The 2000–01 season was FC Aarau's 98th season in their existence, since their foundation in 1902. It was their nineteenth season in the top flight of Swiss football, following their promotion at the end of 1980–81 season. FCA played their home games in the Stadion Brügglifeld and the stadium is located on the southern outskirts of Aarau, in the territory of the neighboring municipality of Suhr. It is about one and a half kilometers from Aarau city center and the railway station.
Overview The local businessman and architect Ernst Lämmli was the club's president and patron at this time. He had taken over as chairman, as of the club's AGM in 1989. At the end of the previous season Lämmli and the club parted ways with the then existing head-coach Jochen Dries and had appointed a new head-coach in Rolf Fringer. Fringer had achieved the championsip with the club during the 1992–93 season and had been head-coach of the Swiss national football team during 1996 and 1997. Fringer continued as head-coach for the current season.
The FCA first team competed in this season's domestic first-tier 2000–01 Nationalliga A with the clear intention of reaching the championship group and to attempt to qualify for the European competitions. To achieve this would mean they would have to finish the qualifying stage under the top eight teams, which had failed during the previous seasons. The team also competed in the 2000–01 Swiss Cup. The FCA team had not qualified for the UEFA European competitions and they did not enter the Intertoto Cup.
Players The following is the list of the FCA first team squad this season. It also includes players that were in the squad the day the domestic league season started, on 15 July 2000, but subsequently left the club after that date.
Players who left the squad The following is the list of the FCZ first team players that left the squad during the previous season or in the off-season, before the new domestic season began.
Results Legend
Nationalliga A
Qualifying Phase The Qualification Round to the League season 2000–01 was contested by twelve teams. The first eight teams of the regular season (or Qualification) were then to compete in the Championship Playoff Round. The teams in the ninth to twelfth positions completed with the top four teams of the Nationalliga B in a promotion/relegation round. The qualifying phase started on 15 July 200 and was to be completed on 10 December.
League table
Promotion/relegation NLA/NLB
The teams in the ninth to twelfth positions in Nationalliga A competed with the top four teams of Nationalliga B in a Nationalliga A/B Playoff round. This phase began on the week-end of Saturday 24 February 2001 and was completed on Sunday 27 May.
Final table
Swiss Cup
The 2000–01 Swiss Cup was the 76th season of Switzerland's annual cup competition. It began on 9 August with the first game of Round 1 and ended on Sunday 10 June 2001 with the final held at the newly opened St. Jakob-Park in Basel. The cup winners earned a place in the first round of the UEFA Cup. The 12 first-tier clubs from the 2000–01 Nationalliga A had been granted byes for the first four rounds and they joined the competition in the fifth round. The first-tier teams were seeded and cound not be drawn against each other. The draw respected regionalities, when possible, and the lower classed team was granted home advantage.
At the end of the season Servette won the cup and this was the club's seventh cup title to this date.
Friendly matches FCA played various Exhibition games, here are a few examples.
References
Sources Switzerland 2000–01 at RSSSF FCA squad 2000–01 at arowa.ch