FC Winterthur v FC Zürich 1897

This picture shows the first match played at Winterthur's Schützenwiese ground on 24.10.97. The visitors were FC Zürich. FC Winterthur won 2-0 with goals from  Spinzio and Notz.

FC Winterthur	FC Zürich
Arthur Fink	Machwürth
Louis Rossi	Willy Imhoof ©
Heinrich	Wettstein
Paul Heubi	Keller
Sidney Jacobs ©	Heinrich Escher
Emil Moser	Staub
Balli (FC St. Gallen)	Mädler
Masterman	K. Meier
Notz (Lausanne)	Hans Enderli
Alfred Spinzio	Wiederkehr
Rudolf Soldati	Kram

Both clubs were formed in 1896. The Swiss Football Association was founded in 1895.

Serie A was first contested in 1898 following an unofficial championship in 1897.
The teams that  featured in the 1897 tournament were: 
Grasshopper Zürich 

FC Zürich

Villa Longchamp Lausanne
FC Yverdon
Lausanne FC et CC
Maison Neuve Vevey
Villa d'Ouchy (Lausanne)
Château de Lancy (Geneve)
Racing Club de Geneve
La Châtelaine Geneve

Joan Gamper

Hans Kamper was instrumental in the foundation of FC Zurich in 1896. He was an all round sportsman, interested in athletics, cycling, tennis, golf and even Rugby (which he played when living in France).

In 1899 he travelled to Barcelona on route to Africa. Whilst he was in Catalunya he decided to form another team to satisfy his passion for football. Consequently FC Barcelona was founded.  

Thanks to Catalan attempts to pronounce his name, Hans Kamper became Kans or Joan Gamper. He played 48 games for Barcelona (1899 -1903), scoring over 100 goals. As a player he was a winner of Copa Macaya (1902) and Copa Barcelona (1903)

An affluent businessman and naturalized Catalan, Gamper was president of Barcelona on 5 occasions (1908-09, 1910-13, 1917-19, 1921-23 and 1924-25).

During the 1920's the right-wing Government punished Barcelona for the Catalan nationalist tendencies of their supporters. Their stadium was closed for 6 months.
Gamper later suffered depression and had financial difficulties. He took his own life in 1930. 

English teams in early international club competitions

Clapton FC were the first British club to play on the continent. In 1890 they traveled to Antwerp and beat a Belgian XI 8-1.

Following this groundbreaking  trip it became increasingly common for British clubs to play abroad. Usually these fixtures were part of friendly summer tours that had a missionary purpose. Continental teams were keen for the prestige of playing against British clubs and viewed the experience of getting thrashed by some amateurs on a jolly as a valuable learning experience.
When the mania for football on the continent reached the point where the idea of international club competitions was being explored, major British teams were absent, and the results of friendly fixtures at the time reveals the gulf that existed between British and continental football (just a few examples: 1894: Standard Athletic Paris 1, Belsice 8; 1900: Racing Club Paris 1, Barnes 3; 1901: Germany XI 2, Aston Villa 6; S Brugeois 0, Cambridge University 4; 1904: Select Paris 2, Newcastle United 11; Union Saint Gilloise 1, Tottenham Hotspur 8; Karlsruher FV 0, Newcastle United 7). 
1909 was the watershed year, with two English amateur sides competing in tournaments on the continent.

The Challenge International du Nord had first been contested by French and Belgian clubs in 1898 with Dutch and Swiss teams joining in 1905.
When, in 1909, England sent a representative to this tournament it wasn't league champions Newcastle United or FA Cup winners Manchester United who went, but rather Eastbourne FC of the Southern Amateur Football League.
Entering at the semi final stage they beat Le Havre Sports (2-0) and Racing Club Roubaix (5-1) to win the trophy.

Reigate Priory

 Reigate Priory (also of Southern Amateur Football League, and relegated from the Senior A section that season) repeated the success in 1910, with Cambridge Town (another Southern Amateur Football League outfit in only their third season) losing the 1911 final, winning the trophy in 1912 reaching the semi finals in 1913.

In 1909 Sir Thomas Lipton (who had donated a trophy to be played for between Argentina and Uruguay from 1905) sponsored an international club tournament, held in Turin. The FA didn't want anything to do with it, so Sir Thomas invited West Auckland of the Northern league to represent England.

West Auckland

Other teams in the 1909 tournament were Torino XI (Italy, a combined Torino / Juventus team), Stuttgarter Sportfreunde (Germany) and FC Winterthur (Switzerland). West Auckland beat Stuttgarter and Winterthur, both by 2-0, to lift the trophy.

in 1911 West Aukland were invited to defend the trophy. In Turin were joined by Juventus and Torino (Italy) and FC Zurich (Switzerland). West Aukland successfully defended the title, retaining the trophy in perpetuity. Having seen off FC Zurich in the first round they beat Juventus 6-1 in the final.

Barcelona

Hans Kamper was a keen all round sportsman who had captained FC Basle and helped to found FC Zurich in his native Switzerland. 
As a 21 year old in 1898 he was travelling to Africa to establish a sugar trading business, but he stopped off to visit an uncle in Barcelona and never left. 
He played some football and  founded a sports magazine, Los Deportes.
On 22nd October 1899 Kamper (or to use the Catalan version of his name, Joan Gamper) placed this advert in Los Deportes: 

SPORT NOTES

Our friend and partner, Mr. Kans Kamper, from the Foot-Ball Section of the <<Sociedad Los Deportes>> and former Swiss champion, wishing to organize some matches in Barcelona, requests that everyone who likes this sport contact him, come to this office Tuesday and Friday nights from 9 to 11.

On 8th December 1899 FC Barcelona played their first ever game, a 10 a side against a team of English settlers. They lost 1-0 to an Arthur Witty goal.  There's a match report here: 

http://hemeroteca.lavanguardia.com/preview/1899/12/09/pagina-7/33401233/pdf.html

1903

Barcelona won their first trophy, the Copa Macaya (a championship of Catalonia) in 1901–02.
It's probably more than a coincidence that Gamper's old team, FC Basle, the club he founded in Switzerland (FC Zurich) and Barcelona all share the same club colours.

Switzerland 1897–1898

Grasshopper Club Zürich

The Swiss league in the 1897–1898 season was contested by 9 teams divided into 3 groups.It was a curious arrangement.

In group A  Grasshopper Club Zurich and FC Zurich played each other once and Grasshopper won 7-2

Group B saw Villa Longchamp Lausanne beat FC Yverdon, who then took no further part. Lausanne Football and Cricket Club then eliminated Maison Neuve Vevey and Villa D'Ouchy  before losing to Villa Longchamp Lausanne.

In group C Le Château de Lancy beat Racing Club de Geneve and were then themselves beaten by La Châtelaine Genève.

There then followed two play off matches.

 Grasshopper beat Villa Longchamp Lausanne and then  La Châtelaine Genève to emerge as champions.