1988–89 Nationalliga A

Statistics of the Swiss National League in the 1988–89 football season, both Nationalliga A and Nationalliga B.

Nationalliga A

Season	1988–89
Champions	Luzern
Relegated	None
Top goalscorer	Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Servette (18 goals)
← 1987–88 1989–90 →

Nationalliga B

Season	1988–89
Champions	No team was declared champions
Promoted	None
Relegated	FC Renens Urania Genève Sport FC Biel-Bienne
Top goalscorer	n/a
← 1987–88 1989–90 →

Overview

The 36 clubs of the Swiss Football League (Nationalliga) were divided into two tiers. In the top-tier, there were 12 teams that played in the Nationalliga A (NLA). There were 24 teams in the Nationalliga B (NLB), the second tier, these were divided into two groups, a West and an East group. Each team in each group played a double round-robin in the qualification phase. Thereafter the divisions were divided into a Swiss championship group with the top eight teams from the qualification and two promotion/relegation groups (NLA/NLB), both with eight teams. These were the bottom four teams from the NLA qualification and the top six teams from both of the NLB qualification groups. Further, there were two relegation groups (NLB/1. Liga), each group with six teams. The last team in each NLB relegation group were to be relegated directly and the two fifth placed teams in each group played a play-out against relegation to decide the third relegation slot.

Qualification phase

The qualification stage of the NLA began on 23 July 1988 and was completed on 11 December. The top eight teams in the qualification phase would advance to the championship group and the last four teams would play against relegation.

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Luzern	22	10	8	4	27	25	+2	28	Advance to championship round halved points (rounded up) as bonus
2	Grasshopper Club	22	10	7	5	41	29	+12	27
3	Bellinzona	22	9	7	6	34	27	+7	25
4	Sion	22	8	8	6	25	21	+4	24
5	Wettingen	22	5	14	3	23	21	+2	24
6	Young Boys	22	8	7	7	45	36	+9	23
7	Xamax	22	7	9	6	39	33	+6	23
8	Servette	22	8	6	8	39	34	+5	22
9	Aarau	22	5	8	9	27	29	−2	18	Continue to promotion/relegation round
10	Lausanne-Sport	22	5	8	9	27	34	−7	18
11	St. Gallen	22	5	6	11	29	44	−15	16
12	Lugano	22	3	10	9	23	46	−23	16

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Draw.

Results

Home \ Away	AAR	BEL	GCZ	LS	LUG	LUZ	NX	SER	SIO	STG	WET	YB
Aarau		2–1	1–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	4–1	5–0	0–2	2–1
Bellinzona	1–0		2–1	1–1	0–0	3–1	2–1	4–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–0
Grasshopper	1–0	2–2		3–2	3–0	4–1	2–2	4–0	1–0	3–0	2–0	2–2
Lausanne-Sport	0–2	2–2	0–2		4–0	0–0	2–4	1–4	1–1	2–1	1–2	1–4
Lugano	2–1	0–2	2–2	0–2		3–3	1–0	1–6	0–3	3–1	0–0	1–1
Luzern	1–0	2–1	2–0	0–0	2–1		1–0	1–1	2–1	3–2	2–2	1–3
Neuchâtel Xamax	1–1	2–2	4–0	0–2	5–1	0–0		2–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–5
Servette	1–0	2–3	2–1	1–1	1–1	0–1	0–1		0–1	7–1	1–1	3–2
Sion	2–0	0–2	0–0	1–0	0–0	3–0	1–1	2–1		2–2	2–0	1–1
St. Gallen	2–2	2–0	2–2	1–2	4–1	0–1	3–3	0–1	2–0		2–1	2–0
Wettingen	0–0	1–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	0–0		1–1
Young Boys	4–0	4–1	4–3	3–1	3–3	0–2	2–2	2–3	0–0	2–0	1–2

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Championship group

The first eight teams of the qualification phase competed in the Championship round. The teams took half of the points (rounded up to complete units) gained in the qualification as bonus with them.

Final league table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	BP	Pts	Qualification
1	Luzern	14	7	5	2	17	11	+6	14	33	Swiss champions, qualified for 1989–90 European Cup and entered 1989 Intertoto Cup
2	Grasshopper Club	14	7	2	5	20	18	+2	14	30	Swiss Cup winners, qualified for 1989–90 Cup Winners' Cup and entered 1989 Intertoto Cup
3	Sion	14	6	5	3	22	15	+7	12	29	Qualified for 1989–90 UEFA Cup
4	Wettingen	14	7	2	5	22	14	+8	12	28	Qualified for 1989–90 UEFA Cup and entered 1989 Intertoto Cup
5	Young Boys	14	6	3	5	36	22	+14	12	27
6	Xamax	14	4	3	7	23	26	−3	12	23
7	Bellinzona	14	2	4	8	9	26	−17	13	21	Entered 1989 Intertoto Cup
8	Servette	14	3	4	7	25	42	−17	11	21

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) Position in the qualification.

Results

Home \ Away	BEL	GCZ	LUZ	NX	SER	SIO	WET	YB
Bellinzona		0–0	0–0	0–0	2–5	1–0	0–1	3–0
Grasshopper	2–0		2–1	2–1	6–1	2–1	2–1	1–4
Luzern	1–1	1–0		2–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	3–3
Neuchâtel Xamax	3–0	0–1	0–1		6–3	2–2	1–2	3–2
Servette	4–2	2–2	2–2	3–2		1–1	0–0	0–2
Sion	1–0	2–0	1–1	2–2	3–2		2–1	3–0
Wettingen	3–0	2–0	1–0	1–2	6–2	0–2		3–1
Young Boys	6–0	2–0	1–2	5–1	7–0	2–2	1–1

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Nationalliga A

Nationalliga B

Qualification phase

The qualification of the NLB began on 23 July 1988 and was completed by 11 December. The top six teams in each group were qualified to play in the two promotion/relegation groups. The bottom six teams in each group then played in newly drawn groups against relegation.

Table group East

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Basel[1]	22	14	4	4	48	23	+25	32	Advance to promotion round
2	Locarno	22	12	6	4	58	28	+30	30
3	Zürich	22	11	8	3	62	32	+30	30
4	Baden	22	10	4	8	44	29	+15	24
5	Old Boys	22	10	4	8	37	29	+8	24
6	Chiasso	22	8	8	6	35	33	+2	24
7	FC Schaffhausen	22	9	6	7	32	36	−4	24	Continue in relegation round
8	Winterthur	22	8	6	8	39	36	+3	22
9	Emmenbrücke	22	7	5	10	31	41	−10	19
10	Chur	22	4	8	10	27	54	−27	16
11	SC Zug	22	3	5	14	14	47	−33	11
12	FC Glarus	22	2	4	16	19	58	−39	8

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Draw.

Table group West

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Yverdon-Sport FC	22	13	7	2	51	25	+26	33	Advance to promotion round
2	FC Grenchen	22	14	2	6	51	23	+28	30
3	Etoile Carouge FC	22	12	4	6	45	32	+13	28
4	ES FC Malley	22	11	5	6	39	29	+10	27
5	FC Bulle	22	11	4	7	49	25	+24	26
6	CS Chênois	22	11	3	8	29	28	+1	25
7	Urania Genève Sport	22	7	7	8	39	34	+5	21	Continue in relegation round
8	FC Renens	22	7	5	10	28	36	−8	19
9	FC La Chaux-de-Fonds	22	6	6	10	26	37	−11	18
10	FC Martigny-Sports	22	5	6	11	29	48	−19	16
11	FC Montreux-Sports	22	3	5	14	31	61	−30	11
12	FC Biel-Bienne	22	3	4	15	30	69	−39	10

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Draw.

Promotion/relegation round NLA/NLB

The promotion/relegation stage began on 18 March 1989 and was completed by 7 June.

Table group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	FC St. Gallen	14	10	3	1	30	13	+17	23	Remain in Nationalliga A 1989–90
2	Lausanne Sports	14	9	4	1	42	8	+34	22
3	FC Zürich	14	6	2	6	29	23	+6	14	Remain in Nationalliga B
4	FC Basel[1]	14	4	6	4	19	21	−2	14
5	CS Chênois	14	4	4	6	22	29	−7	12
6	FC Grenchen	14	3	4	7	17	26	−9	10
7	ES Malley	14	2	6	6	15	29	−14	10
8	BSC Old Boys Basel	14	3	1	10	13	38	−25	7

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Draw.

Results

Home \ Away	BAS	CHÊ	GRE	LS	MAL	OBB	STG	ZÜR
Basel		1–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	0–1	2–3	1–1
Chênois	2–2		3–3	0–3	3–0	1–2	0–2	2–0
Grenchen	2–2	0–0		0–3	2–4	2–0	0–1	2–0
Lausanne-Sport	4–1	6–1	5–0		1–1	6–0	0–1	6–1
Malley	1–2	1–3	1–0	1–1		1–1	1–1	0–1
Old Boys Basel	0–2	1–4	2–3	0–3	3–1		0–2	1–6
St. Gallen	3–0	5–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	5–1		2–1
Zürich	0–2	3–0	2–1	1–1	9–1	2–1	2–3

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Table group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	AC Lugano	14	10	3	1	29	10	+19	23	Remain in Nationalliga A 1989–90
2	FC Aarau	14	11	1	2	24	9	+15	23
3	FC Locarno	14	6	3	5	22	16	+6	15	Remain in Nationalliga B
4	FC Baden	14	6	3	5	22	24	−2	15
5	Yverdon-Sport FC	14	4	6	4	9	9	0	14
6	FC Bulle	14	3	3	8	19	28	−9	9
7	FC Chiasso	14	0	7	7	15	30	−15	7
8	Étoile Carouge FC	14	1	4	9	8	22	−14	6

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Draw.

Results

Home \ Away	AAR	BAD	BUL	CHI	ÉTO	LOC	LUG	YS
Aarau		1–1	1–0	4–0	1–0	1–0	1–4	2–0
Baden	0–3		4–1	5–3	3–0	1–0	1–2	0–0
Bulle	1–2	2–0		2–2	1–1	0–3	4–2	0–2
Chiasso	0–3	1–2	2–3		1–1	1–4	0–1	1–1
Étoile Carouge	0–1	1–1	2–1	1–1		1–2	1–5	0–1
Locarno	0–2	6–3	3–2	2–2	1–0		0–0	0–0
Lugano	3–1	4–0	3–1	0–0	1–0	2–1		2–0
Yverdon-Sport	0–1	0–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–0	0–0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation round NLB/1. Liga

The last six teams in each of the two qualification phase groups competed in two relegation groups against relegation to the 1. Liga 1991–92. There was to be one direct relegation in each group, plus a play-out against relegation between both second last placed teams. This stage began on 23 March and was completed on 27 May.

Table group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	FC Schaffhausen	10	5	3	2	17	13	+4	13	Remain in NLB 1989–90
2	SC Zug	10	3	5	2	20	13	+7	11
3	FC Martigny-Sports	10	4	3	3	18	23	−5	11
4	FC Emmenbrücke	10	4	2	4	23	18	+5	10
5	FC Biel-Bienne	10	3	2	5	16	18	−2	8	Play-out against relegation
6	FC Renens[2]	10	2	3	5	12	21	−9	7	Relegated to 1989–90 1. Liga

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Draw.

Table group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	FC Glarus	10	7	1	2	16	9	+7	15	Remain in NLB 1989–90
2	FC Winterthur	10	5	2	3	19	11	+8	12
3	FC Montreux-Sports	10	5	1	4	14	15	−1	11
4	FC La Chaux-de-Fonds	10	3	3	4	11	13	−2	9
5	FC Chur	10	1	5	4	13	16	−3	7	Play-out against relegation
6	Urania Genève Sport[2]	10	2	2	6	9	18	−9	6	Relegated to 1989–90 1. Liga

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Draw.

Relegation play-out

The two games of the two-legged play-out against relegation between both second last placed teams were played on 3 and 10 June 1989.

Team 1	Score	Team 2
FC Biel-Bienne	0–1	FC Chur
FC Chur	2–1	FC Biel-Bienne

FC Chur won 3–1 on aggregate and FC Biel-Bienne were relegated to 1989–90 1. Liga.^[2]

Further in Swiss football

• 1988–89 Swiss Cup
• 1988–89 Swiss 1. Liga

References

1. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" (1990). "1988/89 Rangliste" [1988/89 Ranking] (in Swiss High German). Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv". Retrieved 2023-11-16.
2. Erste Liga (SFV) (2018). "Statistik der Ersten Liga über Aufstieg und Abstieg ab Saison 1931/32 bis 2018" [First League statistics on promotion and relegation from the 1931/32 season to 2018] (PDF). PDF page 8 (in German). Erste Liga, Abteilung des SFV. Retrieved 2023-11-16.

Sources

• Switzerland 1988–89 at RSSSF

Preceded by 1987–88

Nationalliga seasons in Switzerland

Succeeded by 1989–90