Swiss Stadia: Schützenwiese, FC Winterthur

Winterthur has had its ups and downs. Its story revolves around creation and loss, great potential unfulfilled, and a strange connection to one of the most successful teams in football history.

The second largest city in the canton of Zurich is far more renowned for its industry and DIY attitude than its significantly fancier sister to the south-west, and that shows in its make-up, both architectural and social. There is no Bahnhofstrasse, for example, in Winterthur; no exclusive shopping district. There are plenty of museums and art galleries, but they are subtle – focused more on what can be found inside than what is presented externally. And, perhaps, all of that sums up Winterthur better than anything, a club that – outwardly – might not inspire many who do not know it, but – internally – has an ethos and culture all of its own.

FCW Graffiti on the way to the stadium.

Schutzenwiese, or “Schützi” to the regulars, is the oldest football stadium still in use in Switzerland. FC Winterthur, itself founded in 1896, has called the ground its home since 1900, when it was still known as Kronenwiese. The club even went to the trouble of voluntarily cultivating a nearby field into farm-land in order to stop the government from seizing their pitch for agricultural purposes during the First World War, and with good reason: Winterthur had been impressively successful in the early 1900s, winning the Swiss title in 1906, 1908, and 1917, even taking part in the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy – seen by some as the World’s first major international football competition – as a representative of the Swiss league. With a record like that, you can imagine why the club wasn’t particularly thrilled by the idea of their ground being used to grow crops.

Over the years, Schutzenwiese has been developed more and more, from its first grandstand in 1922 to the most recent additions in 2015. These individual steps, often funded by fan co-operatives or contributions and public funding from the city itself, have resulted in a wonderfully patchwork stadium, following no particular rhyme or reason in its design. The Bierkurve, for example, populated by the Winterthur Ultras, is distractingly unaligned with the goal it sits behind, partly in thanks to the Sirupkurve, a neighbouring section designated only for Winti’s younger fans, with free Sirup on offer to its patrons. Behind them both stands the old scoreboard and game clock, a remnant of Winti’s past, with the new version standing opposite behind the Eulachkurve and visitor’s stand. The standing sections are connected, loosely, by the two seated sections: the newer Osttribune and the Haupttribune, neighboured by the Media and Clubhouse, another seemingly random construction that juts up next to the old grandstand. Schutzi’s mish-mash of styles, as well as its long-history of fan-driven funding, fit perfectly with a club that stands for integration and equality, defined by its three Fs: Friede. Freiheit. Fussball. Peace, freedom, and football.

Sirupkurve (left), Bierkurve (middle), Osttribüne (right) from the Eulachkurve.

Media centre (left), Hauptribüne (middle), Sirupkurve (right), from the Eulachkurve.

Since those promising early days, however, success has returned only sparingly to Winterthur; the football team unfortunately reflecting the city’s track record of promising beginnings that either failed to reach their potential, or found the kind of success that took them away from their place of origin. SLM, for example, which constructed much of Switzerland (and the world’s) mountain railway equipment in the 19^th Century, should have seen Winterthur become an international hub of engineering, but was eventually sold off, bit by bit, by the late 1900s. Its successor, Stadler, is now based in Thurgau. UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, also began in Winterthur, around the same time that SLM was being divided up, but – of course – now bases itself in Zürich, while Winterthur Insurance, which began in 1875, was eventually bought and sold by Credit Suisse, before becoming part of the AXA group. At the very least, its headquarters are still in the city.

Perhaps the best symbol of Winterthur’s ups and downs is the Sulzer-Hochhaus, the high-rise skyscraper that stands directly behind Schützenwiese. For a time, it was the tallest construction of its kind in the country, and served as the headquarters of the Sulzer industrial group for almost 3 decades after its completion in 1966, a clear sign of Winterthur’s desire to move into a new, modern era. A second tower was planned, but never built, which was probably for the best, since the lone tower was rendered effectively redundant by the 1990s, empty but for a few individual floor rentals, before being sold in 1998. Until 2005, the building fell into greater and greater disrepair, even being subject to occupation by protestors; rumours of impending demolition began. Soon, however, extensive renovations began, including the addition of a 25^th floor, which is now occupied (along with the rest of the top 14 levels) by Sulzer once again. Initially, the newly spruced building had been held for the arrival of a Finnish company, but this was yet another false dawn for a landmark that was becoming an unwanted reminder of Winterthur’s difficulties. In 2019, a local newspaper ran an April Fool’s joke, claiming that the Hochhaus would be turned into a fan hotel in partnership with Spanish giants, FC Barcelona. A seemingly random jab at the fortunes of the building, but Winti and Barca have a much stronger connection than one might think: Joan Gamper, the founder and first captain of Barcelona was – like so many others – an export of Winterthur, even playing for the club in 1897, two years before he would create the Blaugrana of Catalunya.

Sulzer Hochhaus behind the away section and Osttribüne.

Today, the building remains partially used, though many of its lower floors are still empty, but the fact it is somewhat living up to its potential should give hope to those who see their city’s promise reflected in its football club. In a sense, while Winterthur has suffered the pain of so many false dawns, its determination to find the next step forward only adds to my admiration for it.

Sulzer Hochhaus from behind the Bierkurve (Ultras section).

While FC Winterthur do plenty off the field to further this culture of determination and a commitment to fairness and community in the game, this past season has been a difficult one for a club still mired in the thick of the relegation fight. Things have certainly improved since Uli Forte was brought in to replace the unfortunate tenure of Ognjen Zaric, giving them a genuine chance of staying up as I write this, but the visit of Basel was not a particularly enjoyable one for most of those packed into Schutzenwiese on a lovely early spring afternoon.

The two games between the sides prior to the meeting on March 30^th had not gone well for Winterthur. Over the course of 180 minutes, they shipped 11 goals to their Xherdan Shaqiri-inspired rivals, so hopes weren’t especially high for Basel’s visit, given that their title-challenge was starting to take an ever-more solid shape. Winti had picked up some decent results against Young Boys and St Gallen in their fight to stay up, but defeats to Lugano and relegation rivals Yverdon preceded Basel’s arrival, and the losing trend unfortunately continued. Despite a promising first half, in which dogged defending and “getting rid” were the main skills on display, Basel flexed their muscles in the second half, with Shaqiri and Benie Traore putting the game out of Winti’s reach. In the hosts defense, their was plenty in that second half to inspire positivity, and – on another day – a goal or two might have come out of the chances created. Such is life at the bottom.

Basel fans in the guest sector.

Since that defeat, however, Winterthur have won 5 of their 7 games, dragging themselves firmly back into contention to stay in the Super League. From looking like sure-fire competitors in the second tier just a few months ago, doomed to spend yet more time away from the top table, Winti have forced themselves back into the picture. Like the city it represents, refusing to accept defeat, fighting back and reinventing again and again, FC Winterthur won’t go away quietly. Bet against them at your peril.