This year’s season opening hike will take place on the 1st of September! We will take the boat in Thun at 8:40 to Interlaken. If you want, you can reserve a nice breakfast on the boat as well (hene@celticfc.ch). We then will arrive in Interlaken at 11, take the bus in Interlaken West at 11:15 to HU(e)Nibach. Then we will do a short walk at Lake Thun (2,5 km, 1/2h) to McArthur’s, Thun. There we will watch the Glasgow Derby versus Sevco.
We recently produced scarves and they sold out very fast. Now the second order has arrived and we got brand new CSCS-scarves to sell. Contact us for ordering yours.
Prices:
15.- CHF active members
20.- CHF passive members
25.- CHF non-members
Shipping Switzerland is included, international shipping costs an extra 5.- CHF
It
was a hot Tuesday in Switzerland, when a fenian bus left Schwarzenburg (Blackburry)
to collect several creatures, all dressed in green and white. They came in
their dozens from all over Switzerland and had origins in Switzerland, Ireland,
Scotland, Germany, Italy and probably even more. The bus, organised by the CSC
Switzerland, left Blackburry on the 2nd of July 2019 at a quarter to noon and
picked up Fondue Fenians and old and new friends in different places
(Schwarzenburg, Berne, Wangen an der Aare and Zurich) to finally reach St.
Gallen by 3:15 in the afternoon.
Once
in St. Gallen, we all immediately headed down to “The Irish Pub Brühltor”,
where our very own StevieBhoy setup the stage to perform some Irish folk- and
also a load of Celtic-songs. As our board member André (El Commandante) had
written a little guide to St. Gallen, there were also other Bhoys and Ghirls in
the pub, not just us.
Even
though St. Gallen (their football club) is green and white itself, it was green
and white even more on that day. The pub was decorated with flags from
different countries and of different CSCs. Everybody enjoyed the fun, the music
and the drinks. As the game was about to be kicked off by 7:30 pm, all the
bhoys and ghirls (I’d say 50+ people) left the pub around 6 pm to head out to
the Kybunpark, the stadium of FC St. Gallen. As the public transport is
included in the match ticket, we all took public buses. Singing during the
entire journey, we were very much of an attraction to the locals commuting home
after work or the FCSG fans taking the same journey as we did.
At
the stadium, the stewards, security personnel and the local fans were very
friendly, quite a bit of a surprise, honestly, as St. Gallen is known in
Switzerland for its very strict security concept. We all (CSC Switzerland took
care of at least 65 tickets) joined the other Hoops-fans in the away end, hung
out our flags and enjoyed the spirit of the Celtic family. Sure enough, we sang
the ever so necessary hymn “YNWA” by our own (we don’t need it being played by
a DJ). The game started and ended quite uneventfully with a 0:0 draw, even
though Edouard missed a penalty kick and Jozo Simunovic was sent off. Not all
in our end even noticed…
Much to the joy of the local audience and the commentators in Swiss pay-TV, we sang not only “Happy Birthday” to FC St. Gallen, which has it’s 140th anniversary this year. Not only that, but most of the time sang and cheered our team, led by our Toblerone Tims StevieBhoy (who literally almost never stopped singing from the time getting onboard of the bus in Zurich until leaving it) and Boab, who were both showing their ambitions to becoming new capos for the Green Brigade …
The
trip to St. Gallen was, once again, absolutely great! We met old and new
friends (special hello and welcome to the newly founded CSC Lecco from Lake
Como, Italy) and enjoyed a brilliant day with the Celtic family! We’ve been
asked dozens of times, how comes, that a Swiss becomes a Celtic fan. Everybody
who ever joined such an event will know why. It’s that simple!
BUS: For the friendly game versus FC St.Gallen 1879 on the 2nd of July we organized a bus running from Schwarzenburg via Bern and Zurich to St. Gallen before and after the match. Reservation obligatory and compulsory. There are still some spare seats left.
11:45 ab Schwarzenburg, 12:15 Bern, 12:45 Wangen a.A., 14:00 Zürich. Return approx. 1/2h after the match.
TICKETS: We organized tickets for our members and friends. Reservation was obligatory and compulsory. Tickets still can be bought directly on the homepage of FC St. Gallen. B4 is the visitor section.
MEETING POINT: The Irish Pub at Brühltor St. Gallen. Opening times yet to be fixed, but we hope it will be at around 2-3.
CONCERT: Board member Stevie will play a concert at The Irish Pub. Start at around 4 o’clock. Celtic songs, rebel songs and irish music.
MATCH: We will head to the stadium by public transportation. Public transport is included in the match ticket.
We are looking forward to see you in St. Gallen in one month!
We will meet @Piwi Bern for the second Glasgow Derby of the year. Please join us – let’s cover the pub in green and white. The match is on the 12th of May, kick off 13.00h (swiss time). Hail, Hail!
We will meet @McArthurs Thun for the first Glasgow Derby of the year. Please join us – let’s cover the pub in green and white. The match is on the 31th of March, kick off 13.00h (swiss time).
The Pub opens at 11.30. There will be a fried breakfast + 1 beer Deal (18.- CHF) for all CSC members. ONLY on reservation till friday before the match (write to Heinz). Hail, Hail!
Thanks to your donation for the CSC Switzerland paving stone, I could already order the stone last year and much more important, I was able to transfer CHF 430.– (£318) to the Celtic Foundation today!!
2018 is nearly over and again we’ve seen some fantastic performances from the Bhoys during the year. Do you remember April 2018? On the 15th we beat THEM 4:0 in the Scottish cup and only 2 weeks later we enjoyed a comfortable 5:0 win against the same team. One month later we then were crowned Scottish champions and cup winners. The historical double treble was achieved. It felt a bit like Christmas in springtime. The festive days are not far away. We wish you and your family and friends some peaceful and calm days. And who knows, maybe you’ll find a Celtic-parcel under your tree? 😉
Save the date #1 Old Firm
We will meet @Pickwicks Pub Bern for the last Glasgow Derby of the year. Please join us – let’s cover the pub in green and white. Game is on the 29th of December, kick off 13.30h (swiss time).
Save the date #2 AGM 2019
The general meeting 2019 will take place on Saturday, 13.04.2019 in/around Bern. Details will follow. Please mark this date it in your calendar and join us.
Busy December
Celtic will play TEN times in December. Don’t tell the Swiss teams. They are already complaining when they have to play 3 games in two weeks. However, we help you to keep the overview:
Sheeps (2.12.; Betfred Cup; N), The Well (5.12.; League, A), Killie (8.12; League; H), Salzburg (13.12. EL, H), Hibs (16.12., League, A), The Well (19.12., League, H), The Dee (22.12., League, H), Sheeps (26.12., League, A), Sevco (29.12., League, A).
CSCS arrived in Toronto (Ontario, Canada):
Imagine that you are somewhere on holidays or on a business trip and you’re thinking about what you could bring back as a souvenir? Well, Laura Shields from Toronto has found an easy solution. Wherever she travels to and finds out about a local CSC, she’s asking for a shirt and then bring one home to her father. So she did as she spent a few weeks in Basel. We think that is a fantastic idea. Her father, Danny Shields, was born in Glasgow about a mile from Celtic Park. Aged 17 year he played against Kenny Dalglish in a match against Celtic. He is now a member of the Bramalea CSC.
CELTIC SUPPORT Show racism the red card
Our captain, Scott Brown, recently said (Celtic View 10/18):
“Celtic has been a club open to all since its formation in 1888. At all times we continue to send the strongest message that no forms of discrimination have any place in football or society. Our club and the Celtic team are once again delighted to support this year’s show racism the red card campaign.”
Many Celtic Supporters Clubs urge their fans to continue their support about the anti-racism message. So do we: There is no place for discrimination, racism or sectarianism at Celtic Supporters Club Switzerland and there should be nowhere. Show racism the red card. Hail, Hail!
Leipzig away Check out Stevie’s blog here: CLICK HERE
We will meet @Pickwicks Pub Bern for the last Glasgow Derby of the year.
Please join us – let’s cover the pub in green and white. Game is on the 29th of December, kick off 13.30h (swiss time).
Leipzig away – it was a good time. I can’t remember too many things though, but thankfully I found some pictures. Here we go:
sdr
mde
sdr
cof
cof
That obviously was a joke. The whole trip was fantastic. As usual meeting old and new friends was the best part of it. But as it was in Germany the beer actually was top of the list as well. And as usual Celtic’s performance was – well let’s say it diplomatic – just average.
The city of Leipzig is beautiful (see pics above) and is well known for concerts and conventions. But the lovely old town is an attraction of its own. Specially one small alley was basically green and white for 48h+: The Barfussgässchen – the bare foot alley.
On matchday the main square, the market square, was crowded with celtic fans. Drinks, singing and ball games were the centre of the attention until the big corteo to Bullen Arena started. Around 6-7’000 fans went on the walk. Instead of 45min duration it took us 1:30h because of bad policing. This lead to panic in front of the stadium as all the fans wanted to enter in between of 40min. Noting serious happened thankfully, but fans entered the stadium up to 30min after the game had started.
The match in short form: We played well 30min, we lost two stupid goals. The fans stopped singing. After the break: There was a big party in the away section (and next to it). The teams still went on playing 45min.
After the match we actually got a few busses to bring the fans back to town. There we drank nice German beer on the terrace of a Bavarian (yes!) restaurant till the early morning hours – and we didn’t stop singing and dancing neither.
Another great trip that I won’t forget about. Another away trip that I didn’t see the team showing it’s potential. But who cares in the end, when you meet people you love from near and far.
This year the hike is organised by Hene. Thank you very much. We’ll walkig from Langenthal to the Irish Pub in Herzogenbuchsee, wehre we’ll watch the game against Livingston.
When: 04.08.2018
Where: Bern, 11.20h Meeting Point @ the main station in Bern or 12.10h @ the Train Station in Langenthal.
For four years, CSC Switzerland had the pleasure and the honour to have Stephanie on our board! Since the start of the refounding of our club she was a vital part of our team and the good heart of the club and a fantastic treasurer! Steph will still be a part of CSCS as a member, but as she is opening a new chapter in her private life and will even leave Switzerland for a while, she will not be able to work for the board. We would like to thank you very, very much Steph! Thanks for your work and dedication and we wish you all the very best in future! Hail, Hail!
We will watch the last Glasgow Derby of the season on 29th April at Piwi Bern! Kick off 13:00 swiss time. If someone is looking for a bed after the GM the night before, contact us. See you there, Hail! Hail! 🍀
It’s time for our newest newsletter! As you will find out, we have a new column which let’s all members write about their trips with Celtic. Are you interested to share your story with us all? Contact one of our board members. We as well can help you out with translation, ect.
Hail, Hail and see you all at the GM on 28th April. Further info about the GM you can find here.
Küse, Heinz, André, Steph, Steven
CSC Switzerland board
(Click on the Newsletter pages to open them in big size)
On tuesday we donated money to Swiss Christmas appeal «Jeder Rappen zählt» – and Swiss Radio SRF 3 played Just can’t get enough as a wee thank you. Here you can listen to the last seconds of it, including the comment from the Radio presenter Fabio Nay. Hail, Hail!
Roughly 300km was the ride in the green bus, that took us to the promised beer land. Weissbier, Brezn and Weisswurst was up for the next few days – and one hell of a party! Celtic was about to play their 3rd group stage match in Munich, which is a very short ride for us Fondue Fenians to see the mighty Hoops play. Obviously, a few of us got some days off at work and were up to enjoy one of the best away trips ever – at least for me, Stevie, it was a highly enjoyable one.
Supply on the road – last NOT Weissbier seen for 2 days.
Arriving in Munich on Tuesday afternoon, it was all about getting started easily. And getting the tickets sorted. In the evening, we enjoyed the concerts of Glasnevin and Co at the “Backstage” München.
I didn’t count the amount of Weissbier we enjoyed throughout the trip, but I am sure all Celtic fans together drank more than most Oktoberfest visitors over several days. On match day, Marienplatz, the main square in Munich, was covered in in Green & White and bottles. – And flags.
Our wee flag on show on Marienplatz.
Marienplatz covered with tims.
Then, it was time to leave Marienplatz behind us and go to the stadium. The subway trains were crowded with a mix of both groups of fans and the Celtic fans were having a party (again!) in the U-Bahn – probably a bit too much, as the train couldn’t move for 20 minutes. But as friendly as we are, we shared beers with strangers, gave them our scarves and badges and won new friends, even an old Munich fan, who said he had never seen something like the Hoops fans before in his life. He left for the stadium with a bright smile and saying he will be a Celtic fan from this day on – mission accomplished. 🙂
The Allianz Arena is stunning! When you leave the subway you need to walk 1km+ and the red enlighted stadium gets closer and closer. The tension rises with every meter you get closer. Entering the stadium (built by Herzog & De Meuron, Swiss architects, btw.) you will be left stunned. It’s huge and well organized (yes, we are in Germany). Because of the problems in the subway we got there late, missed kick-off by some minutes, so the fans were already in full voice, so we joined in.
The Allianz Arena from outside.
Stunning – ‘nough said!
The away section.
Celtic lost 0-3, which, in my eyes, wasn’t too bad and better than expected before the match. We should have scored though. But all in all it was a good performance, with some bad minutes in the first half and good ones in the second. The atmosphere in the away section was great. And with Celtic’s good second half performance it got even better. Dancing, singing – having a party in the Champions League!
After the match, we were allowed to leave the stadium immediately – which is unusual! Outside, the atmosphere was friendly and on the subway back into the city centre the party continued. Well, not only in the subway…
In the metro station Marienplatz after the match – Grace being belted out in full voice.
It was a wonderful trip to a beautiful city. We met many old friends, but many new ones as well. Thanks very much to all who made it a brilliant trip for the Fondue Fenians!! See yous on tour!
Hail, Hail!
BTW: The bus trip home was a very silent one.. 🙂
Some kind words The Celtic blog wrote about us and the Celticfans:
“Today I met some of the most amazing people ever, including the Bhoys of Switzerland.
I am going to tell you some stories about them, and their passion for our club, tomorrow or the day after.
They are inspirational.
All of these supporters are. The collection of tales about how fans got here and the lengths some of them went to – phenomenal.
And you know what? Whatever happens in the game, our club is world class because these guys are world class.
Never been so proud to be a Celtic fan, I mean it.
It’ll be time to go to the game shortly; the result is now the least important thing about the trip.
This is my first European away match.
It will not be my last.
In terms of feeding the soul, as it were, this trip has been off the scale.
We had a lovely day on our season opening hike 2017 in beautiful Central Switzerland. 6 members met in Luzern at the train station at 9am (yes, early start…) and 2 more joined us in Küssnacht am Rigi (sounds a wee bit like Killie, that’s why we did chose it… aye, Heinz was drunk that day…). There we made a short hike to the Hohle Gasse, where Wilhelm Tell shot Vogt Gessler (history lesson can be taken further down on this blog). Back to the village of Küssnacht we boarded on the MS Titlis and did enjoy an hour on lake Vierwaldstätter (for Heinz: Lake Lucerne).
Arrived back in Luzern we went to the Shamrock Pub and set everything up for the Kilmarnock-Celtic match. The match itself wasn’t the best in history, but the focus was set on having a great time together anyway – which was loads of fun.
Here some of the impressions of our Season Opening Hike 2017:
The legend of William Tell
At a time soon after the opening of the Gotthard Pass, when the Habsburg emperors of Vienna sought to control Uri and thus control trans-Alpine trade, a new bailiff, Hermann Gessler, was despatched to Altdorf. The proud mountain folk of Uri had already joined with their Schwyzer and Nidwaldner neighbours at Rütli in pledging to resist the Austrians’ cruel oppression, and when Gessler raised a pole in the central square of Altdorf and perched his hat on the top, commanding all who passed before it to bow in respect, it was the last straw. William Tell, a countryman from nearby Bürglen, either hadn’t heard about Gessler’s command or chose to ignore it; whichever, he walked past the hat without bowing. Gessler seized Tell, who was well known as a marksman, and set him a challenge. He ordered him to shoot an apple off his son’s head with his crossbow; if Tell was successful, he would be released, but if he failed or refused, both he and his son would die.
The boy’s hands were tied. Tell put one arrow in his quiver and another in his crossbow, took aim, and shot the apple clean off his son’s head. Gessler was impressed and infuriated – and then asked what the second arrow was for. Tell looked the tyrant in the eye and replied that if the first arrow had struck the child, the second would have been for Gessler. For such impertinence, Tell was arrested and sentenced to lifelong imprisonment in the dungeons of Gessler’s castle at Küssnacht, northeast of Luzern. During the long boat journey a violent storm arose on the lake, and the oarsmen – unfamiliar with the lake – begged with Gessler to release Tell so that he could steer them to safety. Gessler acceded, and Tell cannily manoeuvred the boat close to the shore, then leapt to freedom, landing on a flat rock (the Tellsplatte) and simultaneously pushing the boat back into the stormy waters.
Determined to see his task through and use the second arrow, Tell hurried to Küssnacht. As Gessler and his party walked along on a dark lane called Hohlegasse on their way to the castle, Tell leapt out, shot a bolt into the tyrant’s heart and melted back into the woods to return to Uri. His comrades were inspired by Tell’s act of bravery to throw off the yoke of Habsburg oppression in their homeland, and to remain forever free.Do you want to know more about it? Here you will find the whole Saga.
Meeting point: 9:00 am Lucerne main station, track 9
Train leaving 9:06 (S3, direction Brunnen), arrival 9:25 in Küssnacht am Rigi (second possibility to meet)
Short hike (about 1 hour) from Küssnacht train station via Hohle Gasse and the ruins of the castle of Gessler (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tell) to the ship station in Küssnacht
Decorating the pub and getting yourselves prepared for the game vs. Kilmarnacht (Küssnock), kick-off: 13:30
Costs: CHF 27.- for the ship (1/2-Tax/GA are fully valid) + CHF 8.60 for the train Lucerne – Küssnacht (full price) + any ticket to/from Lucerne. For members living in Switzerland: Check the availability of Tages-GA Gemeinde (normally CHF 51.–) at your communal administration. For non-Swiss members interested: please contact Hene, so that we can take care of this issue and get you a daily ticket.
DON’T MISS THIS EVENT! Please let us know, if you’re joining us, so that we can bring enough (cooled) provisions for the hike (it will be hot, the doctors say, you need to drink enough, when it’s hot… 😉 ). You can do this by text/WhatsApp to Hene or any other board member, mail, online on our Facebook page/group, Twitter, Instagram or any other social media platform we’re on, letter, carrier pigeon or smoke signals etc. But best would be the first three possibilities. 😉
From the 4th until the 11th of June, the North American Celtic Supporters Federation (NAFCSC) organised a convention for all Celtic Supporters from all over the world. CSC Switzerland was represented by president Markus, vice-president Heinz, the members Lenny and Fanny and the non-members (but girlfriends of Hene and Lenny) Daniela and Tina. After a wee 2-weeks-trip around California (see pics), we arrived at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, one block off the Strip, on the 4th of June, while the weather was not quite Scottish (sunny, completely dry and 40°C)…
Around 4.000 Celtic fans stayed in the 3.261 rooms of the hotel, and at the “International Bar” there were never less than around 30 Tims (24 hours a day!). Therefore, the Pool Party on Tuesday got really (really!) crowded, as you can imagine. At times, you couldn’t even see the water in the pool and the hotel staff was just not able to keeping up the beer and ice supply for bars in the pool area… Nevertheless, probably almost nobody kept sober. The NAFCSC had one hut at the pool set up as stage for music, so that we could celebrate our Celtic music heritage. Even hotel staff learned a few songs! J It was just incredible! By the way: The water in the pool got never dark blue (as in the film “Grown Ups”), but was probably around 50% beer at the end of the party…
On Thursday, we went to watch the documentary film “Anyone but Celtic” by Paul Larkin. The opinions about the film within the present members are still not agreed. In the evening, the Green Night took place. We re-met a couple of old and some new friends, which was very nice, as always. Brian Warfield and the Young Wolfetones did a great job on the stage and all the crowd was singing, drinking, celebrating and enjoying themselves. What a night!
We left out the Golf Day, as no one of us plays golf, the Cabaret Night (both on Wednesday; instead, we took a trip to the incredibly impressive Grand Canyon), the Gala Dinner Dance on Friday (which was quite formal) and also the Pub Night on Saturday, as we had our 11-hour-flight back home on Sunday night and had to get our stuff packed and get some rest. After three weeks in a beautiful country with generally nice people (nevertheless, Trump is still a cunt), we were back in Switzerland on Monday afternoon. It was an impressive trip and we will be telling stories about it for a long time. And we do strongly recommend a visit at the NAFCSC convention to every Celtic fan. The convention next year will be held in Toronto, it was said.
CSC Switzerland for the first time ever took part in a fanclub tournament. Letzi Cup 2017 this year took part for the 38th time. We enjoyed our time in Zurich very much, the tournament was very well organized, the teams played fair and there was even time & space for friendship photos and giving handicapped players the chance to play alongside their team mates.
CSCS became 10th out of 16 teams. We started well, won 2 out of 2 and by noon had won 3 out of 5 matches. Sadly we ate too much and then lost the next 3 group matches.
Playing another two matches for the end ranking we won the first clearly (3-0), but then lost 1-2 end missed out on place 9.
A special thank goes to Paddy McGuire who specially travelled over from Liverpool to play with us!
We have great news! With the help of Paddy, who joins us from oversea, we completed a team for the Letzi Cup to compete for the famous fanclub cup!
If you want to join our team, write to Stevie. But what we still need is a big group of supporters! So join us for a lovely day and support the CSCS for the first time in football action!
Sportplatz Juchhof II, Zürich
8 am – 5 pm
The following supporters clubs take part:
VfB Stuttgart Fanclub Mondgucker
VfB Stuttgart Fanclub RWS Berkheim
Hertha BSC Berlin Freunde Berlin Süd
FC. Winterthur Fanatics 2008
SC. Kriens Supporters
FC. Bayern München Fanclub Zürich
Arsenal FC Fanclub Switzerland
FC. Zürich Fanclub Tigers
FC. Zürich Fanclub Letzi
Inter Club Zofingen
FC. Basel Fanclub Basilisk
FC. Zürich Team Immerblau
FC. Zürich Team Füürloie
Celtic Supporters Club Switzerland
FC. Wil Fanclub Sektor D
FC. Wil Fanclub Black Bears
BVB Dortmund Swiss Crew
GC Fanclub Eastboys
All info on their official website: http://www.fanclubletzi.ch/
We will be watching the game versus the zombies (k.o. 13:00 CET) in McArthur’s Pub Thun this time.
Thanks to Tony, we will pay only CHF 5.– for every pint between 12:00 and 13:00.
The pub will be open from 11:30.
Join us there, as it might even be the champions decider! If not, it will at least most probably be the last nail in their coffin (only in their hopes for the title!)…
The annual general meeting will take place on Saturday, 8th of april at Aareheim, Langmauerweg 11, Bern! It’d be great to see as many of you guys as possible! We will publish further info in the next week! Hail, Hail!
Programm:
13:30 arrival
14:00 GM
16:00 Celtic vs. Kilmarnock live on Celtic TV
Will you take part? Send your yes/no to marcus(at)celticfc.ch till the 3rd of April. Thanks & HH
Dear members! We hope you are well and enjoy our latest newsletter! If there are any questions, write us a mail or contact one of our board members! Hail, Hail!
Dear members! We hope you are well and enjoy our latest newsletter! If there are any questions, write us a mail or contact one of our board members! Hail, Hail!