BSC Young Boys

Berner Sport Club Young Boys (YB by short abbreviation, Alemannic German: [ˈiːbɛ] EE-beh) is a Swiss professional sports club based in Bern, Switzerland. Its first team has won 17 Swiss league championships and eight Swiss Cups. YB is one of the most successful Swiss football clubs internationally, reaching the semi-finals of the European Cup in the 1958–59 season. The club's colours are yellow of a golden shade and black.

History

1902–1925: The early years

The club was founded in 1898. Its name was intended to mimic that of the Basel-based club Old Boys.

YB began to be successful very early on. Against Lausanne they celebrated a surprising 2–2 draw and on 26 October 1902 a 7–0 victory over Fortuna Basel. In these years YB also came out from the shadow of FC Bern. YB beat their city rivals away 3–1 and on 8 March 1903 5–0 at home. YB won the championship of the Central League and were invited to play in the finals of the Swiss championship. On 22 March was the first final against FC Zürich. YB played, among others, the two Schwab brothers, and they beat Zurich 3–1. On 29 March YB faced the West champion FC Neuchâtel. The guests from Neuchâtel were the clear favorites, because the Bern club had lost to them one month before 1–4. This caused Neuchâtel to make the error of underestimating the Young Boys. The Neuchâtel defense completely broke apart when the YB striker Walter Frey found the net shortly after halftime to post a 1–0 lead. The game ended with a one-sided 5–0 result, and YB after only five years of existence had won their first Swiss football championship.