Servette FC

Servette FC is a Swiss football club, based in Geneva currently playing in the Swiss Super League. They were playing in the Swiss Challenge League, the second highest tier of Swiss football having been relegated from the Swiss Super League at the end of 2004/05 season. However, they earned promotion to the Super League after defeating Bellinzona in a relegation/promotion playoff at May 31st, 2011.

History

Founded in 1890, Servette was the leading club in French speaking Switzerland, having won 17 Swiss league championships and seven Swiss cups. Servette were also winners of the Torneo Internazionale Stampa Sportiva, one of the very first international football competitions in the world, in 1908. In 1930 Servette organized Coupe des Nations, the predecessor of UEFA Champions League.

Led by Umberto Barberis and Claude "Didi" Andrey, in 1978-1979 the club won all the competitions it had entered - with the exception of the European Cup Winners' Cup where it was eliminated in quarter finals without losing by Fortuna Düsseldorf, that year's finalist. Barberis then became French champion in 1982 with AS Monaco.

Until its bankruptcy, Servette was the only club to have remained in the top league since its creation in 1890.

Bankruptcy

On 4 February 2005 the parent company of the club was declared bankrupt. It had run debts of over 10 million Swiss francs, having not paid the players since the previous November, and consequently the club suffered an exodus of players...
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