FC Basel
Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss football club based in Basel, in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been Swiss national champions 20 times, Swiss Cup winners 13 times, and ...
season was the 125th season in club history and the club's 23rd consecutive season in the top flight of Swiss football. Basel were the reigning
Swiss Super League
The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 season ...
champions. The season started on the weekend of 22–23 July 2017 and ended on 19 May 2018. They were also the
Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...
holders. The first round of the
Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...
Raphaël Wicky
Raphaël Wicky (born 26 April 1977) is a Swiss football coach and a former player. He is currently the manager of Swiss Super League club BSC Young Boys. He was a defensive midfielder who could also play in defence and was known for his combativ ...
was appointed as new first team manager and was given a two-year contract with an option for a third year. His assistant is
Massimo Lombardo
Massimo Lombardo (born 9 January 1973 in Bellinzona) is a former Swiss footballer. He is currently the assistant manager of FC Basel.Werner Leuthard and
Marco Walker
Marco Walker (born 2 May 1970) is a Swiss football manager and a former international who played as a defender during the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.
Club career
Walker started his youth football with local club FC Bellach. From 1983 with he was ...
Massimo Ceccaroni
Massimo Ceccaroni (born 15 August 1968) is a retired Swiss-Italian footballer who played as a defender or midfielder. He played for FC Basel for very nearly his entire career. He was later trainer at amateur club BSC Old Boys and then trainer ...
is head of the FCB Youth System.
Further information
The FC Basel annual general meeting took place on 9 June 2017. The previous board of directors under president Bernhard Heusler with sportdirector Georg Heitz, vice-president
Adrian Knup
Adrian Knup (born 2 July 1968) is a Swiss former professional football striker who played in the 1980s and 1990s.
He was capped 49 times and scored 26 goals for the Switzerland national team between 1989 and 1996, including three games at the ...
, financial manager Stephan Werthmüller and marketing manager René Kamm stepped back.
Reto Baumgartner
Reto Baumgartner (born 28 April 1967) is a retired Swiss professional footballer who played in the late 1980s and early 1990s as defender. Since FC Basel's AGM in 2008, Baumgartner is a member of the club board of directors and since 16 Novemb ...
, Dominik Donzé and Benno Kaiser remained on the board. Bernhard Burgener took over as chairman and
Marco Streller
Marco Streller (born 18 June 1981) is a Swiss former footballer who played as a striker and is best known for his years with FC Basel and the Switzerland national team. He was the sporting director of FC Basel from June 2017 until June 2019. Sin ...
as sportdirector.
Peter von Büren was voted as financial manager and Patrick Jost in marketing.
Overview
Offseason and preseason
At the end of the
2016–17 FC Basel season
The 2016–17 FC Basel season is the 124th season in club history and the club's 22nd consecutive season in the top flight of Swiss football. Basel are the reigning Swiss Super League champions. They prepared their season with various warm-up matc ...
Marc Janko
Marc Janko (born 25 June 1983) is an Austrian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Janko was a successful goal-scorer, particularly during his time at Austrian Bundesliga club Red Bull Salzburg, where he scored 75 league goa ...
Daniel Høegh
Daniel Mathias Høegh (; born 6 January 1991) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Randers FC. Høegh formerly played for SC Heerenveen, FC Basel and Odense Boldklub.
Career
Born in Odense, Denmark, Høegh started ...
also left the club and joined
SC Heerenveen
Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands.
History
Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 July ...
of the Dutch
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...
On 23 June 2017 Basel announced that
Jean-Paul Boëtius
Jean-Paul Boëtius (born 22 March 1994) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger for the Netherlands national team.
He made his debut for hometown club Feyenoord in 2012 at the age of 18 and remained at the club for three year ...
had been transferred to Dutch club
Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...
.
Seydou Doumbia
Seydou Doumbia (; born 31 December 1987) is an Ivorian professional association footballer who last played as a forward for Maltese Premier League club Ħamrun Spartans.
After beginning his career in the Ivory Coast and Japan, he arrived in E ...
's loan came to an end and Basel neither wanted to prolong nor enter the option to buy him. Adama Traoré left the club mid-August because he no longer played a part in the teams planning.
In the other direction Basel were not too busy on the transfer market. On 14 June 2017 Basel announced that they had signed
Ricky van Wolfswinkel
Ricky van Wolfswinkel (; born 27 January 1989) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a striker for Eredivisie club FC Twente. He has played top-flight football in the Netherlands, Portugal, England, France, Spain and Switzerland and ...
from
SBV Vitesse
SBV Vitesse Arnhem (''Stichting Betaald Voetbal Vitesse Arnhem''), widely known as Vitesse () or internationally as well Vitesse Arnhem, is a Dutch professional association football, football club located in the municipality of Arnhem. Establish ...
. A few days later, on 20 June, the club announced that they had loaned
Dimitri Oberlin
Dimitri Oberlin (born 27 September 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for TFF First League club Adanaspor. Born in Cameroon, he represents the Switzerland national team.
Club career Youth
Oberlin started his youth footba ...
During the season, on 13 September 2017 Basel announced that they had recalled striker
Cedric Itten
Cedric Jan Itten (born 27 December 1996) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a centre forward for Swiss club Young Boys and the Switzerland national team.
Club career
Youth football
Itten started his youth football with FC Blac ...
from the loan to
Luzern
, neighboring_municipalities= Adligenswil, Ebikon, Emmen, Horw, Kriens, Malters, Meggen, Neuenkirch
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a ...
. Then following the injury suffered by
Ricky van Wolfswinkel
Ricky van Wolfswinkel (; born 27 January 1989) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a striker for Eredivisie club FC Twente. He has played top-flight football in the Netherlands, Portugal, England, France, Spain and Switzerland and ...
Basel were forced to hire another striker and on 2 October 2017 they announced that
Albian Ajeti
Albian Afrim Ajeti (born 26 February 1997) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a striker for Austrian Bundesliga club Sturm Graz, on loan from Celtic, and the Switzerland national team.
He has previously played for Basel (two spel ...
had been signed a five-year contract.
Mid-season break
During the winter mid-season break there was also quite some movements on the transfer market. On 23 December 2017 FC Basel announced that
Fabian Frei
Fabian Frei (born 8 January 1989) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder and a centre-back for Swiss Super League club Basel and the Switzerland national team. Until June 2011, he played for the Swiss U-21 team. ...
would return to the club, signing a four and a half year contract dated up until June 2022. On 27 December the club announced that
Samuele Campo
Samuele Campo (born 6 July 1995) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for FC Luzern.
Club career Youth football
Campo, son of a Swiss mother and an Italian father grew up in the Hirzbrunnen quarter of Kleinbasel (Lesser ...
, a former Basel youth player, was also returning, signing a four and a half year contract dated up until June 2022. Furthermore, on 10 January 2018 the club announced that another former Basel player
Valentin Stocker
Valentin Stocker (born 12 April 1989) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a left midfielder. He has played for the Switzerland national team.
Club career Basel
Born in Lucerne, Stocker began his youth career with SC Kri ...
was also returning. Stocker signed a three and a half year contract dated up until June 2021.
In the other direction, also on 10 January, Basel announced that Renato Steffen had left the club. Steffen signed a three and a half year deal with VfL Wolfsburg. The transfer fee was reported as being 1.75 million Euro. Just a few days later Basel announced that Akanji had transferred to
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...
. The transfer fee was reported as being 21.5 million Euro. He signed a four and a half year contract dated until June 2022.
The Campaign
Domestic League
The season started on the weekend of 22–23 July 2017. Basel's priority aim for the new season is to win the
league
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
championship for the ninth consecutive time. Their first game was the match against Young Boys in
Stade de Suisse
The Wankdorf Stadium (; between 2005 and 2020 known as Stade de Suisse) is a football stadium in Bern, Switzerland. The second largest all-seater football stadium in Switzerland, it currently serves as the home ground of the Swiss football team ...
which ended in a 0–2 defeat. Following three victories Basel played four games without a win (two draws, two defeats) and slipped down to fourth position in the league table. Following this poor start the following game was at home against
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
. The game was a passionate battle and the home club titled their report: ''A passionately fighting FCB wins against FCZ 1:0.'' The game changed the run of the season and afterwards the team won seven and drawing three of the next ten games. The first game of the second half of the season was the last game of the kalender year and is included in these figures. By the mid-season break Basel had narrowed the gap to table leaders Young Boys to just two points, third placed Zürich were twelve points adrift.
After the winter break Basel could not find to their good form that they had before the break. They lost three of their first four games, at home against
Lugano
Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...
Luzern
, neighboring_municipalities= Adligenswil, Ebikon, Emmen, Horw, Kriens, Malters, Meggen, Neuenkirch
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a ...
. The gap to leading Young Boys grew and was no longer reversible. The 5–1 win against Young Boys was achieved in the third last game of the season, but came after the championship had mathematically already been decided.
Domestic Cup
Basel are the
Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...
holders. Basel's clear aim for the cup is to defend their title. The first round of the
Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...
started on 13 August 2017. In the first three rounds Basel were drawn away against lower-tier teams, winning against FC Wettswil-Bonstetten,
FC Chiasso
FC Chiasso is a Swiss football club based in Chiasso. It was founded in 1905. Chiasso also played in the Italian first league between 1914 and 1923.
The team's most glorious period was between 1948 and 1961, when the team was promoted to the ...
and
FC Rapperswil-Jona
Fussball Club Rapperswil-Jona, was founded in 1928 and is now the largest sports club in the Oberer Lake / Linth area. After achieving promotion in June 2017, the first team will played in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss foot ...
. Basel were then drawn at home against
Luzern
, neighboring_municipalities= Adligenswil, Ebikon, Emmen, Horw, Kriens, Malters, Meggen, Neuenkirch
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a ...
in the quarter-final. This was won 2–1 and Basel advance to the semi-final in the
Stade de Suisse
The Wankdorf Stadium (; between 2005 and 2020 known as Stade de Suisse) is a football stadium in Bern, Switzerland. The second largest all-seater football stadium in Switzerland, it currently serves as the home ground of the Swiss football team ...
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, Benfica and CSKA Moscow. Basels initial aim is to remain in a European competition after the Champions League group stage. The first match was the away game against Manchester United. Basel were previously drawn with both Benfica and United in 2011–12 and on this occasion, United finished third in the group and dropped down to the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
.
;Manchester United (12 September 2017)
The first game was played in
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
, in proper Manchester weather in Manchester. Basel were sitting deep, with their three centre-backs, as United took control of the game from the very start.
Marouane Fellaini
Marouane Fellaini-Bakkioui (born 22 November 1987) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Chinese club Shandong Taishan.
Born in Etterbeek to Moroccan parents, Fellaini played youth football for Anderlecht, R.A.E.C. ...
came off the bench after 19 minutes to replace the injured Paul Pogba and opened the scoring with a powerful header in the 35 minute, which was only part of his Man of the Match performance. Basel played better after the opening goal and even at the beginning of the second half created their chances. But it was also a particularly special night for Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford, both of whom found the net on their Champions League debuts with second-half strikes. United took a corner short, Daley Blind to
Juan Mata
Juan Manuel Mata García (born 28 April 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Turkish Süper Lig club Galatasaray. He mostly plays as a central attacking midfielder, but he can also play on the wing.
A grad ...
and when Blind took the return he crossed for Lukaku who outjumped
to power home. in the 85 minute Fellaini crossed, the ball was missed by
Mkhitaryan Mkhitaryan, Mkhitarian or Mekhitarian ( hy, Մխիթարյան, Western Armenian Մխիթարեան) is an Armenian surname. See Մխիթարյան for the origin.
Notable People
Notable people with the surname include:
Artists
* Anahit Mekhit ...
and
Suchý
Suchý is a municipality and village in Blansko District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 500 inhabitants.
Suchý lies approximately north-east of Blansko, north of Brno, and east of Prague
Prague ( ; c ...
before Rashford, opening his body, sidefooted into the ground and high into the net.
;Benfica (27 September 2017)
Basel ran out 5–0 victors at
St. Jakob-Park
St. Jakob-Park () is a Swiss sports stadium in Basel. It is the largest football venue in Switzerland and home to FC Basel. "Joggeli", as the venue is nicknamed by the locals, was originally built with a capacity of 33,433 seats. The capacity w ...
in Basel against Portuguese side Benfica on Wednesday 27 September in an emphatic and much-needed victory for the Swiss club in the Champions League. Basel controlled the game from the start, Michael Lang (2) and
Dimitri Oberlin
Dimitri Oberlin (born 27 September 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for TFF First League club Adanaspor. Born in Cameroon, he represents the Switzerland national team.
Club career Youth
Oberlin started his youth footba ...
(20) gave Basel a two-goal lead in the first half. Oberlin showed his amazing speed as he scored this goal. He made a clearance from a Benfica corner before covering the length of the pitch in mere seconds. Impressively, the 20-year-old composed himself after the run upon receiving the pass from Renato Steffen before sending the ball past the goalkeeper Júlio César.
Ricky van Wolfswinkel
Ricky van Wolfswinkel (; born 27 January 1989) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a striker for Eredivisie club FC Twente. He has played top-flight football in the Netherlands, Portugal, England, France, Spain and Switzerland and ...
then added a third in the second half (60) with a penalty, before birthday-boy Oberlin scored his second (69) and
Blas Riveros
Blas Miguel Riveros Galeano (born 3 February 1998) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Argentine Primera División club Talleres and the Paraguay national team.
Club career Olimpia Asunción
Riveros star ...
's goal in the 76 minute completed the rout. Benfica were reduced to 10-men when
André Almeida André Almeida may refer to:
* Andrey Almeida (born 1988), Brazilian football forward
* André Almeida (footballer, born 1990), Portuguese football defender
* André Almeida (cyclist) (born 1992), Brazilian cyclist
* André Almeida (footballer, bo ...
was sent off for foul play in the 63 minute.
;CSKA Moscow (18 October 2017)
Match three of the Group Stage took Basel to the away game in the VEB Arena against CSKA Moscow. The game started slowly, the teams getting to know each other, indeed both teams looked very cautious in the beginning. But Basel took control after about ten minutes. Taulant Xhaka missed his first chance, but in the 29 minute he scored his first European goal in his 47th European match. The Albanian international cruised through the CSKA defence and shot the ball into the back of the net, a right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner. There was little reaction from CSKA players after conceding. Quite the contrary – the visitors grew in confidence and took more control. At the end of an energetic first half, the visitors had the majority of the possession. The hosts matched the energy of the Swiss side, but had not been able to make more than one attempt on goal (off target). It was a deserved lead at half-time and Basel looked the more dangerous in the second half. Ten minutes into the second half the assistant referee canceled out Basel's second goal for offside, after referee
Björn Kuipers
Björn Kuipers (; born 28 March 1973) is a former Dutch Referee (association football), football referee. He has been a FIFA International Referees List, FIFA listed referee from 2006 to 2021 and an UEFA Elite group referee from 2009 to 2021. He ...
initially pointed to the centre circle. The decision came about 40 seconds after the visitors started their celebrations. Towards the end of the game Basel made themselves good chances.
Dimitri Oberlin
Dimitri Oberlin (born 27 September 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for TFF First League club Adanaspor. Born in Cameroon, he represents the Switzerland national team.
Club career Youth
Oberlin started his youth footba ...
missed the target on two occasions, until eventually in the 90 minute he didn't miss. The Switzerland U21 international made his run from the halfway line and finished with composure, slotting it calmly in the corner of goal.
Players
First team squad
The following is the list of the Basel first team squad. It also includes players that were in the squad the day the season started on 22 July 2017 but subsequently left the club after that date.
Loans
In on loan
Out on loan
Transfers summer 2017
In
Out
Transfers winter 2017–18
In
Out
Results and fixtures
Kickoff times are in
CET
CET or cet may refer to:
Places
* Cet, Albania
* Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus
* Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Comcast Ente ...
Legend
Friendly matches
Pre- and mid-season
Winter break
Swiss Super League
First half of season
}
Second half of season
League table
Swiss Cup
The draw for the first round was held on 28 June 2017. The Super- and Challenge League clubs were seeded and could not be drawn against each other. The lower division teams were granted home advantage and Basel were therefore drawn away. The home advantage was also granted to the team from the lower league in the second and third rounds.
UEFA Champions League
Group stage
Basel were qualified for the
2017–18 UEFA Champions League
The 2017–18 UEFA Champions League was the 63rd season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 26th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.
The final was pla ...
in the Group stage. The draw was held on 24 August 2017, at the
Grimaldi Forum
The Grimaldi Forum in Monaco is a conference and congress centre located on the seafront of Monaco's eastern beach quartier, Larvotto. Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo and the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra regularly perform there. This is also the ...
in
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
. Basel were drawn into Group A along with
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, Benfica and CSKA Moscow. The first match was the away game against Manchester United.
;Matches
;Group table
* Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2017/2018. Publisher: FC Basel Marketing AG.
* Die ersten 125 Jahre / 2018. Publisher: Josef Zindel im Friedrich Reinhardt Verlag, Basel.
Season 2017–18 at "Basler Fussballarchiv” homepage