Uhrencup


The Uhrencup is a club football tournament, held annually in Grenchen and Biel in Switzerland. The Uhrencup is seen as a testament to the major influence that is exercised by the local industry on the cultural lives of the areas residents. The tournament usually features four teams, each playing two matches, and is held in July as a friendly tournament, the format of which tends to be fluid. For the teams taking part, the tournament is a welcome opportunity to prepare for the upcoming football season.

Origin

Founded in 1962 by representatives of Grenchen's watchmaking industry, the first Uhrencup was held to celebrate the inauguration of the new grandstand at the local Brühl stadium. Due to the tournament's reverberating success it was repeated the following year and, thanks to the sponsoring from the local watch industry, it continues to be held annually.

History

Established as an international tournament (1962–1968)

The first Uhrencup in 1962 already featured an international line-up. Together with the two local clubs FC Grenchen and FC Biel-Bienne, the Belgian team Cercle Brügge and Italian team AC Como also took part in the tournament. Due to its success and because it attracted about 20,000 spectators, it was repeated the following year.
The English side Ipswich Town won the tournament in 1963 and the Dutch team Sparta Rotterdam was the second international representative. A year later German club Karlsruher SC and the French team Nîmes Olympique competed in the Uhrencup. In 1965 Lanerossi Vicenza won the competition, Maccabi Tel Aviv also took part. In 1966 and again in 1968 FC Sochaux took part, winning the first of the two competitions, but not being at all successful two years later. In 1967 the competition was not held.

Uhrencup as regional event (1969–2002)

At the end of the 1967–68 Nationalliga A season Grenchen were relegated and therefore the tournament lost its international significance. From here on it was mainly Swiss sides that took part in the Uhrencup and it turned into a regional event. FC Basel took part for the first time in 1969 and won the cup 5–3 in the final against Biel-Bienne, Wenger, Hauser, Balmer and Odermatt scoring the Basel goals. A year later Basel defended the title with an 8–7 win after penalties following a 5–5 at full-time.
The next year the home team Grenchen won the cup for the second time, winning 3–1 against reigning Swiss Champions Basel, local boy Serge Muhmenthaler scoring one of the Grenchen goals. Neuchâtel Xamax won the Uhrencup 1972. Young Boys won the title 1973, Serge Muhmenthaler scoring a goal and winning his second Uhrencup title this time with his new team. In 1974 the competition was not held. Young Boys and Zürich were the next two cup winners. Serge Muhmenthaler reached his third Uhrencup Final with his third club in 1977 but was unable to repeat the success, the final ended in a 6–1 defeat against Neuchâtel Xamax. However reaching the final again in the next year Muhmenthaler won the 1978 Uhrencup with FC Basel 2–1 against the same finalists.
Basel won the title six times, Grenchen won it three times, Servette and Young Boys during the following years. As international teams were again invited to participate Partizan Belgrade, Górnik Zabrze and 1. FC Köln competed and won the tournament.
During the following years the Uhrencup returned to being a Swiss-Internal tournament. The winners being FC Zürich, Grenchen and FC Solothurn, Grasshoppers and Sevette each once. FC Subingen, a team from the 2. Liga won Uhrencup in 1997.

New edition as an international tournament (2003–2011)

In 2003 a new organising committee took over the marketing of the Uhrencup and with added financial help it was again possible to invite international teams. Casino SW Bregenz, FC Schalke 04, 1. FC Kaiserslautern, 1. FC Köln, Bayer Leverkusen, FC Red Bull Salzburg, Celtic Glasgow, Borussia Dortmund, Legia Warsaw and Panathinaikos Athens have participated during this period, but only Trabzonspor and Shakhtar Donetsk were able to win the title.
2010 was a truly international affair, with only one club originating from Switzerland. The remaining competitors were Deportivo de La Coruña from Spain, the Dutch side Twente Enschede and the eventual winner VfB Stuttgart from Germany.
Basel won the competition for the twelfth time. In the 2011 event, they beat Hertha Berlin 3–0, and then went on to defeat West Ham 2–1 in their second game. The second Swiss team, Young Boys Bern, also won both matches against the international teams, but had a lower overall goal score with 6–3. To celebrate the 50th edition of the tournament, the current German champion Borussia Dortmund played a friendly game against the Swiss vice champion FC Zürich, which ended with a 1–1 tie.

Since 2013

In 2012 the tournament was not held, but was held in 2013 between 5 and 9 July with Basel and Grasshopper Club Zürich taking part. For Basel it was be the 29th time that they would take place; they have won the competition thirteen times. The tournament again took a hiatus, this time of three years before returning in 2016.

2011

Standings

Matches

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2013

Standings

Matches

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2015

Standings

Matches

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2016

Standings

Matches

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2017

Standings

Results

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2018

Standings

Results

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2019

Standings

Results

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Uhrencup winners by year

Titles by team

TeamYears wonTitles
FC Basel1969, 1970, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1986, 1988, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2011, 201313
BSC Young Boys1964, 1973, 1975, 1987, 2000, 2004, 2007, 20198
FC Grenchen1962, 1971, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1996, 19997
FC Zurich1976, 1992, 1993, 1994, 20065
FC Biel-Bienne1968, 20152
Neuchâtel Xamax1972, 19772
Servette FC1984, 20022
1. FC Köln19911
FC Aarau19951
FC Shakhtar Donetsk20091
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard19661
FC Solothurn19981
FC Subingen19971
FK Partizan19891
Galatasaray20161
Grasshopper Club Zürich20011
Górnik Zabrze19901
Ipswich Town19631
Lanerossi Vicenza19651
Stoke City20171
Trabzonspor20051
VfB Stuttgart20101
Wolverhampton Wanderers20181

Participation by club

TeamParticipant
FC Grenchen39
FC Basel30
BSC Young Boys24
FC Biel-Bienne23
FC Zurich10
FC Solothurn6
Neuchâtel Xamax6
FC Luzern5
FC Aarau4
Grasshopper Club Zürich4
SR Delémont4
Servette FC3
1. FC Kaiserslautern2
1. FC Köln2
Borussia Dortmund2
Borussia Mönchengladbach2
FC La Chaux-de-Fonds2
FC Lausanne-Sport2
FC Sion2
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard2
FC Subingen2
FC Twente2
Górnik Zabrze2
Lanerossi Vicenza2
SV Lyss2
Bayer 04 Leverkusen1
Calcio Como1
Celtic F.C.1
Cercle Brugge K.S.V.1
Crystal Palace1
Deportivo de La Coruña1
Eintracht Frankfurt1
FC Langenthal1
FC Lugano1
FC Nitra1
FC Red Bull Salzburg1
FC Schaffhausen1
FC Schalke 041
FC Shakhtar Donetsk1
FC Thun1
Feyenoord1
FK Partizan1
Fortuna Düsseldorf1
Galatasaray1
Hertha BSC1
Ipswich Town1
Karlsruher SC1
Legia Warsaw1
Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C.1
Nîmes Olympique1
Olimpia Poznań1
Panathinaikos F.C.1
Red Star Belgrade1
SC Bregenz1
S.L. Benfica1
Sparta Rotterdam1
Stoke City1
SV Austria Salzburg1
Trabzonspor1
VfB Stuttgart1
West Ham United1
Wolverhampton Wanderers1