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FC Sion
Founded	1909
Ground	Stade Tourbillon, Sion; (Capacity: 16'500)
Chairman	Christian Constantin
Manager	Didier Tholot
League	Swiss Super League
2007-08	Swiss Super League, 7th
Home colours	Away colours

FC Sion is a Swiss football team from the city of Sion. The club was founded in 1909. The club play their home games at the Stade Tourbillon. As of 2007 it has a limited capacity 16,263 seats, with 11,500 standing places. The Swiss Football Association limits the total capacity to 18,000 spectators, when the stadium could pentionally hold 19,600. For this reason, chairman Christian Constantin has put plans in the work for construction of a new stadium in Riddes.

The club has won the Swiss Super League twice in 1992 and 1997 and the Swiss Cup 11 times, the most recent being in 2009.

[edit] History

In the decades of the 1970s and 1980s, the club won four Swiss Cups in 1974, 1980, 1982 and 1986. In 1991 the club won its fifth out of five Swiss Cups and the following year the club won its first Swiss Super League. FC Sion added to this success by winning the Swiss Cup back-to-back-to-back times from 1995-1997. The latter was half of the domestic double done by the club by winning the 1997 Swiss Super League. That season marked the highest number of points won by a team during a Swiss season.

Subsequently, the club experienced a slump followinf these successes and recurring financial problems. Although bankruptcy was averted by the club, after relegation the club was denied its professional license in 2003. After FC Sion attacked the National League and Justice, by order of the cantonal judge, FC Sion was reinstated into the second division in October 2003; while the league had already been going on for over three months. Three seasons later, in 2006, the club became the first second division team to win the Swiss Cup. FC Sion rejoined the elite at the end of this season. In 2009, FC Sion won its 11th Cup final in Switzerland, making them successful all 11 times in the final.

In 2008, the club signed Essam El-Hadary, leading to a ban in transfer windows and an international playing ban for El-Hadary for four months.^[1] It was because El-Hadary was under contract with his former club Al-Ahly and the club did not release him to be subject of negotiations in transfer windows. This ban was temporarily suspended due to ongoing appeal processes.^[2]

[edit] Honours

Swiss National League A Winners (2) 1992, 1997
Swiss Cup Winners (11) 1965, 1974, 1980, 1982, 1986, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2006, 2009

[edit] Stadium

Their home ground is Stade Tourbillon, which has a capacity of 16'500. Chairman and architect Christian Constantin is planning construction of a new 20,000 all-seater stadium in nearby Riddes.

[edit] Current squad

As of 8 July 2009

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Andris Vaņins (Vice-captain)
2	DF	Yusuf Mohamed
3	DF	Obinna Nwaneri
4	DF	Stéphane Sarni
5	MF	Tariq Chihab
6	DF	Robert Servín
7	MF	Nicolas Marin
8	DF	Jamal Alioui
9	FW	Álvaro Saborío
10	MF	Didier Crettenand
11	FW	Guilherme Afonso
12	DF	Paíto
14	MF	Serey Die
15	DF	Bigambo Rochat
16	MF	Enes Fermino

No.	Position	Player
17	FW	Saidu Adeshina
18	GK	Kevin Fickentscher
19	MF	Fabrizio Zambrella
20	DF	Vilmos Vanczák
21	MF	Abdoul Karim Yoda
22	MF	Goran Obradović (captain)
23	MF	Álvaro Domínguez
24	FW	M'Futi
25	FW	Émile Mpenza
26	DF	Aleksandar Mitreski
27	FW	Moustapha Dabo
30	GK	Nicolas Beney
31	DF	Arnaud Bühler
35	FW	Giovanni Sio