Fair enough... but the fact remains that at present it seems like the only Zürich club which might have the potential to attract a decent crowd is FCZ. GC seems doomed to embarrassing attendences. How do you explain that? Their stadium (even know) is better for football than the Letzigrund, they used to have great teams, but never a great popular movement behind it. Something I never quite understood, only explanation seems to that GC is too snobish... A bit like Servette unfortunately...
Hasn't GC always outdrawn FCZ? Going back to 1982 at least? If things have changed it must have been recently. By the way what happened to the Zurich United idea? That guy had a web site and everything....
I think it is a myth that FCZ has THAT much more supporters. They just have more "hardcore" supporters at the moment, and perhaps a little more in general, but it's not like they totally dominate the city in that aspect. Well, FCZ fans seem to support the idea: Seriously, Sven Hotz said as long as he is president of FC Zurich there will be no fusion. And the fans won't accept it of course. Still, you never know...
things sure have changed since the 80s.... It always looked a little far-fetched to begin with, if you ask me. Still, stranger things have happened...
Indeed, their ultra scene is slightly better but that's about it. I always hear about this sleeping support for the club that is just waiting to be kissed awake, but the truth is that our last championship celebration attracted many more people than the FCZ Cup celebration this year. They get a lot more pity from the general public, but don't confuse that with support.
Hello everyone, can I just introduce myself quickly? My name is John & I live in Barnstaple, county of Devon in South West England. I support Exeter City FC (40 miles from Barnstaple) who play in the Nationwide Conference (League 5). My eldest son (also a big ECFC fan) now lives near Zurich with his Swiss girlfriend and has 'adopted' GCZ as his local Club. On my visits to him I have watched GC four times at the Hardturm, and have also fallen in love with them!! The atmosphere at Hardturm when there is a big crowd is very impressive, and I find the GC fans very friendly (as are all Swiss people) and I look forward to seeing GC 3 or 4 times in the new season, and maybe mounting a serious challenge to FCB!! I'm hoping to time one of my visits to take in a FCB v GCZ game at St Jakobs!! Best Regards, John
Welcome to the board! I'm glad you and your son chose wisely. You might also want to check out a GC game at the new Stade de Suisse in Bern.
Back to the main topic: According to 20 Minuten FIFA is again in talks with Credit Suisse about operating the new Hardturm. Looks like we could end up with the FIFA-Stadion after all...
We finally have some clarity on the Zürich Stadion. Credit Suisse gave a press statement today saying that construction will be delayed until the summer of 2007. At that point both Zurich teams can move into the new Letzigrund. Until then Grasshoppers and FCZ (once the Letzi construction begins) will play at the Hardturm. The legal challenges in court can be worked out until then. I guess this means no Stadion Zürich until 2010 or so.