History of FC Basel

Early history

FC Basel was started by an advertisement on 12 November 1893 that appeared in the Basler national newspaper requesting that a football team be formed and that anyone that wished to join should meet up the following Wednesday at 8:15. So, on 15 November 1893, FC Basel was born in the city of Basel. One of the early club captains was Joan Gamper, who later founded FC Barcelona in Spain. FC Basel did not have much of an early footballing success; it took them 40 years to win their first trophy, winning the Swiss Cup in 1933 when they defeated arch-rivals and reigning cup-holders Grasshopper Club Zürich 4–3, in what is now considered to be one of the best cup finals in Swiss football history. They won the cup again in 1947 when they beat Lausanne Sports, who had also been runners-up the previous year, 3–0 in the final at the Stadion Neufeld in Bern. Paul Stöcklin scored two goals and René Bader scored the other one. Basel won their first league title in 1953, with club legend Bader then as player-manager. Basel ended the season three points ahead of BSC Young Boys. The team line up under Manager Bader that year was Werner Schley, Walter Müller, Walter Bannwart, Walter Bielser, Werner Bopp, Hansruedi Fitze, Hans Hügi, Josef "Sepp" Hügi, René Bader, Kurt Maurer, Georges Mogoy, Peter Redolfi, Kurt Thalmann and Hans Weber.

Success and relegation

Basel won their first trophy of the new decade in 1963; with Czechoslovakian manager Georges Sobotka at the helm, Basel stormed to Swiss Cup glory by overcoming Grasshopper Club Zürich 2–0 in the final. But, FCB (which is pronounced "Eff Tsay Bay" in Swiss German) came to prominence in the late 1960s under the management of Helmut Benthaus and with quality players such as Karl Odermatt and Ottmar Hitzfeld. Benthaus' first league win as Basel manager was in 1967, finishing a single point above FC Zürich. A cup final victory over Lausanne Sports also came later in the season. This led to Basel qualifying to play in the European Cup, for the first time, in 1968. Basel were knocked out of the tournament in the first round, however, by Danish side Akademisk Boldklub. Basel's next league win came in 1969, when they once again finished just one point above the runners-up, who this time were Lausanne Sports. This meant that Basel could embark on another European adventure, but they, once again, failed to overcome the first hurdle, who were Celtic of Scotland.

In the 1969–70 season, Basel won the league by one point over Lausanne, once again. The European Cup was a little kinder to Basel in 1970, as they reached the second round, losing to Ajax, after defeating Soviets Spartak Moscow in the first round. Basel did not retain their title the next season despite finishing with the same amount of points as the winners, Grasshopper, who won it on head-to-head. After a trophy-less season, Basel then won two league titles in-a-row, in 1972 and 1973. They also won the League Cup in 1973. In Europe, Basel failed to impress once again, in 1972, as they were sent crashing out at the first stage by Hungary's Újpesti Dózsa SC. In the 1973–74 season, however, they excelled, eliminating Icelanders Fram Reykjavík and Club Brugge of Belgium, before narrowly exiting in the quarter-finals to Celtic, 5–6 on aggregate. Despite Basel's improvement on the European stage, they did not retain the league for another four years, although they did manage to lift the Swiss Cup in 1975 after beating FC Winterthur 2–1 after extra time.

Basel's long-awaited title-win came in 1977 as they triumphed over Servette FC in a playoff. This meant that Basel returned to play in the European Cup but they were defeated in the first round once more, this time by Wacker Innsbruck of Austria, after showing so much promise on their last European outing. After the success of the 1976–77 season, Basel endured two seasons of below-par performances and mid-table finishes until glory returned in 1980, as Basel won the Nationalliga A title through the playoff. Manager Helmut Benthaus, however, left in 1982 and in the following seasons, Basel's final league positions started to drop until their relegation into the Nationalliga B in 1988. Several managers came and went at St. Jakob Stadium between then, and when Basel finally returned to Nationalliga A in 1994 under Claude Andrey. Basel avoided relegation by three points in their first season back in the top-flight, but Andrey left and was replaced by Karl Engel. Engel led Basel to a fifth-place finish in his first season in charge and a solid mid-table finish in 1997, but he was sacked after a poor start to the 1997–98 campaign, in which Basel finished second-bottom. Jörg Berger then took over, but lasted only a year in charge before Christian Gross came.

1999–2005

Gross' appointment went hand-in-hand with the financial backing that had just been put into the club, and it was not long until Basel returned to the top. When St. Jakob-Park was opened in 2001, success returned. In 2002, Basel won the double (Swiss Championship and Swiss Cup) and reached the final of the Intertoto Cup. In the following season, they were the second Swiss team to ever play in the Champions League. Their first game was in the second qualifying round against MŠK Žilina of Slovakia, where they ultimately won 4–1 on aggregate. In the next round, they faced Scottish giants Celtic. In the first leg at Celtic Park, the home side won 3–1, but in the second leg at St. Jakob-Park, FCB came away with a famous 2–0 victory, meaning Basel progressed on the away goals rule after a 3–3 aggregate draw.

In the first group stage, FCB were drawn into Group B alongside Valencia, Liverpool and Spartak Moscow. On Matchday One, Basel defeated Spartak 2–0 at home, then on Matchday Two, FCB travelled to Anfield where they managed to draw 1–1 against Liverpool. After a great start to the group stage, FCB were brought back down to earth when they were defeated 6–2 by Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium. They bounced back, however, and held Valencia to a 2–2 draw in the next fixture. Basel were now sitting in second place in the group, but they would still need to win at least one of their last two games and hope that Liverpool would not pick up more than two points to secure that place. In Matchday Five, Liverpool lost 1–0 to Valencia and FCB 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 final Matchday, Basel were leading 3–0 at half-time through goals from Julio Rossi,

Christian Giménez and Timothée Atouba. The second half was a different story, however, and Liverpool fought back to draw 3–3. Nonetheless, this was still enough for FCB to qualify for the second group stage.

In the last 16, Basel faced Manchester United, Juventus and Deportivo de La Coruña. They had a poor start, losing back-to-back games against Manchester United at home and Juventus away. FCB then faced Deportivo in a double-header, with the home side winning 1–0 in both games. Arguably two of FCB's greatest games came next as they held Manchester United to a 1–1 draw at Old Trafford and claimed a 2–1 victory over Juventus at St. Jakob-Park. Despite picking up the same number of points as second-placed Juventus, Basel was eliminated on goal difference. Basel finished second in the Swiss Super League that season and won the Swiss Cup after beating Neuchâtel Xamax 6–0 in the final.

After being the surprise package in Europe in the 2002–03 season, Basel could not carry this form into the 2003–04 UEFA Cup, suffering elimination from Newcastle United in the second round after defeating Malatyaspor in the previous round.

The club did go on to achieve some success in Europe in 2004–05, however, as they were dropped into the UEFA Cup after being eliminated by Inter Milan in the qualification stage of the 2004–05 Champions League. After they defeated Russian side Terek Grozny in the first round, they faced considerabley tougher opponents Feyenoord, Schalke 04, Ferencváros and Hearts in the group stage. They drew 1–1 away to Schalke, were defeated 2–1 at home by Hearts, beat Ferencváros 2–1 at Stadion Albert Flórián and won 1–0 against Feyenoord at home. They finished third in the group on seven points and qualified for the Round of 32, where they were defeated 2–0 on aggregate by French side Lille. Basel also won the domestic title during the 2004–05 campaign.

As Swiss champions, Basel entered the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round against German Bundesliga club Werder Bremen in 2005. Basel won the first leg 2–1 at St. Jakob-Park but lost 3–0 at the Weserstadion in the second leg, the aggregate 4–2 in Werder's favour. 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 after a 1–1 stalemate away at the Stade Louis II and a 1–0 home victory. 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.

On 13 May 2006, Basel lost a league game at St. Jakob Park for the first time since 1 December 2002, falling 1–2 against Zürich, resulting in riots and property damage by hooligans of both Basel and their rival after the match (see 2006 Basel Hooligan Incident).

On 26 February 2006, Basel broke their own club record of 52 unbeaten league games at St. Jakob Park. The new record was set at 59; the streak ended on the final day of the season against FC Zürich, where a last-minute goal by Iulian Filipescu of Zürich knocked Basel out of contention with a 2–1 victory, and gave Zürich its first national championship since 1980–81. A victory – and the subsequent 60th-straight home league match undefeated – would have made Basel champions.

2006–07 season

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.

Basel won the Swiss Cup after beating FC Luzern 1–0. The winning goal came from the penalty spot through Daniel Majstorović in the 93rd minute.

Basel finished in second place in the Swiss Super League, just one point behind winners Zürich. This was despite the club defeating Zürich in three of four of their direct meetings in that league campaign.

2007–08 season

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 through a Carlitos free-kick and were highly praised for playing attractive and flowing football. Basel then went to Germany to face Hamburg at the HSH Nordbank Arena, where they were fortunate to escape with a 1–1 draw. The goals came courtesy of captain Ivan Ergić and Hamburg's Ivica Olić. Basel then faced Sporting CP in the last 32 after qualifying second in the group alongside first-placed Hamburg and third-placed Brann. (Sporting finished third in their group in the Champions League, hence their "relegation" to the UEFA Cup.) 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.

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.

Basel won the Super League for the first time since 2005 on the 10 May 2008 at St. Jakob Park after a 2–0 win over fellow contenders Young Boys. It was the last game of the season and Basel only needed a point from the match to win the Championship. However, if Young Boys won, then they would have instead been champions, exactly the same situation as the end of the 2005–06 season, only it was between Basel and Zürich then. The painful memories of losing the league on the last day of the season in 2006 seemed to spur FCB on as they took an early lead through Valentin Stocker before Marco Streller wrapped up the victory with the second.

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.

2008–09 season

Ivan Ergić resigned from being club captain before the start of the season; goalkeeper Franco Costanzo was unveiled as the new captain a day before the season began.

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; Benjamin Huggel put Basel ahead before Thomas Olsson equalised for the home team. The second leg took place on 6 August at St. Jakob Park, where Basel came from behind twice to win 4–2. Pontus Wernbloom put Göteborg ahead on 19 minutes before Huggel equalised soon after. Early in the second half, Robin Söder restored Göteborg's lead, but Basel fought back, with Scott Chipperfield equalising. Basel then earned a penalty due to a supposed handball in the penalty area, although replays later showed that the referee had made the wrong decision. The penalty was converted which eventually sealed the victory for Basel. The club then faced Vitória de Guimarães in the third qualifying round. The first leg at Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, on 13 August, ended in a 0–0 draw. The second leg took place on 27 August 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; Fernandinho put the Ukrainians ahead on 25 minutes before Jádson doubled their lead just before half time. David Abraham scored a late consolation goal for the home team. 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 at the Camp Nou, with Eren Derdiyok scoring a late equaliser after Lionel Messi put Barça ahead. 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 finished the 2008–09 Super League season in third place (their worst finish since 2001), ending with two consecutive losses to Grasshoppers and Young Boys. 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. On 6 June, Thorsten Fink was hired as his replacement.