FC St. Gallen

It is the dean of Swiss football and one of continental Europe's oldest clubs: founded on 19 April 1879, FC St. Gallen was playing football when most of today's giants did not exist even on paper. The trophy list is short, two national titles nearly a century apart, in 1904 and 2000, plus the 1969 Cup, but the greatness of the Espen is measured differently: by the green and white wall of the Kybunpark, which fills match after match with one of Switzerland's highest average attendances, in any division and against any opponent. Grüewiss im Herz, green and white at heart, is more than a motto, it is the heritage of eastern Switzerland, a region the club represents alone at the top level. Idols like Charles Amoah and graduates like Tranquillo Barnetta emerged there, and not even occasional relegations dent the loyalty of a public that makes the country's oldest club one of its most alive.