14th final that Valais suffered its first defeat: a 3-0 loss to FC Basel .

For the first time in over twenty years, FC St. Gallen is back in a cup final. After 56 minutes, they're leading Lausanne 2-0. Edwin Vurens, the tall Dutchman with the delicate foot, has scored twice. As he runs up to take the penalty, the then sports editor of the "St. Galler Tagblatt" in the press box vowed to call the printers if Vurens scores. The special supplement can then go to print.

But Vurens' shot wide to the left, Léonard Thurre equalized for Lausanne with a minute left, and in the penalty shootout, the inevitable happened: St. Gallen's nerves snapped. 15,000 St. Gallen fans traveled to Bern that day, many wearing green wigs. Now they're heading home dejected. "Down and out," the "Tagblatt" headlined the next day.

This won't be the last cup final loss for FC St. Gallen. They lost to Lucerne in 2021 and Lugano in 2022. In their history, they have won the cup only once, but have missed countless opportunities, in five cup finals – and even once in the semifinals. They are a good example of how the magic of competition can unleash forces that elevate a club. Or cause it to overwhelm emotionally and ultimately explode.

Grasshoppers travel to the cup final in Basel on Easter Monday 2004 as overwhelming favorites. Captained by Ricardo Cabanas, the team, featuring players like Richard Nuñez, Mladen Petric, Stephan Lichtsteiner, and Christoph Spycher, is the reigning champion. Tiny FC Wil doesn't even remember how they stumbled into the final.

The small club from Eastern Switzerland has experienced months of slapstick comedy and drama. Shortly before the final, Ukrainian owner Igor Belanow and his entourage left after just a few months. Belanow took over FC Wil in the summer after Wil's president Andreas Hafen was exposed as a fraud: The banker had defrauded his employer of 52 million Swiss francs, and Hafen had invested 12 million Swiss francs in FC Wil. But amidst the chaos, FC Wil wrote the best underdog story in recent history: It defeated the favorites.

After the 2-2 draw, hothead Mihai Tararache was sent off, Wil took advantage of their numerical advantage, and Brazilian Fabinho, injured and without training for weeks before the final, also converted the second penalty for Wil. Wil was the sensational cup winner.

Stephan Lehmann, the goalkeeping coach, is considered the architect of the team's success. Lehmann quickly took over the reins and fired up the team, including Davide Callà, Philippe Montandon, Michel Renggli, and Massimo Rizzo, with a video featuring greetings from family members.

Wil celebrates for one night, and a few days later the club is relegated.

This story even made it onto the "Tagesschau" news, as is the way it is when Federal Councilors are involved. In this case, the Federal Councilor is Ueli Maurer, the 2012 Minister of Sport who handed out the medals after Basel's victory in the Cup final.

While the Hinwil player is busy doing this, Basel defender Aleksandar Dragovic, standing behind him, comes up with the idea of ​​​​tackling the Federal Councilor's head. He doesn't exactly hit him, but he doesn't pat him either; it's something in between, more like a slap. And another. And another.

FC Basel explained the incident by saying that Dragovic had no idea who Maurer was. He quickly apologized. But later, at a party on Barfüsserplatz, Dragovic came up with the idea of ​​celebrating his stupid act again. "That was a lot of fun," the young Austrian announced. This was too much of a good thing. Dragovic was fined by the club and had to appear before the Federal Parliament, accompanied by then-Basel President Bernhard Heusler, who announced a civics lesson for his footballers.

The "Tagesschau" is documenting the incident for the national audience. And Dragovic has become rather subdued.

The low points of the Swiss Cup finals were the years 2013 and 2014, which were overshadowed by serious riots outside the stadium in Bern – fan marches got out of control. In 2014, before the match between FC Zurich and FC Basel (2-0), there were fan riots in front of the Wankdorf Stadium, amid sponsor tents and in front of the entrances. In the heat of the moment, officials from the association defended themselves against having become "the face of violence." The organizer's wish for a final, expressed only behind closed doors, still speaks volumes today: "Hopefully, Basel and Zurich won't meet again."

The consequences: The Cup final temporarily moved (again) from Bern, promptly resulting in interruptions of play in Basel in 2015 due to firecrackers. During this time, the Football Association had no choice but to cover half of the security costs. Because the potential final cities coordinated, the association could no longer play them off against each other. The Cup's struggle to maintain its reputation was demonstrated by the difficult search for sponsors. At least the association is back in the black. Revenue of around four million Swiss francs is offset by expenses of around three million.

It is also due to the events of previous years that the 2016 Cup Final will be held in Zurich for the first time in over eighty years, at the Letzigrund Stadium. Zurich and Lugano will meet there. A few days earlier, violent scenes broke out at the Letzigrund following FC Zurich's relegation . Around 30 masked fans attempted to break into the dressing room.

Now the club is playing in the cup final, having made it there despite everything in this terrible season. A banner hangs in front of the south stand. "Günned de Final, gönd hei und schämed eu weiter," it reads. It turns out to be a tough game, but in the end, the Zurich team delivers, winning 1-0 thanks to a goal by Sangoné Sarr.

Afterwards, Alain Nef and Gilles Yapi carry the trophy to the south stand. It's a kind of penitential procession , which the two complete, and at the end, the offering takes place: the Cup trophy, on the tartan track, all alone. "It's beautiful, but it's beautiful with a strange feeling," Yapi said after the match.