2022–23 FC Lugano season

The 2022–23 FC Lugano season was the club's 115th season in existence and the eighth consecutive season in the top flight of Swiss football. In addition to the domestic league, FC Lugano participated in this season's edition of the Swiss Cup and UEFA Europa Conference League. The season covers the period from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023.

Lugano

2022–23 season
Chairman	Philippe Regazzoni
Manager	Mattia Croci-Torti
Stadium	Cornaredo Stadium
Swiss Super League	3rd
Swiss Cup	Runners-up
UEFA Europa Conference League	Third qualifying round
Top goalscorer	League: Žan Celar (16) All: Žan Celar (16)
← 2021–22 2023–24 →

Players

First-team squad

As of 6 September 2022^[1]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  SUI Amir Saipi 4 DF  KOS Kreshnik Hajrizi 5 DF  SUI Albian Hajdari (on loan from Juventus U23) 6 DF  ECU Jhon Espinoza 7 DF  SUI Mickaël Facchinetti 8 MF  SUI Adrian Durrer 9 FW  SVN Žan Celar 10 FW  SUI Mattia Bottani 11 MF  SUI Maren Haile-Selassie 13 GK  SUI Serif Berbic 14 MF  URU Jonathan Sabbatini (captain) 15 DF  GER Lars Lukas Mai 17 DF  ARG Milton Valenzuela 18 MF  FRA Hicham Mahou 20 MF  CIV Ousmane Doumbia

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 MF  SUI Renato Steffen 23 DF  BIH Leonid Srdić 24 MF  NGA Chinwendu Nkama 25 MF  SUI Uran Bislimi 27 FW  SUI Boris Babic 29 MF  TUN Hadj Mahmoud 30 DF  SUI Fabio Daprelà 31 FW  ARG Ignacio Aliseda 34 DF  SUI Allan Arigoni 41 DF  SUI Noah De Queiroz 44 DF  ITA Matteo Lape 45 MF  SUI Michel De Jesus 47 FW  ALG Mohamed El Amine Amoura 58 GK  NGA Sebastian Osigwe 77 MF  CZE Roman Macek

Other players under contract

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  SVN Abel Marc

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  SUI Alexander Muci (at Bellinzona until 30 June 2023) — FW  ITA Alessandro Casciato (at Rapperswil-Jona until 31 December 2022)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  SUI Nikolas Muci (at Wil until 30 June 2024)

Pre-season and friendlies

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

Lugano v SC Freiburg II

17 December 2022 Friendly	Lugano	3–0	SC Freiburg II	Lugano, Switzerland
13:00 CET (UTC+1)				Stadium: Cornaredo Stadium

Fiorentina v Lugano

21 December 2022 Friendly	Fiorentina	6–1	Lugano	Florence, Italy
18:00 CET (UTC+1)				Stadium: Stadio Artemio Franchi

Lugano v FC St. Pauli

7 January 2023 Friendly	Lugano	2–7	FC St. Pauli	Benidorm, Spain
14:00 CET (UTC+1)	Aliseda 42' Arigoni 48' Espinoza Hajrizi		Dźwigała 10', 52' Daschner 11', 24' Otto 20' Eggestein 69' Roggow 119' Aremu Smith	Stadium: Melia Villaitana Football Center
Note: The game was played in two halves of 60 minutes each.

Piast Gliwice v Lugano

10 January 2023 Friendly	Piast Gliwice	0–0	Lugano	Benidorm, Spain
15:00 CET (UTC+1)				Stadium: Melia Villaitana Football Center

Lugano v Neuchâtel Xamax

14 January 2023 Friendly	Lugano	3–0	Neuchâtel Xamax	Lugano, Switzerland
14:00 CET (UTC+1)				Stadium: Cornaredo Stadium

Como v Lugano

24 March 2023 Friendly	Como	2–2	Lugano	Como
11:00 CET (UTC+2)	Cerri 58' Da Cunha 69'		Sabbatini 26', 34'	Stadium: Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia

Competitions

Overview

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
					Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Swiss Super League	17 July 2022	29 May 2023	Matchday 1	3rd	36	15	12	9	59	47	+12	041.67
Swiss Cup	21 August 2022	4 June 2023	Round 1	Runners-up	6	4	1	1	17	6	+11	066.67
UEFA Europa Conference League	4 August 2022	11 August 2022	Third qualifying round	Third qualifying round	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	000.00
Total					44	19	13	12	77	58	+19	043.18

Source: Soccerway

Swiss Super League

Main article: 2022–23 Swiss Super League

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Young Boys (C)	36	21	11	4	82	30	+52	74	Qualification for the Champions League play-off round
2	Servette	36	14	16	6	53	48	+5	58	Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round
3	Lugano	36	15	12	9	59	47	+12	57	Qualification for the Europa League play-off round
4	Luzern	36	13	11	12	56	52	+4	50	Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round
5	Basel	36	11	14	11	51	50	+1	47

Source: Swiss Super League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Draw.^[2]
(C) Champions

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
36	15	12	9	48	44	+4	57	9	5	4	21	18	+3	6	7	5	27	26	+1

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36
Ground	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	L	L	W	L	W	L	W	L	W	W	D	L	L	D	W	W	W	D	L	D	D	D	D	W	D	L	D	D	W	W	W	D	W	D	W	W
Position	8	10	7	8	6	8	6	8	7	5	6	6	8	8	7	4	3	3	4	4	4	5	4	4	3	4	5	4	4	4	2	3	3	3	3	3

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

The league fixtures were announced on 17 June 2022.^[3]

Lugano v Sion

17 July 2022 1	Lugano	2–3	Sion	Cornaredo, Lugano
16;30	Sabbatini 61' De Queiroz 88'	SFL summary	43' (o.g.) Daprelà 59' Cavaré 85' Schmied	Attendance: 2,737 Referee: Fedayi San

Grasshoppers v Lugano

24 July 2022 (2022-07-24) 2	Grasshoppers	2–1	Lugano	Letzigrund, Zürich
16:30 CEST (UTC+2)	Kawabe 12', 47' Dadashov  90+1'	Report	79' (pen.) Celar	Attendance: 4,123 Referee: Stefan Horisberger Assistant referees: Fedayi San (VAR)

Winterthur v Lugano

31 July 2022 3	Winterthur	1–4	Lugano	Stadion Schützenwiese, Winterthur
16:30	Buess 11'	SFL summary	20' Celar 22' Haile-Selassie 31' Bottani 90+1' Celar	Attendance: 7,800 Referee: Luca Cibelli

Lugano v Luzern

7 August 2022 4	Lugano	1–2	Luzern	Cornaredo, Lugano
16:30	Ziegler 75'	SFL summary	32' Dorn 84' Beloko	Attendance: 3,060 Referee: Alain Bieri

Basel v Lugano

14 August 2022 5	Basel	0–2	Lugano	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:30	Xhaka  32'	SFL summary FCB report	4' Arigoni  42' Daprelà  87' Valenzuela 90+1' Babic  90+2' Saipi 90+4' Mahmoud	Attendance: 19,888 Referee: Alessandro Dudic

Lugano v St. Gallen

28 August 2022 6	Lugano	2–3	St. Gallen	Cornaredo, Lugano
14:15	Celar 6' Mahmoud  33' Ziegler  57' Babic 65'	SFL summary	5' Sutter 29' Guillemenot 45+2' Witzig 59' Görtler  79' Guindo  90+3' Vallci	Attendance: 3,357 Referee: Stefan Horisberger

Zürich v Lugano

3 September 2022 7	Zürich	1–2	Lugano	Letzigrund, Zürich
20:30 CEST	Mets  9' Tosin 24' Avdijaj  26' Rohner  60' Selnæs  90'	SFL summary Report	Steffen 5' Celar  19' Amoura 90'	Attendance: 10,360 Referee: Alessandro Dudic

Young Boys v Lugano

11 September 2022 8	Young Boys	3–0	Lugano	Stadion Wankdorf, Bern
16:30 CEST	Nsame 2' 63' Niasse  8' Itten 41' (pen.) Camara  74' Rieder  80'	SFL summary Report	Steffen  41' Mahou  90+3' Arigoni  90+4'	Attendance: 31,120 Referee: Sven Wolfensberger

Lugano v Servette

2 October 2022 9	Lugano	1–0	Servette	Stadio di Cornaredo, Lugano
16:30 CET	Sabbatini 35' Daprelà  46' Doumbia  70'	SFL summary Report	Valls  23' Vouilloz  76' Diallo  86'	Attendance: 3,340 Referee: Alain Bieri

Lugano v Basel

9 October 2022 10	Lugano	1–0	Basel	Cornaredo, Lugano
16:30	Sabbatini  24' Mahou 33' Valenzuela  84'	SFL summary FCB report	61' Lang  62' Amdouni	Attendance: 3,389 Referee: Lukas Fähndrich

St. Gallen v Lugano

16 October 2022 11	St. Gallen	1–1	Lugano	Kybunpark, St. Gallen
14:15	Görtler  5' Akolo 9' Vallci  10' Schmidt  36'	SFL summary	45+1' Arigoni  60' Saipi 83' Celar  90+4' Haile-Selassie	Attendance: 17,059 Referee: Sven Wolfensberger

Lugano v Young Boys

19 October 2022 12	Lugano	1–4	Young Boys	Stadio di Cornaredo, Lugano
20:30 CEST	Ziegler 25' Celar  37' Doumbia  64' Daprelà  79' Bislimi  86'	SFL summary Report	Nsame 21' Rüegg  40' Niasse  57' Lustenberger  60' Garcia 68' Imeri 80' Itten  90+1' 90+5'	Attendance: 3,307 Referee: Sandro Schärer Assistant referees: Sven Wolfensberger (VAR)

Luzern v Lugano

22 October 2022 13	Luzern	3–1	Lugano	Swissporarena, Luzern
20:30	Burch  48' Meyer 66' (pen.) Dräger 69' Meyer 82'	SFL summary	52' Arigoni 61' Bislimi  62' Bislimi  74' Daprelà  84' Valenzuela  90+3' Mahou	Attendance: 10,037 Referee: Nico Gianforte Assistant referees: Sandro Schärer (VAR)

Servette v Lugano

29 October 2022 14	Servette	2–2	Lugano	Stade de Genève, Lancy
20:30 CET	Rouiller 3'  44' Stevanović 26' Diogo Monteiro  68'	SFL summary Report	Hajdari  23' Celar 41' Valenzuela  51'  87' Sabbatini  61' Doumbia 82'	Attendance: 5,842 Referee: Lukas Fähndrich Assistant referees: Sascha Kever (VAR)

Lugano v Zürich

6 November 2022 15	Lugano	2–0	Zürich	Cornaredo, Lugano
16:30	Steffen 12' Mai  24' Hajdari  48' Mahou  58'  78' Babic  59' Aliseda 71' Saipi  88'	SFL summary	28' Selnæs  43' Marchesano  47' Santini  73' Brecher  78' Katić  88' Aliti	Attendance: 3,560 Referee: Sven Wolfensberger Assistant referees: Lukas Fähndrich (VAR)

Lugano v Winterthur

13 November 2022 16	Lugano	3–1	Winterthur	Cornaredo, Lugano
16:30	Celar 7' Celar 15' Arigoni  33' Valenzuela  50' Amoura  89' 89'	SFL summary	20' Di Giusto	Attendance: 3,140 Referee: Luca Cibelli

Sion v Lugano

22 January 2023 17	Sion	2–3	Lugano	Stade Tourbillon, Sion
14:15	Poha  14' Cyprien 24' Araz  39' Cyprien  58' Doumbia 76]' (o.g.)	SFL summary	3' Amoura 33' Steffen  40' Hajdari  90+1' Mahmoud 90+4' Celar	Attendance: 6,500 Referee: Lukas Fähndrich

Lugano v Grasshopper

28 January 2023 (2023-01-28) 18	Lugano	1–1	Grasshopper	Stadio Cornaredo, Lugano
18:00 CET (UTC+1)	Hajrizi  12' Amoura  16' Valenzuela  41' Aliseda 88'	SFL summary	20' Abrashi 42' Kawabe  58' Schmid	Attendance: 2,841 Referee: Fedayi San (Gebenstorf) Assistant referees: Lionel Tschudi (VAR) Man of the Match: Hayao Kawabe[4]

Winterthur v Lugano

4 February 2023 19	Winterthur	1–0	Lugano	Stadion Schützenwiese, Winterthur
16:30	Arnold  41' Di Giusto 45' Burkart  53' Diaby  70'	SFL summary	18'  90+5' Bottani  38' Espinoza	Attendance: 7,500 Referee: Nico Gianforte

Lugano v Luzern

12 February 2023 20	Lugano	1–1	Luzern	Cornaredo, Lugano
14:15	Celar 38' (pen.) Mahmoud  44' Hajdari  73' Valenzuela  77'	SFL summary	16' Abubakar  17' Schürpf  31' Dräger  36' Dorn  90+3' Klidjé	Attendance: 3,026 Referee: Anojen Kanagasingam

Young Boys v Lugano

18 February 2023 21	Young Boys	1–1	Lugano	Stadion Wankdorf, Bern
20:30 CET	Zesiger  40' Nsame 48' Blum  75'	SFL summary Report	Sabatini  19' Valenzuela 38'Steffen  45+2'	Attendance: 24,684 Referee: Luca Cibelli

Lugano v Basel

26 February 2023 22	Lugano	2–2	Basel	Cornaredo, Lugano
16:30	Celar 33' Aliseda 38' Hajrizi  90+2' Hajdari  90+4'	SFL summary FCB report	4' Vogel  31' Xhaka  42' Burger 74' Males 83' Lang  90+3' Lang	Attendance: 3,205 Referee: Sven Wolfensberger

Sion v Lugano

5 March 2023 23	Sion	1–1	Lugano	Stade Tourbillon, Sion
16:30	Poha Sio 66' Chouaref  81'	SFL summary	34' Doumbia  44' Steffen  50' Hajrizi  70' Valenzuela	Attendance: 4,800 Referee: Urs Schnyder

Lugano v Zürich

11 March 2023 24	Lugano	2–0	Zürich	Cornaredo, Lugano
20:30	Aliseda 22' Steffen  39' Sabbatini 45' Hajdari  70' Doumbia  79' Babic  83' Bislimi  90+4'	SFL summary	5' Tosin  36' Šimić  90+4' Omeragić	Attendance: 4,700 Referee: Esther Staubli

Lugano v Servette

19 March 2023 25	Lugano	1–1	Servette	Cornaredo, Lugano
16:30	Hajrizi  9' Macek  60' Arigoni  71' Celar 90'	SFL summary	21' Antunes  45+1' Céspedes  58' Bedia 74' Valls	Attendance: 2,814 Referee: Mirel Turkes Assistant referees: (VAR) Fedayi San

Grasshopper v Lugano

2 April 2023 (2023-04-02) 26	Grasshopper	2–1	Lugano	Letzigrund, Zürich
14:15 CEST (UTC+2)	Schmid  37' Shabani 41'  56' Pusic 67' Dadashov  76'	Report	30' Celar  90+3' Arigoni  90+7' Daprelà	Attendance: 4,502 Referee: Stefan Horisberger Assistant referees: (VAR) Urs Schnyder

Lugano v St. Gallen

10 April 2023 27	Lugano	1–1	St. Gallen	Cornaredo, Lugano
14:15	Hajdari  13' Steffen 22' Steffen  63' Facchinetti  90+4'	SFL summary	61' Görtler  85' Vallci  90+3' Quintillà 90+5' (pen.) Akolo	Attendance: 4,882 Referee: Stefan Horisberger Assistant referees: (VAR) Stephan Klossner

Servette v Lugano

15 April 2023 28	Servette	0–0	Lugano	Stade de Genève, Geneva
18:00		SFL summary	42' Hajrizi  90+2' Macek	Attendance: 4,141 Referee: Urs Schnyder Assistant referees: (VAR) Stefan Horisberger

Lugano v Sion

23 April 2023 29	Lugano	2–0	Sion	Cornaredo, Lugano
16:30	Steffen  9' Mahmoud  73'  78' Valenzuela 90' Amoura 90+4'	SFL summary	21' Schmied  38' Cyprien  49'  51' Zagré  72'  90+3' Diouf  89' Batata	Attendance: 3,005 Referee: Esther Staubli Assistant referees: (VAR) Sandro Schärer

St. Gallen v Lugano

26 April 2023 30	St. Gallen	1–2	Lugano	Kybunpark, St. Gallen
20:30	Witzig 19' Guillemenot  36' Schmidt  61' Maglica  66' Ati-Zigi  67'	SFL summary	15' Arigoni 57' Amoura 86' Bislimi	Attendance: 12,622 Referee: Luca Cibelli Assistant referees: (VAR) Sascha Kever

Lugano v Grasshopper

29 April 2023 (2023-04-29) 31	Lugano	5–1	Grasshopper	Stadio Cornaredo, Lugano
20:30 CEST (UTC+2)	Aliseda 25', 78' Sabbatini  28' Steffen  38' Macek  56' Amoura 59', 64' Celar 70'	SFL summary	10' Seko 45+3' Demhasaj  58' Herc	Attendance: 3,627 Referee: Stefan Horisberger Assistant referees: (VAR) Stephan Klossner

Luzern v Lugano

7 May 2023 32	Luzern	2–2	Lugano	Swissporarena, Luzern
14:15	Beka 27' Meyer 36' Villiger  60' Beka  82' Abubakar  84'	SFL summary	23' Hajrizi  31' Doumbia 52' Celar 74' Steffen  78' Valenzuela  90+2' Steffen	Attendance: 14,358 Referee: Sven Wolfensberger Assistant referees: (VAR) Sascha Kever

Lugano v Winterthur

14 May 2023 33	Lugano	2–1	Winterthur	Cornaredo, Lugano
16:30	Aliseda 15' Arigoni 21'	SFL summary	Ardaiz 16'	Referee: Esther Staubli Assistant referees: (VAR) Sven Wolfensberger

Basel v Lugano

21 May 2023 34	Basel	1–1	Lugano	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:30	Zeqiri 35' Zeqiri  38' Males  62' Calafiori  63'  90+4' Frei  90+4' Heiko Vogel (coach)   after match'	FCB resport SFL summary	19' Hajrizi 84' Steffen  89' Steffen  89' Mahou  90+4' Saipi	Attendance: 21,105 Referee: Lukas Fähndrich Assistant referees: (VAR) Stefan Horisberger

Swiss Cup

Main article: 2022–23 Swiss Cup

Linth v Lugano

21 August 2022 First round	Linth	1–5	Lugano	Näfels
15:00 CEST (UTC+2)	A. Sabanovic 88'	Report	Arigoni 23', 44' Mahou 73' Haile-Selassie 79', 80'	Stadium: SGU-Platz Nord

Breitenrain v Lugano

18 September 2022 Second round	Breitenrain	0–4	Lugano	Bern
15:00 CEST (UTC+2)		Report	Babic 47' Aliseda 70', 90' Amoura 87'	Stadium: Spitalacker Referee: Anojen Kanagasingam

Lugano v Winterthur

9 November 2022 Third round	Lugano	1–0	Winterthur	Lugano
20:30 CET (UTC+1)	Bottani 67'	Report		Stadium: Cornaredo Stadium Referee: Stefan Horisberger

Sion v Lugano

1 March 2023 Quarter-finals	Sion	0–3	Lugano	Sion
20:15 CET (UTC+1)		Report	Amoura 62' Aliseda 72' (pen.) Sabbatini 81'	Stadium: Stade de Tourbillon Referee: Sandro Schärer

Servette v Lugano

5 April 2023 Semi-finals	Servette	2–2 (a.e.t.) (3–5 p)	Lugano	Lancy
20:15 CEST (UTC+2)	Kutesa 22' Crivelli 90+6'	Report	Aliseda 31', 40'	Stadium: Stade de Genève Referee: Fedayi San
	Penalties
	Stevanovic Pflücke Crivelli Mbabu		Celar Bottani Amoura Macek Sabbatini
Note: Lugano won 5–3 on penalties.

Young Boys v Lugano

4 June 2023 Final	Young Boys	3–2	Lugano	Bern
14:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Ugrinic  15' Nsame 20', 45+3',  72' Blum  29' Zesiger  33' Fassnacht  62' Elia 85'	Report	Mahmoud  27' Bislimi  36' Bottani 53' Doumbia  63' Steffen 87'	Stadium: Stadion Wankdorf Attendance: 31,500[5] Referee: Lukas Fähndrich

UEFA Europa Conference League

Main article: 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League

Third qualifying round

Main article: 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying phase and play-off round (Main Path)

Lugano v Hapoel Be'er Sheva

4 August 2022 First leg	Lugano	0–2	Hapoel Be'er Sheva	Lugano, Switzerland
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Bottani  8' Arigoni  35'	Report	Yosefi  37', 39' Micha  76' Selmani 85'	Stadium: Cornaredo Stadium Attendance: 3,369[6] Referee: Michael Fabbri (Italy)

Hapoel Be'er Sheva v Lugano

11 August 2022 Second leg	Hapoel Be'er Sheva	3–1 (5–1 agg.)	Lugano	Netanya, Israel[note 1]
20:15 IDT (UTC+3)	Bareiro  18' Vítor 51' Hajdari 61' (o.g.) Hatuel  80', 85' Elhamed  90+2'	Report	Mahmoud  21' Arigoni  25' Sabbatini 42' Maccoppi  65' Doumbia 73' (pen.) Hajdari  90+2'	Stadium: Netanya Stadium Attendance: 4,798[7] Referee: Juan Martínez Munuera (Spain)
Note: Hapoel Be'er Sheva won 5–1 on aggregate.

Notes

1. Hapoel Be’er Sheva played their home match at the Netanya Stadium, instead of their regular stadium, Turner Stadium, Be’er Sheva, due to safety concerns relating to the 2022 Israel–Gaza conflict.