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Fussball Club Basel 1893 has a long and illustrious history, that spans the period from 1893 to the present day. Having competed at the highest level of football in Switzerland for most of this time, FCB currently play in the Swiss Super League. The club was founded on 15 November 1893.
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Due to its size the history of FC Basel has been divided into five sections. This is the fifth section and deals with the financial backing that had been put into the club at that time, the move to the new stadium St. Jakob-Park, how success returned and how things have progressed to the present day. For details on other individual periods of the club's history, see the following articles:
- History of FC Basel (1893–1918)
- History of FC Basel (1918–1939)
- History of FC Basel (1939–1965)
- History of FC Basel (1965–2000)
108th, St. Jakob-Park
This was the club's 108th season since their foundation. René C. Jäggi was the club's chairman for the fifth consecutive year. FC Basel played their home games in the alternate Stadion Schützenmatte while the new stadium was being built and as of 15 March 2001 in the brand new St. Jakob-Park. Christian Gross was the first team coach for the second successive season. Still forming his team, Gross made a number of signings before the season started. Goalkeeper Miroslav König, midfielders André Muff and Hakan Yakin were signed in from Grasshopper Club. The two strikers Hervé Tum, from Sion, and Jean-Michel Tchouga, from Yverdon-Sports, joined to strengthen the attack. Ivan Ergic joined from Juventus and Carlos Varela was loaned in from Servette. In the other direction Pascal Zuberbühler went on a one-year loan to Bayer Leverkusen, Marco Tschopp was sent on a one-year loan to Xamax and Edmond N'Tiamoah on a six-month loan to SR Delémont.
The qualification round to the League season 2000–01 was contested by twelve teams. The first eight teams of the regular season, or qualification round, then competed in the Championship Playoff Round. The club's aim was to end the qualification round in the top four and in the championship to reach the 2001–02 UEFA Cup. Basel started the regular season with three wins and three defeats, but then became somewhat more consistent, being defeated just once in the following 12 matches. Basel were able to play the games of the championship group in their new stadium, the St. Jakob-Park opened on 15 March 2001. It was sold out with 33,433 spectators on three occasions, against Lausanne-Sport in the first game, against St. Gallen and in the match against Grasshopper Club. The team was much more consistent in the championship stage, they were only beaten twice. But they only won four matches and recorded eight draws, because goal scoring was very rare. Basel ended the season in fourth position in the league table, thus qualifying for the 2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup.[1]
The Swiss Cup started for Basel in the Round of 32 on 18 February 2001. Basel defeated lower class Etoile Carouge, but only after a penalty shoot out. In the next round they were drawn against and beat lower classed Bellinzona. In the quarterfinals Basel were defeated by Lausanne-Sport after another penalty shoot out.[1]
Basel were qualified for the 2000–01 UEFA Cup and in the qualifying round they beat Folgore 12–1 on aggregate. In the first round they beat Brann Bergen with an aggregate score of 7–6. In the second round Basel were tied against Feyenoord. Feyenoord won both matches and so the European season came to a quick end for Basel before the Christmas break.[2]
109th, return of the glory days
Club chairman was René C. Jäggi for the sixth consecutive season. Christian Gross was the first team trainer for the third successive season. Brought up from their reserve team Philipp Degen and Marco Streller signed professional contracts. Further, Pascal Zuberbühler returned from a one-year loan with Bayer Leverkusen. Basel's biggest signing for the new season were Scott Chipperfield, who came from Wollongong Wolves and Christian Eduardo Giménez, who was signed in from Lugano.
The qualification round to the league season 2001–02 Nationalliga A was contested by twelve teams and started on 4 July 2001. The season started in the worst possible way, Basel were beaten 8–1 in the away game against FC Sion in the first game of the season. The afore mentioned Marco Streller was to play his League debut in St. Jakob-Park, being substituted in during the 66th Minute on 11 July 2001, in the 3–1 home win against Servette. Unluckily in the last minute of the game he headed in an own goal as he tried to clear a corner kick. Christian Eduardo Giménez was to play his debut on 18 July in the 3–3 draw with St. Gallen and his first goal for the club was to follow during the 3–1 home win against the Young Boys on the 11 August. Giménez was to end the season as the top scorer in the Swiss league. After five games Basel were straggling after achieving just one win and one draw, opposed to three defeats. Hereafter things turned for the better and despite two further defeats, and despite that these were in the two matches against the reigning title holders Grasshopper Club Zürich, Basel ended the qualification leading the league table. With ten wins and just one defeat in the first eleven games, Basel pulled away at the top of the table to win the championship, with three games left to play before the end of the season. Basel thus achieved their main aim for the season. This was their first title after 22 years of waiting.[3]
Basel's clear aim for the Swiss Cup was to win the title, especially because the final was to be played in St. Jakob-Park. In the quarter-final Basel beat Zürich 4–1. The semi-final against Young Boys ended in a draw after extra time, but Basel won after penalties. The Final was won after extra time against the Grasshoppers thanks to a penalty scored by Murat Yakin after Boris Smiljanić cleared the ball off the goalline with his hand.[3]
110th, Champions League
René C. Jäggi had been club chairman for the previous six seasons, but he stood down at the AGM in October and businessman Werner Edelmann was elected as new chairman. Christian Gross was the first team trainer for the fourth season. As reigning double holders, the club's main aims for the 2002–03 season were to retain the Swiss Nationalliga A and cup titles. The third aim was to stay in the Champions League as long as possible and, if possible, to reach the group stage. Basel's biggest pre-season signings were Julio Hernán Rossi from Lugano, Antonio Esposito from St. Étienne and Bernt Haas on loan from West Bromwich Albion. In the other direction, Massimo Ceccaroni retired from his professional career. Ceccaroni is still considered to be a cult figure in Basel, not only because of his loyalty to the club (having spent 25 years at the club) but because he never scored a goal in the top flight of Swiss football.
The Swiss Football Association (ASF-SFV) were changing the format of the domestic league. The new format would reduce the number of clubs to 20 from 24, with ten teams in the top tear and ten in the second tier. The domestic league season started well for Basel and they were undefeated in their first seven matches, winning five and drawing two. The following two games were both lost and Basel slipped down in the league table, but they regrouped to win nine and draw two of the following eleven games. A 1–2 home defeat against Grasshopper Club cost them the lead in the league table and Grasshoppers ended the league qualifying stage as table leaders at the winter break. In the championship playoff round Basel lost just two away games, winning 10 of 14 games. But because both ties against the Grasshoppers were drawn, the Zurich-based club managed to snatch the title by a single point at the end of the season.[4]
In the Swiss Cup, Basel started in the round of 32 and won their game away at lower league team Yverdon-Sport. In the round of 16 Basel were drawn at home against and eliminated Servette. In the quarter-finals Basel were drawn away against Young Boys. Despite an early two goal lead, YB turned the game and took the lead until Hervé Tum equalised to a 3–3 draw. In extra time Hakan Yakin scored the deciding goal for the visitors. Lower league club Schaffhausen was defeated 3–0 in the semi-final. The final, played in the St. Jakob-Park against Neuchâtel Xamax was a one-sided affair. Basel won 6–0 and won the domestic cup.[4]
In the second qualifying round of the Champions League, Basel defeated Slovakian club Žilina 4–1. In the third qualifying round they faced Scottish giants Celtic. In the first leg, away at Celtic Park, the home side won 3–1. Basel were able to rescue the tie in the second leg at St. Jakob-Park, coming away with a 2–0 victory, to draw 3–3 on aggregate, Basel proceeding to the group stage on the away goals rule. In the group stage Basel were drawn into Group B along with Valencia, Liverpool and Spartak Moscow. Following a 2–0 home win against Spartak, Basel travelled to Anfield to claim a 1–1 draw against Liverpool. After two good results Basel were brought back down to earth by a 6–2 demolition at Valencia's Estadio Mestalla. However, they bounced back and held Valencia to a 2–2 draw in the next fixture. Basel were now sitting in second place in the group, but needing to win at least one of their last two games and needing Liverpool to fail to pick up more than two points. In matchday five, Liverpool lost 1–0 to Valencia and Basel won 2–0 against Spartak at the Luzhniki Stadium. Basel's place in the last 16 was all but secured, although they still had to make sure they did not lose to Liverpool in the last game of the first group stage. On the last matchday, Basel led 3–0 at half-time through goals from Julio Hernán Rossi, Christian Giménez and Timothée Atouba. Although Liverpool fought back to equalise the game at 3–3 in the second half, Basel qualified for the next round.
In the last 16, Basel faced Manchester United, Juventus and Deportivo de La Coruña. They had a poor start, losing back-to-back games at home to Manchester United and away at Juventus. Basel managed to give themselves hope of reaching the quarter-finals by winning 1–0 at home and again away against Deportivo. Arguably two of Basel's greatest ever European games, up until here, came next as they held Manchester United to a 1–1 draw at Old Trafford and claimed a 2–1 victory over Juventus at the St. Jakob-Park. Despite being knock-out on tie-breaking criteria, Basel had achieved their seasons European aim easily.[5]
111th, tenth championship
Werner Edelmann was confirmed as chairman at the AGM. Christian Gross was the first team trainer for the fifth successive season. Former Basel youth player David Degen, who had started his professional career with FC Aarau in 2000 returned to the club. Basel's biggest signing in advance of the 2003–04 season was Matías Emilio Delgado from Chacarita Juniors.
Despite the fact that Grasshopper Club Zürich were the reigning Swiss champions, Basel were favourites to win the domestic championship title. As runners-up of the previous Nationalliga A season, Basel entered the UEFA Cup in first round. The club's aims for the new season were clear, the league title must be won, the cup title was to be defended and that the team should remain in the 2003–04 UEFA Cup competition, at least two rounds or even better until the winter break.
The Swiss Football Association (ASF-SFV) had changed the format of the domestic league. Basel's priority aim for the season was to win the league championship. The season began on 16 July 2003 with the home game against Zürich in the St. Jakob-Park with 30,561 spectators. The second league match was away against Young Boys in sold out Stadion Neufeld in Bern with an attendance of 11,850 fans. Basel dominated and on 75 minutes Antonio Esposito scored the winning 3–2 goal for the visitors. During the match on 16 August in the Stadion Lachen Christian Giménez scored a hattrick as FCB won 4–0 against Thun. In fact, the season started impeccably, Basel won the first thirteen matches straight off, before they lost their first points in the away game against Aarau in the Stadion Brügglifeld with a 2–2 draw. Basel moved to the top of the league table from the first round and held this position without problem. Despite an away win in round 19 against Young Boys to the start of the second half of the season, the team was not as steadfast as it had been before the winter break. On matchday 24 they were defeated for the first time in the domestic league losing 1–0 in the Letzigrund against Zürich. The team regrouped and Basel remained in top position in the table until the end of the season, thus won the championship. The team achieved their championship aim. This was the club's tenth championship title in its history.[6]
As cup holders, Basel's clear aim for the Swiss Cup was to retain the title. In the first two rounds of the 2003–04 Swiss Cup Basel were drawn away and won their games against lower league teams, FC Alle and Urania Genève Sport as expected. In the third round they were drawn away in the Hardturm Stadion against Grasshopper Club Zürich but lost 1–0. Thus Basel were eliminated and missed their domestic cup aim.[6]
Basel were qualified for the UEFA Cup first round. In the first round Basel were drawn against Malatyaspor. Basel started well into the game and their captain Murat Yakin put them a goal up after 15 minutes. Hakan Yakin, who had been substituted in just seven minutes earlier, finished off Basel's good move in the 75th minute to give the visitors a two-goal lead. Basel goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbühler was able to keep a clean score sheet until the end of the game. The second leg match held at St. Jakob-Park. Celaleddin Koçak reacted quickest on a loose ball and to beat Zuberbühler after 64 minutes. Malatyaspor kept up their pressure and six minutes from time, Kocak managed to net his second goal. The game ended with an aggregate 2–2 draw and thus went into over time. Marco Streller's silver goal saw them through to the second round. In the second round Basel were drawn against Newcastle United. The first leg was at home and Mario Cantaluppi put Basel a goal up after 11 minutes. Laurent Robert equalised two minutes later, but Scott Chipperfield put Basel in front again another two minutes later. Titus Bramble equalised before the break. Towards the end of the match Newcastle were the more dominant side and Shola Ameobi scored the winner. Newcastle also won the second leg and Basel were eliminated 2–4 on aggregate.[7]
112th, champions
Werner Edelmann was confirmed as chairman at the AGM. Christian Gross was the first team trainer for the sixth successive season. As reigning champions Basel were favourites to retain their title and as Swiss champions, they entered the UEFA Champions League in third qualifying round. Basel's biggest signing in advance of the 2004–05 season was Kléber from Hannover 96. During the winter break they signed Patrick Müller from Mallorca. Basel's priority aim for the season was to win the championship for the second time in a row. The season started somewhat difficult, of the first four home matches only two were won. Nevertheless, Basel moved to the top of the league table. During September the team lost two away games in a row, but despite this they led the league table by seven points by the winter break.
Basel completed all the season's seventeen home ties undefeated, winning thirteen and drawing four. Basel secured the championship in their third last round of the season. At the end of the season they completed their championship aim, winning the title ten points clear of Thun, who were their closest rivals.[8]
Basel entered the Swiss Cup in the first round and the team's clear aim for the Cup was to win it. In the first round Basel were drawn away against local amateur club FC Oberdorf and the result was 4–0 for the favourites. In the second round Basel were drawn away against second tier semi-professional team FC Meyrin and the result was a 3–1 victory for Basel. In the next round Basel were drawn away against Super League team Thun. The match went into extra time and ended with a 1–1 draw. In the shoot-out Mile Sterjovski missed Basel's last spot-kick, so Basel lost 4–3 on penalties. Thus Basel missed their aim of winning the Cup. The Cup final was played on 16 May 2005 in which upper tier Zürich beat lower tier Luzern 3–1 to win the trophy.[9]
Because Basel entered the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League in the third qualifying round their aim was to reach the group stage. However, they were drawn against Internazionale. The first leg was at home and ended with a 1–1 draw. The second leg ended for Basel with an undeserved high 1–4 defeat. Basel lost 5–2 on aggregate and subsequently dropped into the 2004–05 UEFA Cup.[10] Basel's clear aim for this competition was to reach the group stage and to advance to the knock-out stage, which was to start after the winter break. In the first round Basel were drawn, first away, against the Russian side FC Terek Grozny. The first leg ended with a 1–1 draw, the home game with a 2–0 win and the tie 3–1 on aggregate for Basel. In the group stage Basel faced considerably tougher opponents. Five teams were drawn into each of the eight groups and were to play a round robin, there were no return games. The top three teams in each group progressed to the Round of 32. Basel were drawn in to Group A together with Feyenoord Rotterdam, FC Schalke 04, Ferencvárosi TC and Heart of Midlothian. The goal difference decided the positions in the table, because Feyenoord, Schalke and Basel finished level on seven points. But Basel qualified for the Round of 32 and here they were drawn against Lille OSC. French team Lille earned themselves a valuable away draw in the snow that fell in Basel during the match, as a frustrating evening for the hosts ended with a goalless draw and this thanks to the heroic game of Lille's Senegalese goalkeeper Tony Sylva. The second leg was played a week later and ended with comfortable 2–0 victory for the French team and they advanced to the next round. Basel were defeated 2–0 on aggregate. The club had hoped that they could have continued a round or perhaps two further, but despite being knocked out at this stage, the aim for their European campaign could be considered as achieved. CSKA Moscow won the 2004–05 UEFA Cup beating Sporting CP in the final.[11]
113th, Basel hooligan incident
Basel's priority aim for the season was to win the league championship for the third time in a row. Despite the 3–0 defeat by FC Thun in the second round, Basel started the season well and led the championship right until the last day of the league campaign. On 26 February 2006, FC Basel broke their own club record of 52 unbeaten league games at St. Jakob Park, later extending it to 59. The unbeaten home run ended on the final day of the season with a last-minute goal from Zürich's Iulian Filipescu giving Zürich their first national championship since 1980–81. A 60th straight home league match undefeated, would have made Basel champions for third time in a row. The final score was 1–2 in favour of Zürich. The title was lost on goal difference.[12]
The last minute loss of the Championship and the subsequent riots, the so-called Basel Hooligan Incident, meant that the club would suffer the consequences.[13]
Basel's clear aim for the cup was to win it. In the first round of the 2005–06 Cup Basel were drawn away against lower league team Solothurn. Basel won this 4–1. In round two they were drawn away against local lower league team Old Boys. Basel won this 6–1, Mile Sterjovski scored four goals. However, despite an early goal from Julio Hernán Rossi and two further goals from Matías Delgado, Basel were defeated in the third round home tie against FC Zürich 3–4.[12]
As Swiss champions, Basel entered the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round and their aim was to reach the group stage. However, they were drawn against German Bundesliga club Werder Bremen and they lost 4–2 on aggregate. Basel were then dropped into the UEFA Cup, where they met Široki Brijeg of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first round. Basel sealed a one-sided 6–0 aggregate win and were drawn into Group E alongside Strasbourg, Roma, Red Star Belgrade and Tromsø. FCB lost the first group match 2–0 against Strasbourg at home but won 2–1 away to Red Star, giving themselves an opportunity to progress to the next round if they won their next game against Tromsø. They did in a seven-goal thriller, winning 4–3 and securing third place. The last match of the group was against Italian giants Roma at the Stadio Olimpico, where the Serie A club won 3–1. In the Round of 32, Basel came up against Monaco, who they beat 2–1 on aggregate. As Basel progressed to the last 16, they played Strasbourg once again; they won the first leg 2–0 and drew 2–2 in the second leg, winning 4–2 overall. In the quarter-finals, the club came up against Middlesbrough, where they won 2–0 at home and looked certain to progress as they travelled to the Riverside Stadium. In the second leg, however, the English club fought back to win the match 4–1 and the tie 4–3 on aggregate.[14] Middlesbrough beat Steaua București 4–3 in the semi-final and advanced to the final, but here they were beaten 4–0 by Sevilla. In spite of being knocked out in the quarter-finals, the cup run was considered a success for Basel. Matías Emilio Delgado ended the 2005–06 UEFA Cup season as the contest's top goal scorer.[15]
114th, runners-up
After four season as Basel's chairman Werner Edelmann stood down and Ms Gisela Oeri was elected as the club's very first chairwoman at the AGM. Christian Gross was head coach for the eighth successive season. Ahead of the new season Basel made a number of transfers. The most notable was the replacement of Swiss international goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbühler, who transferred to West Bromwich Albion, with the Argentinian international Franco Costanzo who came from Deportivo Alavés.
Following the last minute loss of the 2005–06 Super League Championship as a result of the 1–2 home defeat against FC Zürich on 13 May 2006 and the subsequent riots, the so-called Basel Hooligan Incident, the club had to carry consequences. As well as a huge fine, the first two home games of their 2006–07 season were held completely without fans, behind closer doors.[16] Following a very poor start to the season, five defeats in the first ten rounds, Basel were ten championship points behind the table leaders. They started a catch up race after the winter break and finished the league campaign as runners-up, just one point behind champions FC Zürich. This was despite the fact that they defeated Zürich in three of the four direct matches during that league season. Basel missed their championship aim.[17]
The cup season began on 26 August 2006 and Basel were drawn in the third round against local amateur team FC Liestal. Basel advanced with the end score 6–1 to the next round. In the second-round opponents were second tier Lugano. Basel clearly won this tie as well 4–0. in the third-round game on 12 November away against second tier FC Baulmes and extra time was needed before the tie was decided. During extra time the hosts were visibly tired and Mile Sterjovski was able to score the winning 3–2 goal for the visitors. After the New Year, the quarterfinal was a home tie against FC Aarau on the 14 March 2007. The match was decided very early, Mile Sterjovski netted the first attacking move in the first minute of the game. The result was 1–0. The semifinal was an away tie against FC Wil on 26 April 3–1 was the final score and Basel advanced to the final. Basel won the Swiss Cup after beating Luzern 1–0. The winning goal came from the penalty spot through Daniel Majstorović in the 93rd minute. Basel had missed the championship just four days earlier, but they achieved their aim of winning the cup on this Whit Monday.[17]
Basel's European campaign of 2006 started in the first qualifying stage of the UEFA Cup when they beat Kazakhi side Tobol 3–1 on aggregate. In the second round, they played against Liechtensteiner team Vaduz, narrowly progressing on the away goals rule after a 2–2 aggregate draw. They were then put up against Macedonians Rabotnički. Basel won 6–2 at St. Jakob Park and 1–0 at the Skopje City Stadium to qualify for the group stages where they faced tough opposition: Blackburn Rovers, Nancy, Feyenoord and Wisła Kraków. Basel's first game came against Feyenoord at home, which finished in a respectable 1–1 draw. Their next group match was at Ewood Park against Blackburn. Basel played reasonably well but shaky defending became their downfall. Nancy, at home, were their next opponents: the match ended 2–2. Basel's last group game was against Wisła Kraków at the Wisła Stadium, where FCB needed a win to qualify to the next round. Their poor European campaign, however, came to an end after losing 3–1 despite taking an early lead through Mladen Petrić.[18]
115th, champions
At the beginning of the 2007–08 season, Basel strengthened their team by signing Swiss internationalists Benjamin Huggel from Eintracht Frankfurt, Marco Streller from VfB Stuttgart and David Degen on loan from Borussia Mönchengladbach. Carlitos transferred from Benfica in for an estimated €1.5 million (CHF 1,610,000). Five young talents were brought up from the under-21 team.
Basel's priority for the season was to win the league championship. The Swiss Super League season began on 22 July. Basel's first game was at home to FC Zürich which was won 1–0. In the fourth and sixth round of the championship, Basel suffered two defeats, 1–5 against BSC Young Boys and 0–2 against Grasshopper Club, and slid down to the fourth position in the league table. It took them two months before they climbed back to the leading position. In this period they won nine and drew two of eleven games. Basel suffered a home defeat against Xamax directly before the winter break and then suffered another defeat in the away match against Young Boys directly as the second half of the season began. Nevertheless, Basel stayed in top position in the league table until virtually the end of the championship, slipping to second position twice. In the last eight games of the season, Basel achieved only four victories and four draws. But the team played strong enough to regain the lead. Basel won the Swiss Super League for the first time since 2005 on the 10 May 2008 at St. Jakob-Park after a 2–0 win over their main title threats BSC Young Boys.[19]
Basel won the Swiss Cup for the second consecutive season after beating second-tier side AC Bellinzona 4–1 at St. Jakob Park on 6 April 2008. Eren Derdiyok gave Basel the lead in the first half before Bellinzona equalised through Christian Pouga in the second. Daniel Majstorović restored the lead for Basel with a header and Swiss internationalists Marco Streller and Benjamin Huggel scored one goal each to make the final scoreline 4–1 in Basel's favour.[20]
In 2007, Basel were drawn against Bosnian minnows FK Sarajevo in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup, a tie that Basel won 8–1 on aggregate. In the next round, Basel faced a considerably tougher opponent in SV Mattersburg of Austria. Nonetheless, Basel finished the tie off with a 4–0 away win after a 2–1 victory at home. Basel were then drawn into the "group of death" of Group D alongside Brann, Dinamo Zagreb, Hamburger SV and Rennes, all of which were ranked within the top three of their own respective leagues at the start of the stage. Basel won their first group game against Rennes at home 1–0 thanks to a Marco Streller header. Their next game was away to Dinamo Zagreb, in which Basel earned a valuable away point thanks to in-form goalkeeper Franco Costanzo, who kept the game level at 0–0 for 90 minutes. They club then faced Brann at St. Jakob Park, where they won 1–0. Basel then went to Germany to face Hamburg at the HSH Nordbank Arena, where they were fortunate to escape with a 1–1 draw. Basel then faced Sporting CP in the last 32. The first leg took place on 13 February in Lisbon, where first-choice goalkeeper Franco Costanzo was injured and Basel lost 2–0. The second leg, however, did not fare any better for Basel. Costanzo remained injured and Basel lost 3–0 on 21 February in Basel, resulting in their elimination from the competition.[21]
This rounded off a highly successful season for Basel, as they conquered on the domestic front, winning both the Super League and Swiss Cup, and reaching the last 32 of the UEFA Cup.
116th, third
Gisela Oeri remained as chairwoman of the club. Christian Gross remained as first team manager for the tenth season. Basel were the defending champions and the club's priority aim for this season was to win the domestic league championship again. Basel played their opening game of the season in Bern on 18 July 2008 against Young Boys, which they won 2–1. With four wins and one draw, FC Aarau had the best start to the season and were in first place in the table for the first five match days. Basel then took the lead in the table after a 4–1 away win against Zürich. In the following weeks, Basel were able to maintain their lead, before Zurich took first place for the first time that season thanks to the better goal difference. On the 15th matchday the top match between FCB and FCZ was played and ended with a 1–1 draw and so Basel could maintain its championship lead. On the next match day, however, Basel lost 2–0 against Xamax and since Zurich beat FC Sion 1–0, there was another change to first place. In the last game of the year there was an unexpected result when the bottom of the table Luzern beat Basel 5–1. As a result of this, Zurich were four points ahead of Basel and ten points ahead of third-placed YB winter champions.
In the first round after the winter break, the table leaders played 2–2 in the Zurich city derby against Grasshopper Club, but were still able to build their lead over Basel to five points, as the table runner-up lost 3–2 away against YB. On the 25th matchday, FCB took the lead in the table. Zurich lost 4–2 in Bern, while Basel beat Vaduz 5–0 at home in the St. Jakob-Park. On the next match day, FCZ regained the top of the table after a 2–1 win against Aarau and because FCB only played 1–1 in Bellinzona. FCB won 3–2 in against Xamax and benefited from the fact that FCZ could only draw against Sion and thus FCB took the lead in the table. On matchday 29, the leaders FCB did not get beyond a draw against Bellinzona and because FCZ won their game in Aarau 3–0, they were able to move up to first place. On matchday 32, none of the first three teams won their game: FCZ did not get more than 1–1 against Luzern, but was able to extend their lead to four points because FCB lost 3–1 in Aarau, contrary to all expectations. The following round, the top match between FCZ and FCB took place, which Basel won 3–1 and thus they moved within one point to Zurich. Basel lost 4–1 GC, Zurich won 1–0 in Bellinzona and won the championship.[22]
FCB finished the 2008–09 Super League season in third place, their worst position since 2001. On 27 May 2009, coach Gross' contract was terminated, effective at the end of the final match two days later, bringing his very eventful ten-year tenure as Basel manager to an end.[23]
The 2008–09 Swiss Cup was the 84th season of Switzerland's annual cup competition. It began on 20 September with the first round. Basel were drawn against third tier FC Schötz. Basel's 1–0 win was hard earned. In the second round Basel were drawn against third tier FC Bulle and won 4–1. In round three, played on 22 November, FCB was drawn against second tier FC Thun, who hosted the game in the Stadion Lachen, this resulted in a 4–0 victory. In the round of the last eight FCZ were matched at home in the Letzigrund against FCB. One goal was enough, 1–0 for FCB. The semi-final between Young Boys and FCB took place on Thursday 16 April. Both teams started enthusiastically in the with 31,120 spectators sold-out Stade de Suisse. The game ended goalless. In the 30-minute extra time, YB looked fresher, but no goals fell either. It came to a penalty shoot-out. Here YB goalie Marco Wölfli became the hero. He saved penanties from Benjamin Huggel, David Abraham and Jurgen Gjasula, YB reached the Cup final.[24] Basel's aim for the Swiss Cup was to retain the title and this was not achieved, but the qualification for the semi-final was a good result.[25]
Basel entered the Champions League in the second qualifying round and were drawn against IFK Göteborg of Sweden. The first leg was played on 30 July 2008 at Ullevi, finishing 1–1. The second leg took place at St. Jakob Park, where Basel came from behind twice to win 4–2. The club then faced Vitória de Guimarães in the third qualifying round. The first leg ended in a 0–0 draw. The second leg took place at St. Jakob Park, where Valentin Stocker gave Basel an early lead on 11 minutes before João Alves was fouled in the penalty area by François Marque and João Fajardo dispatched the spot-kick, just four minutes later, to draw Vitória level. In the second half, the away side started well, but Eren Derdiyok gave FCB a 2–1 lead which they hung on to, securing qualification to the competition's group stage.
FCB were drawn into Group C alongside Barcelona, Shakhtar Donetsk and Sporting CP. Basel lost their opening game 2–1 at home on 16 September against Shakhtar. Sporting were the opponents on Matchday 2 (1 October), and despite defending well and causing a few scares at the other end of the park, Basel were defeated 2–0 away at the Estádio José Alvalade. On Matchday 3 (22 October), Barcelona visited Basel and came away with a 5–0 win, but a fortnight later it was a different story as FCB came away with a respectable 1–1 draw. On 26 November, Basel travelled to Ukraine to play Shakhtar, where they were thrashed 5–0. Basel then faced Sporting at home on the final Matchday (9 December) and were defeated 1–0. Basel were eliminated being last in the group.[26]
117th, Fink
German Thorsten Fink was appointed as Basel's new manager on 9 June 2009.[27] A number of players were brought into the first team from the under-21 squad to replace them, including Xherdan Shaqiri and Marco Aratore. A number of new players were signed, the highest profile being Alexander Frei from Borussia Dortmund.
In domestic affairs, Basel swept the board, despite a poor start to the season. After the eighth round Basel were only in ninth position in the league table, second last. After the weak start the results changed to the better, the team won seven of the eight subsequent matches. In the second half of the season the team played their best football. Basel with nine straight victories, 16 wins in their last 18 games, they made a comeback in the table. Despite suffering a 0–4 away defeat against the Grasshoppers in the fifth last round, Basel drew level with Young Boys on 77 points before the last match of the season. In the last round the two teams played against each other. This match was in Bern at the Stade de Suisse on 16 May 2010, YB at home against FCB, with a capacity crowd of 31,120 spectators. Valentin Stocker put Basel into the lead, then on the hour, a left footed cross from Stocker found Scott Chipperfield unmarked in front of goal and he was able to head home and give Basel a 2–0 victory and a championship win.[28]
Basel entered the 2009–10 Swiss Cup in the first round of the competition and the team's clear aim for the Cup was to win it. SC Cham were beaten in the first round, FC Le Mont-sur-Lausanne in the second and Zürich in the third. In the quarter-final Basel beat Biel-Bienne and in the semi-final beat SC Kriens. FCB won the final with a 6–0 victory over FC Lausanne-Sport and this was the club's tenth Swiss Cup title.[29]
Basel entered the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League in the second qualifying round and beat Andorrans Santa Coloma 7–1 on aggregate. FCB were then drawn against KR Reykjavík of Iceland in the third qualifying round and they won 5–3 on aggregate. Basel progressed to the play-off round and were drawn against FK Baku of Azerbaijan. The first leg was won 3–1 and the second leg 5–1 thus 8–2 on aggregate. FCB were then drawn into Group E alongside A.S. Roma, Fulham and CSKA Sofia. They started in the group with a 2–0 home win against Roma. In Basel's next game away, Fulham captain Danny Murphy struck with a low drive in the 57th minute and this remained the only goal of the game, as his side then won 1–0. Basel came to a 2–0 win away against CSKA Sofia and to a 3–1 home victory. The return game against Roma was lost 2–1. Matchday six, the return game against Fulham, was played in the St. Jakob-Park. But the English club won narrowly 3–2, sending Basel out of the competition with third place in the group table. Fulham advanced as far as the final, but were defeated 2–1 after extra time by Atlético Madrid.[30]
118th, Fink
Thorsten Fink remained head-coach for the second consecutive season. He brought four youngsters up from the U-21 team, these being Matthias Baron, Janick Kamber and the brothers Taulant and Granit Xhaka. Incoming transfers were Gilles Yapi from Young Boys and Yann Sommer who re-joined the team following his loan period to Grasshopper Club Zürich. During the winter break Aleksandar Dragović transferred in from Austria Wien.
The club's clear aim for the team in the domestic league was to retain the title. FCB began the season on 20 July with a home game against FC Zurich, which was won 3–2. The team won their first three games, but then suffered an unforeseen 0–1 away defeat against Bellinzona. In the following round Basel suffered an embarrassing 1–4 home defeat against Luzern, which let the team slip to a midfield position in the league table. In the following nine rounds the team remained undefeated, but with five draws in these nine games Basel were far away from being league leaders. The first half of the domestic season ended on 12 December as Basel travelled to an away against Grasshopper. But this game ended with a 1–2 defeat and this left the club with that midfield slot in the table. The triple burden of league, cup and Champions League group stage had taken its toll. After the winter break, the second half of the season began with a 3–2 victory against Thun. This was the start to Basel's best phase of the season, during which they advanced to become league leaders with eight consecutive league victories. During the entire second half of the season the team suffered only one defeat and this meant that the championship became an interesting duel between them and Zurich. Both clubs reached top spot and were overtaken in turn. This duel was decided with the last match of the season, both teams achieved a victory and Basel won the championship.[31]
Basel entered the 2010–11 Swiss Cup in the first round as title holders. They advanced to the quarterfinal, beating FC Mendrisio-Stabio 5–0, Yverdon-Sports 2–0 and Servette 4–3 in a penalty shoot-out, to be drawn against Biel-Bienne. This game was played in the Gurzelen Stadion with a sold-out attendance of 6,500 on the day. Basel played with their B-team, head coach Thorsten Fink changed ten positions in the starting eleven, Gilles Yapi was the only remaining player compared to the previous championship game. Basel took the lead before half time, but after the break the home team turned game and achieved a 3–1 victory. The club's clear aim had been to defend the title and the embarrassing defeat against a lower classed team was a disappointment. The team had missed the aim entirely.[32]
As Swiss Champions, Basel entered the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League in the third qualifying round. Basel's clear aim for this competition was to reach the group stage and, if possible, to advance to the knock-out stage. Debreceni VSC were beaten 2–0 and 3–1 in the third round and Sheriff Tiraspol 3–0 and 1–0 in the play-offs. The draw for the group stage saw Basel drawn into Group E together with Bayern Munich, Roma and CFR Cluj. Basel's first game was in Romania away against Cluj and ended in a disappointing 2–1 defeat and the home match against Bayern was lost by the same score. Basel then travelled to Italy and came home with three points after a 3–1 victory over AS Roma. The return match against Roma ended with a 3–2 defeat. The return game against Cluj was won by 1–0, which gave FCB an advantage over their opponents. Despite losing their last game away against Bayern, Basel ended the group stage in third position and transferred to the Europa League knockout stage.[33] Here Basel were drawn against Spartak Moscow, who won the first leg in the St. Jakob-Park. The return leg ended in a one-all draw, so Spartak Moscow won 4–3 on aggregate. From Basel's point of view, they had achieved their primary aim by reaching the group stage. The second aim was to advance to the knock-out stage. They did not reach the knock-out stage of the Champions League, but did reach the knock-out round of the Europa League and, therefore, for the club this was indeed a very pleasing result.[34]
119th, Fink to Vogel
At the club's AGM Gisela "Gigi" Oeri announced that she was stepping down from her position of presiding the club. At the extraordinary AGM of FC Basel Holding AG (Holding) on 16 January 2012 she handed her shares over to her vice chairman Bernhard Heusler, the finance chief Stephan Werthmüller and Sport director Georg Heitz. At the beginning of the season the German Thorsten Fink remained head-coach and it was to be his third consecutive season. Fabian Frei returned after spending the previous season on loan. There were also a number of players who transferred in, the most prominent were namely Radoslav Kováč, Park Joo-ho, Stephan Andrist and Kay Voser. On 13 October head coach Fink left the club and signed on with Hamburger SV. Fink took the coach of Basel's U-21 team Patrick Rahmen with him as his assistant. As replacement for Fink the club chose his former assistant Heiko Vogel to be their head coach.
Basel entered the 2011–12 Swiss Super League as defending champions and the club's priority aim was to defend the championship. FCB began their season on 16 July with an away 1–1 draw against Young Boys. The start of the season was poor, with three draws and two defeats in the first six league matches. Head coach Fink regrouped the team and they found their strengths and things changed to the better. Basel then won ten and drew the other two of the next 12 games. The first half of the domestic season ended on 11 December with the home 1–1 draw against Neuchâtel Xamax. To this point, Basel remained as League leaders. After the winter break, Basel continued their undefeated run in the domestic season and equalled the Swiss record of longest undefeated run (26 games) in the Swiss league (previously held by Grasshoppers) ironically by beating Grasshoppers 6–3 on 12 May 2012. Although they could not surpass this record, FCB still managed to defend their Super League title despite losing to Young Boys 2–1 on the final day of the season.[35]
Basel entered the 2011–12 Swiss Cup in the first round of the competition and the team's clear aim was to win the title. In the first round Basel were drawn away against amateur team FC Eschenbach. The hosts were unable to achieve a consolation goal and the favourites won 4–0 to qualify for the next round. In the second round Basel were drawn against FC Schötz. In the 84th minute Schötz's right winger Koch achieved the consolation goal, but Basel won 5–1 to qualify for the next round. FCB were drawn away against Wil and achieved a 3–2 win. Basel were drawn at home in the St. Jakob-Park against Lausanne-Sport in the quarter-final. Basel won 5–2 and qualified for the semi-final. Basel's opponents in the semi-final were lower-tier team FC Winterthur. The match was played in front of an attendance of 8,500 people, which meant that the Stadion Schützenwiese was sold out. But despite the advantage of the Winterthur home fans, Basel advanced with the 2–1 victory. In winter like conditions, 30,100 fans watched an intense 87th Cup final in the Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf between FC Basel and FC Luzern. The game went into extra time with the score at one goal apiece, but these 30 minutes only had two mentionable scenes, neither produced a goal and so the match ended 1–1. The dramatic evening culminated in the penalty shootout, in which Yann Sommer became the match winning hero. The FCB goalkeeper parried both Moshe Ohayon and Florian Stahel's shots, while all RotBlau players converted their shot-kicks. Basel won the Swiss Cup 4–2 in the penalty shootout. This was Basel's 11th Swiss Cup title. Furthermore, nobody who watched or participated was surprised that Yann Sommer won the man of the match trophy.[35]
Basel's positioning in the 2010–11 Swiss Super League entered them directly into the group stage of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League. Basel were drawn in Group C with Benfica, Manchester United and Oțelul Galați, the first match was a home game on 14 September against Oțelul Galați and Basel managed a 2–1 victory. Matchday 2 was played in Old Trafford on a cloudy evening in front of 73.115 fans against United. Two goals from Danny Welbeck put United in control, but FCB fought back. First Fabian Frei pulled one back, then two goals from Alexander Frei put the visitors in the lead. In the 90th minute Ashley Young headed home to the 3–3 result. The third match brought Benfica into the St. Jakob-Park and the Portuguese team proved they were better, winning 2–0. In the return game on matchday 4 Basel were quickly a goal behind from Rodrigo, however this time Basel were able to fight back, Benjamin Huggel scored the 1–1 equaliser on 64 minutes and held this score until the end. FCB won the away match in Bucharest against Oțelul Galați 3–2 and this gave an interesting final match in the group stage. The starting position for both clubs on matchday 6 was clear. With Benfica already assured of progress to the knock-out stage, Basel and Manchester United duelled together for their group second qualifying berth. United needed only a point and the hosts would only stay in the competition with a win. Marco Streller slammed a fierce shot home to put FCB a goal ahead after nine minutes. On 84 minutes Xherdan Shaqiri played a neat cross from the right, Streller dummied by striding under the ball and Alexander Frei was there to head it home at the far post. Although Phil Jones headed the ball home after Federico Macheda's shot had rebounded from the cross-bar, Basel survived a tense final two minutes to advance to the knock-out phase with the 2–1 win.
In the knockout phase Basel were drawn against Bayern Munich. Playing at home in the first leg Basel pulled off another stunning result. Bayern started better, but could not take advantage. The closer the half time break came, Bayern's play became more and more ponderous and their movements were predictable. After the break Basel were better in possession and the further time ran down, the visitors played more and more stagnant and suddenly Basel were able to take advantage four minutes from time. Only three minutes into the game, substitute Jacques Zoua and substitute Valentin Stocker combined perfectly, with Stocker pushing the ball beyond Neuer's reach to give the hosts a 1–0 victory. The return game, however, was a one-sided affair and Bayern coasted to a 7–0 win.[36]
120th, Vogel to Yakin
Heiko Vogel remained as first team manager. A number of players left the squad. Beni Huggel retired from his active career. Massimo Colomba retired as a player and was appointed as the new Goalkeeper coach. Scott Chipperfield also retired from his active career and moved to local amateur club FC Aesch as player-coach. Basel's biggest signings of the 2012–13 season were Mohamed Salah, who transferred in from Al Mokawloon Al Arab SC and Marcelo Díaz, who came from Universidad de Chile. David Degen returned to his home club after spending four seasons with BSC Young Boys.
Basel's priority aim for the season was to win the league championship for the fourth time in a row. Basel's 2012–13 Swiss Super League season began on 13 July 2012 with an away tie against Servette FC.[37] The season started poorly, Basel won just three of their first nine games, drawing five with one defeat. They were in fourth position in the league table, eight points behind the leaders Grasshoppers, this even increased to eleven points just three weeks later. Following a poor start to the season the club announced on 15 October 2012 that coach Vogel had been replaced by Murat Yakin as manager and following the change, the team spirits improved and they played better, achieving their results. FCB ended the first half of the season in second position, they had reduced the arrears to four points and had moved one point ahead of Sion and St. Gallen.
In the second half of the season FC Sion lost their momentum completely and St. Gallen also lost contact to the first two positions in the league table. The Grasshoppers and Basel distanced themselves continually, but remained within a few points of each other. Basel took over the lead in the championship table and, mid-way through the second half of the season, started to open a gap to their last remaining rivals. Despite Grasshoppers winning the direct league fixture against Basel three games before the end of the season, Basel had acquired enough points to finish three points ahead of them and to win their fourth title in a row.[38] Basel thus achieved their main aim that they had set for the season, in fact the league campaign can be described as being a successful one.
Basel entered the 2012–13 Swiss Cup in the first round of the competition and as cup holders the club's clear aim for the team was for them to retain the title. In the opening rounds Basel were drawn against lower league clubs, FC Amriswil, Chiasso and Locarno and the task was accomplished. In the quarterfinal FCB won 2–1 away against Thun after extra time and in the semi-final won 1–0 away against Sion. The final against Grasshopper Club ended with a 1–1 draw after extra time. GC won the trophy after a penalty shoot-out. Basel completed their aim of reaching the final, but the penalty shoot-out had denied the absolute fulfilment of their aim.[39]
Because Basel entered the Champions League in the qualifying phase their initial aim was to reach the group stage. Beating Flora Tallinn in the second qualifying round and Molde FK in the third, FCB played against CFR Cluj in the play-off round. The first leg ended with a disappointing 2–1 defeat and in the second leg with a 1–0 defeat.[40] The defeated teams from the Champions League play-off round were eligible for the Europa League group stage. Basel were drawn into Group G along with Sporting Clube de Portugal, K.R.C. Genk and Videoton FC. Basel drew the two away games against Sporting and Genk and won the two home games against Videoton and Sporting and ended the group in second position. Basel advanced to the knockout phase and were drawn against. Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. The first leg at home game was won 2–0 and the away game was drawn. Basel thus advanced to the round of 16 and were drawn against Zenit St. Petersburg. The first leg, again at home, was also won 2–0 and despite that the second leg ended with a 1–0 defeat, Basel advanced to the quarter-finals 2–1 on aggregate.
In the quarter-finals FCB were drawn against Tottenham Hotspurs and this produced two exiting games. The first leg was played in the White Hart Lane in London and attracted an attendance of 32,136 fans. Basel took a two-goal lead, but the Spurs fought back and the game was drawn 2–2. In the second leg the St. Jakob-Park with 36,500 spectators was sold out. Clint Dempsey put Tottenham into the lead mid-way through the first half, but Mohamed Salah equalised. Aleksandar Dragović put Basel into the lead after the break, but Dempsey equalised. Seconds before the final whistle Jan Vertonghen was shown a red card for bringing down Marco Streller as last man and so Spurs went into extra time a man short. But these 30 minutes remained goalless. It came to the penalty shoot-out, Basel converted their first three attempts and keeper Yann Sommer saved low to his right from Tom Huddlestone and Emmanuel Adebayor fired over the top. Marcelo Díaz hammered the decisive penalty into the net and Basel advanced to the semi-finals. Basel were drawn against Chelsea in the semi-final and the first leg was played in the St. Jakob-Park with an attendance of 36,000 fans and was again sold out. Victor Moses put the visitors a goal up early in the match, however, three minutes from time Fabian Schär equalised from the penalty spot. In the fourth minute of added time goalkeeper Sommer remained powerless to keep out David Luiz's last-gasp set piece that secured Chelsea a 2–1 victory. Conceding three goals within just minutes of each other after the break, Basel lost the second leg 3–1 and were thus defeated 5–2 on aggregate. Chelsea thus advanced to the final, where they were matched against Benfica and they won 2–1 to lift the trophy. From the Basel point of view, the team advancing to the semi-final and this meant that their aim had not just been met, but successfully surpassed. It was the first time that a Swiss team had advanced so far.[41]
121st, Chelsea
First team manager in this season was Murat Yakin. Basel's biggest signings at the beginning of the season were Behrang Safari who returned from RSC Anderlecht and Matías Delgado from al-Jazira Club. A further player who re-joined the squad was Taulant Xhaka who had been out on loan. A further signing was Giovanni Sio from VfL Wolfsburg and Ivan Ivanov who transferred in from Partizan. The club's priority aim for the first team in this season was to win the league championship for the fifth time in a row. Basel's 2013–14 Swiss Super League season began on 13 July 2013 with the away tie against FC Aarau which was won 3–1. Basel were renowned for their slow starts into the new season and following two home wins and two away draws they promptly lost their third home match against FC Zürich 1–2. After the first six games they occupied only fourth position in the league table, six points behind the then leader Young Boys Bern. At this point Basel started a run of 28 league games without defeat. After the following six games, five wins and a draw, by the twelfth round Basel had turned the table and took the lead in the table and as it came to the winter break Basel were table leaders one point above Luzern. Despite a number of injuries in the squad, the good run continued in the spring session and lasted until 11 May when they suffered their next defeat. At the end of the season Basel won the league championship seven points clear of their nearest rivals Grasshopper Club. Thus, Basel achieved their main priority aim that they had set for the season.[42]
For the 2013–14 Swiss Cup the team's clear aim was to win the trophy after losing last year's final in a penalty shoot-out. In the opening rounds of the cup Basel were drawn against lower league clubs, first against local amateurs BSC Old Boys, then against FC Münsingen and then FC Tuggen. The scores were all very close, but the results were achieved. In the quarter-final game against Le Mont the Basel attack managed to do better and scored six goals. FCB beat Luzern 1–0 in the semi-final and advanced to the final. Basel's opponents in the Cup final were Zürich and the game was played on Easter Monday in Stade de Suisse with an attendance of 23'312 fans. Midway through the second half Gastón Sauro was shown a direct red card for a foul as last man. The 90 minutes ended goalless and extra time was required. Nine minutes into the extra time, referee Patrick Graf misjudged a controversial scene, Giovanni Sio received a yellow-red card, for an alleged acting performance, instead of a penalty for a foul. Outnumbered by two Basel immediately had a problem and Gavranović put Zürich a goal up. Another four minutes later the same player doubled up. Zurich won the Swiss Cup for the eighth time in their club's history. Being runners-twice in a row was a big disappointment for FCB.[42]
Basel entered the Champions League in the qualifying phase their initial aim was to reach the group stage. This was achieved because they beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 4–3 on aggregate in the third qualifying round and Ludogorets Razgrad 6–2 on aggregate in the play-offs. Basel were drawn into Group E together with Chelsea, Schalke 04 and Steaua București. Basel had met Chelsea in the semi-final of last season's Europa League but had been beaten in both legs only five months earlier. Matchday 1 gave FCB an away game in London against group favourites Chelsea. Chelsea suffered a shock defeat at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea opened the scoring just before the interval through a tidy finish by Oscar from eight yards out, though two quickfire goals for Basel in the last 15 minutes from Mohamed Salah and Marco Streller condemned Chelsea to their first-ever loss in an opening group game of the Champions League. A sold out St. Jakob-Park was the venue for matchday 2 with Schalke 04 as visitors. For once, strength and inspiration were not enough to upset an exponent from a top league, Schalke came away with a 1–0 victory. In the next two games Basel played first away and then at home against Steaua București and both games ended with a 1–1 draw.
The St. Jakob-Park with an attendance of 35,208 fans was the venue for the matchday 5 return game against Chelsea. FCB dominated the first half and again in the high-class final phase. On 86 minutes Basel central defender Fabian Schär played a long diagonal ball from the right over the entire Chelsea midfield into the path of Mohamed Salah who sprinted out of their own half down the left flank. Branislav Ivanović had no chance of catching him. Salah's first touch was assured, and his finish lifted delicately over Čech was cool. Schalke 04 were hosts to Basel on matchday 6. The requirements were clear, Basel had 8 points, Schalke had 7, for Basel a draw would be enough to progress, Schalke needed a win. Julian Draxler put the hosts one up on 51 minutes. On 57 minutes a free-kick from the right and as Farfán played the ball, the defenders all pulled out leaving a wall of five attackers in an off-side position. The referee and his linesman oversaw this, Joël Matip had time and space to chest down and side the ball beyond keeper Sommer into the net. After this clear wrong decision, with increasing wear and tear and probably also decreasing motivation of the FCB players gave up and Schalke won 2–0. Chelsea were group winners with four wins and two defeats on 12 points, Schalke took second place with 10 points and Basel were in third position. They thus qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League round of 32. Therefore, Basel's second aim was not fully achieved, but the minimum aim was accomplished.[43]
In the draw for the knockout phase of the Europa League FCB were drawn against the team that they had eliminated during the qualifying phase of the Champions League Maccabi Tel Aviv. Basel achieved a goalless draw in the first leg away from home. In the second leg Basel won 3–0. Basel then came up against Red Bull Salzburg. The first game was the home fixture. Due to a veritable flood of forfeits, Marco Streller, Behrang Safari, Marcelo Diaz, Kay Voser, Taulant Xhaka, Ivan Ivanov and Fabian Schär were all ruled out due to injury, head coach Murat Yakin had to create a formation with players who had hardly played a role in the autumn. Of the ensemble that had demystified Chelsea twice in the Champions League group stage, only Sommer, Serey Die, Frei and Stocker remained, but despite this big disadvantage, the game ended goalless. In the return leg, Basel centre back Marek Suchy was shown a red card after just nine minutes. In the midst of the general hustle and bustle and FCB disorientation, Jonathan Soriano forced the 1–0. Surprise on 50 minutes, corner for Basel, Streller headed the high, hanging delivery beyond Péter Gulácsi's finger tips, high into the top left-hand corner of the goal. Next corner on 60 minutes, Arlind Ajeti was able to head the ball back across goal and Gastón Sauro headed over the unguarded goal line. Ten-man Basel recovered and stunned Salzburg with a 2–1 victory. In the draw for the quarter-finals Basel were matched against Valencia. In the first leg, at home Basel won with two goals from Matías Delgado and a last-minute goal from Valentin Stocker with 3–0. In the second leg after 90 minutes, it was 3–0 for Valencia and it required extra time. Direct red for Díaz in the 100th minute, then second yellow and dismissal for Gastón Sauro in the 105th minute put the advantage onto the host's side. Reduced in numbers by two, the out for FCB was only a matter of time, but the 0–5 result was painful. However, despite their quarter-final defeat, Basel's European aims were achieved. In fact, their European journey can be described as being another successful one. Sevilla won the competition, beating Benfica in a penalty shoot-out after a goalless 120 minutes.[44]
122nd, Paulo Sousa
Basel's new team manager was Paulo Sousa. On 28 May 2014, Basel announced he had signed a three-year contract.[45] Basel's four biggest signings for the beginning of the new season were Tomáš Vaclík from Sparta Prague; Yoichiro Kakitani from Cerezo Osaka; Derlis González from Benfica; and Shkëlzen Gashi from Grasshopper. Also new to the team were Luca Zuffi, who transferred from Thun, and Walter Samuel, who joined from Internazionale on a free transfer.
Basel's 2014–15 Swiss Super League season began well with an away victory on 19 July against Aarau. Basel won their next three matches as well, two at home against Luzern and Zürich and one away against Thun. However, this run was stopped in the fifth round after Basel lost 2–0 at home to St. Gallen. Two further victories, away against Sion in the Stade Tourbillon and at home against Young Boys, were followed by a defeat at the Letzigrund against Grasshopper. At this point, criticism started mounting against new manager Paulo Sousa from the local press, in part due to his continual squad rotation, not only player but also position rotation for the players. Sousa himself, kept answering by referring to “a process”. A home win against Vaduz was followed by a home draw against Thun and a defeat against St. Gallen at the AFG Arena. By this time, criticism had risen to its highest, even from the local fan clubs. However, following four wins from the following five league matches, the negative voices slowly changed into a positive direction. In round 17, as league leaders, Basel played the away tie against second-placed Zürich and won 2–1; Shkëlzen Gashi scored both goals. At the end of the first half of the season, Basel, with 41 points, led the league table, eight points ahead of their nearest rivals Zürich and the Young Boys. Basel started into the second half of the season with that advantage and with a victory away from home against the Grasshoppers. However, a home draw against Sion followed, then a defeat in the Stade de Suisse against the Young Boys, who moved closer in the table, and again, the criticism mounted against head coach Sousa. Repeatedly, from both press and fans, as the rotation of players and positions continued. Sousa continued to refer to “a process”. The triple load, domestic league, cup and Champions League required this rotation. The elimination from the Champions League worked another negative feeling, but victories in the quarterfinal and semi-final of the cup and six victories in the league worked positive. Despite a home defeat against Luzern and an away defeat against Aarau, Basel moved clear at the top of the table. They won the championship 12 points ahead of Young Boys and 25 points above third placed Zürich. The club's aim of the championship title had been achieved.[46]
For the 2014–15 Swiss Cup the team's clear aim was to win the trophy, especially after losing both the previous two finals after extra time. In the opening rounds of the cup Basel were drawn against lower league clubs, first against amateurs CS Italien, then against second tier Winterthur, then against second tier Wohlen and in the quarterfinal against third tier FC Münsingen. Basel beat St. Gallen 3–1 in the semi-final.[47] The Final was played on 7 June 2015 against Sion and with an attendance of 35,674 fans the St. Jakob-Park was sold out. Referee was Nikolaj Hänni. An ex-Basler was the match winner for Sion. The Portuguese technical genius Carlitos played the two deadly passes into the depth, which led to the 1–0 by goal getter Moussa Konaté on 18 minutes and the 2–0 by Edimilson Fernandes on 50 minutes. Carlitos himself scored the goal for the 3–0 final result after an hours play.[48] As from the FCB point of view, the club's cup aim to reach the final was achieved. However, the defeat in this height was an embarrassment. It was also a big disappointment because this was the third cup final in succession that the team had reached and had ended defeated.[46]
Basel entered into the Champions League in the group stage. Their initial aim was to remain in the competition and reach the Champions League knockout phase. Basel were drawn into Group B together with Real Madrid, Liverpool and Ludogorets Razgrad. Basels first game was on 16 September and an away tie against Real in the stadium Santiago Bernabéu. The home team dominated ball possession from the very beginning. By half time the hosts led 4–1. On 79 minutes Benzema netted the last and Basel lost 1–5. On matchday 2, Basel had a home game at the St. Jakob-Park against Liverpool and Basel won 1–0. Marco Streller scored the decisive goal seven minutes after the break. Matchday 3 was a tie against Ludogorets Razgrad, who played their home matches at Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia. On 18 minutes a knockback for the visitors, as Serey Die took on a ball from Fabian Frei in the middle of the opponents’ half he collided with Cosmin Moți. Referee Deniz Aytekin showed Serey Die a very harsh direct red card. Going into added time Yordan Minev advanced on the left and had a shot at goal and the ball deflected slightly off Taulant Xhaka's back and caught goalie Vaclík wrongfooted. Ludogorets won the game 1–0. With 35,272 spectators the St. Jakob-Park was not quite sold-out for the return match against Ludogorets Razgrad. Basel started well into the game and the Swiss champions won the home game against the Bulgarian champions deservedly with 4–0. The return game against Real Madrid on matchday 5 in the St. Jakob-Park was sold out with 36,000 spectators. On 35 minutes Karim Benzema passed with precision to Cristiano Ronaldo, who hit the ball into the net. Basel never gave up until the end, the Basel team showed that they wanted more than an honourable defeat, but the 1–0 remained until the final whistle. Matchday 6 was the match Liverpool against Basel and even before the match, the requirements were clear. Madrid were through to the next round with 15 points in the group table, Basel were second in the group with 6 points, Liverpool and Ludogorets were level on 4 points, Liverpool had the advantage of the direct meetings. So the motto was "the winner takes it all". Liverpool required all three points to reach the round of 16. Basel only needed the draw to secure their knockout-stage appearance. On 25 minutes Basel's first shot on target shocked opponents and the majority of the spectators. Fabian Frei played a pass on to Luca Zuffi, he tied up Frei moving left and he shot left footed into the far bottom corner, goal. Basel dominated the first half and thoroughly deserved to be in the lead. The culmination of a hectic final phase came in the 81st minute as a standard. Significantly it was captain Steven Gerrard with a wonderful free kick to the top left corner and via the post into the net for the equaliser. It was Steven Gerrard's 100th time in his career that he had scored in his own stadium and this one earnt his team the 1–1 result and the draw.[49]
Liverpool's point advanced them to the Europa League knockout phase. Basel advanced to the Champions League knockout phase. Basel were drawn with the first game at home in the St. Jakob-Park to Porto. It was great atmosphere in the stadium even before the teams emerged from the tunnel. The attendance was a total of 34,464 spectators. Basel started the game well and in the eleventh minute Fabian Frei floated a long ball over the top of the defence and Derlis Gonzalez controlled the ball well, his finish was clever with the outside of his right boot and it's ramped up the noise even further. It was Gonzalez's third Champions League goal of the season. Porto responded and took control of the match, suddenly the game had greater fluidity. Porto had up to 60% ball possession, they created chances, but Basel held on well. Eventually Portos efforts paid off as they were awarded a penalty in the 79' minute, Danilo scored from the spot. It was a precise penalty into the bottom corner to Tomáš Vaclík's right and Porto got the away goal that they so badly wanted. A total of nine yellow cards were given during the match. At the end both teams seemed content to go into the return fixture at 1–1. But the second leg in Estádio do Dragão started badly for Basel. Yacine Brahimi superbly executed a free kick in the 14th minute to put Porto one up. Any hopes that Basel had were vanquished soon after half-time as Héctor Herrera made it 2–0, bending in a shot from the edge of the penalty area. Casemiro scored with a wonderful free-kick just a few minutes later. Finally, it was Vincent Aboubakar's fine shot rifling in from over 20 Meters with some 14 minutes left that gave the 4–0 result. Basel's Champions League journey ended here. Porto advanced to the quarter-finals and were matched against Bayern Munich. Winning the first leg 3–1, they were defeated in the second leg 6–1 and, therefore lost 7–4 on aggregate. Bayern advanced to the semi-finals, but were beaten by Barcelona who then won the trophy.[50]
123rd, Urs Fischer
On June 18, 2015, Basel announced Urs Fischer's appointment as their new first team head coach on a three-year contract. Players who joined the squad included, Michael Lang from Grasshopper, Daniel Høegh from Odense, Zdravko Kuzmanović from Internazionale, Manuel Akanji from FC Winterthur, Marc Janko signed on a free transfer from Sydney FC, and Mirko Salvi returned from loan to FC Biel-Bienne. Matías Delgado was named as the new captain and Marek Suchý was named vice-captain. Basel started the season well, winning each of their first eight matches: scoring 22 goals, and conceding 7. They suffered their first defeat in Stade de Suisse 3–4 against Young Boys. After their first defeat in the domestic campaign, they won four of their next five games: with a draw against Zürich in Letzigrund. Basel suffered their first home defeat of the campaign at the beginning of November against GC. By the winter break, Basel led the league table with 43 points, 10 points ahead of the Grasshoppers, and 15 ahead of the Young Boys. Basel started the second half of the season with three straight wins. In the first 15 games of the second half of the season, they won 11 and drew 4. On matchday 31, 30 April, the home win against Sion gave Basel a 16-point lead in the league table with just five matches left to play. Basel ended the last part of the season with two defeats in their last three games. The domestic season concluded with Basel winning the championship, Young Boys in second, Luzern third, and Zürich suffered relegation.[51]
Basel's objective for the 2015-16 Swiss Cup was to win the cup. They finished as runners-up in each of the previous three seasons. In the first three rounds they advanced via lower classed teams, Meyrin, YF Juventus and local amateurs SV Muttenz to the quarter-finals. Here matched against Sion, who went 1-0 up with a goal from Pa Modou and Ebenezer Assifuah added a second. In the 79th minute, Elneny converted a free kick to make to pull one back. In the 89th minute referee Stephan Klossner awarded Basel a penalty after a duel between Léo Lacroix and Breel Embolo. Marc Janko scored with the penalty kick. In extra-time, the score remained tied, leading to a penalty shootout. Sion's Reto Ziegler missed the second, but Birkir Bjarnason and Walter Samuel both missed for Basel. Sion advanced 4–3 on penalties.[52]
Basel entered the season's Champions League in the third qualifying round. Beating Lech Poznań 4–1 on aggregate, they advanced to the play-off round against Maccabi Tel Aviv, who won on the away goals rule, after two draws and a 3–3 on aggregate. Because Basel failed to qualify for the Champions League group stage, they dropped into the 2015-16 UEFA Europa League group stage. Basel was drawn into Group I, together with Fiorentina, Lech Poznań and Belenenses. Here they started with an away win against Fiorentina and a home win against Lech Poznań. The next game was at home against Belenenses, despite an early lead through Michael Lang, the visitors not only equalised, but took the lead at half time. During the second half, Basel played forward non-stop, they created opportunities but were unable to score the equalizer. Matchday four was the return leg against Belenenses. Basel dominated their opponents but did not create goal-scoring opportunities until in the 44th minute, Embolo was fouled in the penalty area. The spot-kick was converted by Marc Janko and in the second half Embolo added a second goal to give the visitors a 2–0 win. The return match at home against Fiorentina ended with a draw, two goals apiece. The last group match was away against Lech Poznań. Walter Samuel was nominated, playing this match, he made his 100th UEFA club competition appearance. Reserve goalkeeper Germano Vailati was Basel's starter, because an injury to first-choice goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík. In the 44th minute, Vailati injured himself as he played a long pass forward. Therefore, before half-time third-choice goalkeeper Mirko Salvi was substituted in and made his professional debut for the club. Basel won 1–0. FCB owed the victory to Jean-Paul Boëtius, Taulant Xhaka and reserve keeper Salvi. Boëtius, because the Dutchman scored the 1–0 in the 50th minute, Xhaka because of his remarkable preparation down the right-wing, and Salvi because he prevented Lech from equalizing with a strong one-on-one action a quarter of an hour before the end of the game.[53]
As group winners, Basel advanced to the knockout phase and in the round of 32 were drawn against Saint-Étienne. Losing the away leg 3–2 but winning the home leg 2–1, they advanced 4–4 on the away goals rule. In the round of 16 Basel were drawn against Europa League cup holders Sevilla. The first leg ended with a goalless draw at home in the St. Jakob-Park, but in the away return match Sevilla scored three goals within just a few minutes to lead 3–0 at half time and it stayed that way until the final whistle. From the FCB point of view, after being group winners and beating Saint-Étienne in the round of 32, advancing to the round of 16 was positive. After a goalless draw in the first leg, FCB failed in the return leg against the defending cup holders Sevilla. It would have been a dream for the FCB to have reached the competition's final which was played in their own stadium St. Jakob-Park, but then that's what the competition is about at this level, dreams. Overall, Basel's European campaign was a successful adventure and the club's aims had been achieved. The 3–0 win extended Sevilla's run of Europa League home wins to 11, the longest in the competition's history, and put a dent in Basel's impressive away record in Europe this season.[54]
124th
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