2013–14 FC Basel season

The FC Basel Holding AG (Holding) owns 75% of the club FC Basel (FC Basel 1893 AG) and the other 25% is owned by the club and its members. Chairman of the Holding was Bernhard Heusler, the finance chief was Stephan Werthmüller and Sportdirector was Georg Heitz. As chairman of the Holding Heusler was also chairman of the club.

At the AGM the existing board of directors under president Bernhard Heusler with vice-president Adrian Knup, sportdirector Georg Heitz, financial manager Stephan Werthmüller and marketing manager René Kamm, and the three directors Reto Baumgartner, Dominik Donzé and Benno Kaiser were willing to continue as before. They were all re-elected unanimously.

Chairman	Mr Bernhard Heusler
Vice Chairman	Mr Adrian Knup
Finances	Mr Stephan Werthmüller
Sportdirector	Mr Georg Heitz
Marketing	Mr René Kamm
Director	Mr Reto Baumgartner
Director	Mr Dominik Donzé
Director	Mr Benno Kaiser
Ground (capacity and dimensions)	St. Jakob-Park (38,512[1] 37,500 for international matches[2] / 120x80 m)

Updated to match played 1 July 2013
Source: FCB Official Site

First team manager in this season was Murat Yakin. His assistants were Marco Walker and Markus Hoffmann and Massimo Colomba was the Goalkeeper coach. Massimo Ceccaroni was appointed as head of the FCB Youth System. Coach of the Youth Team (U–21) was Thomas Häberli.

Position	Staff
Manager	Murat Yakin since 15 October 2012
1 Assistant manager	Marco Walker
2 Assistant manager	Markus Hoffmann
Goalkeeper Coach	Massimo Colomba
Team Administration	Gustav Nussbaumer
Youth Team Coach	Thomas Häberli
Youth Team Co-Coach	Roland Heri

Basel's biggest signings at the beginning of the season were two players who had already played for the club in recent years, Behrang Safari, who returned from RSC Anderlecht, and Matías Delgado who was signed on a free transfer from al-Jazira Club. A further player who rejoined the squad was Taulant Xhaka who had been on loan to the Grasshoppers. A further signing was Giovanni Sio from VfL Wolfsburg and the another main signing was Ivan Ivanov who transferred in from Partizan[3]

In the other direction, Aleksandar Dragović who transferred to Dynamo Kyiv.[4] Park Joo-Ho left the club and signed for 1. FSV Mainz 05. Three further players, Cabral went to Sunderland AFC, Markus Steinhöfer signed for Real Betis and Jacques Zoua went to Hamburger SV. All three left the club on free transfers. Also, no longer in the squad was Alexander Frei who retired from his active playing career.

In August Raul Bobadilla (following a personal incident with the traffic police) was sold off, in a hurry and cheap, to Augsburg into the Bundesliga.

During the winter break Basel met an agreement with Aarau and the players Davide Callà (in) and Stephan Andrist (out) were exchanged. Another important change was that Mohamed Salah transferred out to Chelsea for an estimated £13 Million. Basel also made an agreement with Spartak Moscow, receiving centre back Marek Suchý on loan until the end of the season.

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.[5] Basel are 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, who they beat 2-1 in the seventh round.[6]

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 by two points ahead of the Grasshoppers. As it came to the winter break Basel were table leaders one point above Luzern. The good run continued in the spring session and lasted until 11 May as the were defeated in the Stade de Suisse by Young Boys who with the victory secured their qualification to the next season’s Europa League.[7]

Conclusion

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. This was their seventeenth title and the fifth title in a row. They had secured 19 victories, 15 draws and suffered only two defeats. The team had scored 72 goals, conceded 34 and had a positive goal difference of 26.

In the league top scorer was Valentin Stocker with 13 goals in 30 outings. Second position in the statics was Marco Streller with 10 goals in 25 outings and third was Giovanni Sio with 9 goals in 23 games.[8]

Basel entered the 2013–14 Swiss Cup in the first round of the competition. Having been runners-up in the previous season, the club’s clear aim for the team was for them to win the title. In the first round, teams from the Super League and Challenge League were seeded and could not play against each other. In a match, the home advantage was granted to the team from the lower league, if applicable.

Old Boys (17 August 2013)

Basel were drawn against local amateur club Old Boys who at that time played in the 1. Liga Promotion the third tier of the Swiss football league system. FCB had to go into extra time against first division club Old Boys at their grounds Stadion Schützenmatte. FCB only prevailed 1–0 thanks to a header from the newly signed Bulgarian Ivan Ivanov in the 95th minute and this despite the fact that from the 63rd minute (yellow/red card against Akdemir) played with one man more. The Old Boys were by no means inferior to their big brother in front of the 4,384 spectators. The lower-class team could even lament bad luck, because they had three shots that landed on the woodwork, the FCB "only" two. The FCB left an unimaginative impression. It was left to defender Ivan Ivanov after the ninth corner to score the decisive goal with a header. Matías Delgado, who otherwise remained pale, did the preparatory work.[9]

Münsingen (14 September 2013)

In the second round of the Cup the teams from the Super League were seeded and could not play each other. In the matches the home advantage was granted to the team from the lower league. Basel were drawn against FC Münsingen, who at that time played in the 1. Liga the fourth tier of Swiss football. Murat Yakin's team was - to put it politely - in economy mode with regard to the upcoming first task in the Champions League (away against Chelsea). In Münsingen, where the local club claimed a stadium record with 4,100 spectators, a 1–0 win was enough for Basel. The visitors had earned this with a minimalist performance. A penalty goal by Matías Delgado was enough to seal the victory and to advance to the next round. Despite everything, the Argentine was able to celebrate his first goal, in his eighth outing, since returning to FCB. Delgado moved into the team because the head coach spared various regular starters in front of the Champions League kick-off.[10]

Tuggen (10 November 2013)

As in the previous round, in the third round the teams from the Super League were seeded and could not play each other. In the matches the home advantage was granted to the team from the lower league. Basel were drawn against FC Tuggen who at that time played in the 1. Liga Promotion, the third tier. With Valentin Stocker, Mohamed Salah and Taulent Xhaka, coach Yakin nominated only three players who were also in the starting line-up in the Champions League on the Wednesday before. Despite this, FCB jumped over the cup hurdle in Tuggen in their stadium Linthstrasse, on the wet terrain, easier than expected. After a goalless first half, it was enough for them to step up the pace to mark two goals within five minutes. The preliminary decision in front of 6,250 spectators was brought about by Mohamed Salah on 52 minutes and the strong playing Giovanni Sio on 57 minutes. The Kosovar Tuggen centre forward Veton Krasniqi gave courage to the brave fighting and never giving up Tuggen with his consolation goal, but the Chilean Marcelo Diaz stifled hopes with the 3–1 after 81 minutes. During the first half, Tuggen were able to keep up to some extent, but as their strength waned and FCB increased the pressure and pace, the differences became apparent.[11]

Le Mont (5 February 2014)

The winners of Round 3 played in the quarter-finals. The ties were drawn, there was no home advantage granted in the draw. Basel were drawn away against Le Mont, who at that time played in the third tier of Swiss football. Originally scheduled to be played in Le Mont-sur-Lausanne against FC Le Mont on 4 December 2013. However, the game was postponed due to weather conditions and an unplayable pitch, the game was postponed and later rescheduled to be played in St. Jakob-Park, on 5 February 2014, but remaining as a home tie for Le Mont.[12]

Basel had the game under control from the first minutes. Goals from Stephan Andrist and Marek Suchý in the 7th and 9th minutes gave Basel a comfortable early lead. Marco Streller added a third just before half time. After the break Fabian Frei, David Degen and again Andrist gave the favourites a six-goal lead. Two minutes before the final whistle Sid-Ahmed Bouziane scored a consolation goal for the lower-class team.[13]

Luzern (26 March 2014)

In the semi-final Basel were drawn at home against Luzern. Seen over the entire duration of the game, the favoured FCB team were more active and more confident in style. They recorded a plus in chances and should have seized the lead earlier due to a few hundred percent opportunities. In their strongest phase between the 20th and 40th minute, however, they never got the ball past the strong FCL keeper David Zibung, or else a teammate saved for the defeated goalkeeper. Fabian Frei, Fabian Schär and Serey Die came closest from favourable positions during this period. Davide Callà scored the decisive goal in the 80th minute. The attacking midfielder, who only joined the team from Aarau in February, netted from the most acute of angles. The preparatory work was done by full-back Philipp Degen, who headed the ball on after a cross from Serey Die. After that FCL were unable to react. The 1–0 victory for FCB was deserved. The only downer for the home team was the modest crowd, as only 12,668 fans watched the semi-final at the St. Jakob-Park.[14]

Zürich (21 April 2014)

Basel’s opponents in the Cup final were Zürich, who had beaten Thun in the other semi-final 5–4 in a penalty shoot after a goalless draw. The final was played on Easter Monday in Stade de Suisse with an attendance of 23'312 fans. In the first half, Zürich tried to reduce all risk to zero, Yassine Chikhaoui was the only player who dared to venture forwards occasionally. Davide Callà did have a chance in the 5th minute, but otherwise FCB were also holding back, and neither team reached operating temperatures. Immediately after the break the intensity changed and Callà had a good chance for Basel. At the other end Chikhaoui triggered a first dangerous countermove and seconds later Mario Gavranović missed another good chance. Then Valentin Stocker had a further good chance for Basel. For a long time FCB had been content in neutralizing the game, but suddenly things slipped out of control. Gastón Sauro hesitated at the wrong moment and realised far too late just how serious the situation was. Franck Etoundi rushed past him, Sauro applied the emergency brake and was subsequently shown red. The legitimate dismissal of Sauro, changed the script again. With one man less Basel withdrew themselves again, Zurich continued to operate cleverly and so after 90 minutes it was still goalless. 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 Basel immediately had a problem and Gavranović put Zürich a goal up. Another four minutes later the same player doubled up.[15]

Conclusion

Zurich won the Swiss Cup for the eighth time in their club’s history. With two men more, the FCZ defeated the FCB 2-0 in extra time. Gavranovic was man of the match with his two goals. The losers, with reason, complained about the referee’s blunder. Having been runners-up in the previous season, the club’s clear aim for the team was for them to win the title. Being runners-up yet again was a big disappointment.[16]

Because Basel entered the Champions League in the qualifying phase their initial aim was to reach the group stage. The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 19 July 2013 at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon. Basel were drawn against against Maccabi Tel Aviv

Maccabi Tel Aviv (30 July 2013)

Basel started in their campaign started with the home tie in St. Jakob-Park with an attendance of 12,353 fans against Maccabi Tel Aviv on a sunny summer evening. Basel started well, controlled the game from the very beginning and were dangerous throughout the first period. Philipp Degen often troubled the visitors defence with clever runs down the right and Marcelo Díaz spread the balls out of the centre and he dictated the pace. Valentin Stocker started many slick moves from the left and his goal came on 39 minutes and it seemed only time before more would follow. The hosts came close to adding a second six minutes after half time. Mohamed Salah's cross from the right was deflected by Yoav Ziv, beyond his own keeper. The Maccabi defence were awake and cleared the ball before it crossed the line. Minutes later after a defensive error, Salah again found himself in space and tried to lob the goalkeeper Juan Pablo out of the distance, but the effort went just wide. The visitors' best chance came 20 minutes from time. Rade Prica entered the penalty area from the left and fired a shot that beat FCB keeper Yann Sommer but it rebounded from the crossbar. Stocker’s 39th strike provided Basel with the slenderest of leads before the return match a week later.[17]

Return game (6 August 2013)

The return match in the Bloomfield Stadium had an attendance of about 13,000 fans and referee was Clément Turpin of the French Football Federation. The game started very frantic and after just four minutes Maccabi Tel Aviv defender Sheran Yeini tripped Valentin Stocker in the penalty area. Fabian Schär took the spot-kick and converted. On 21 minutes, following a Eran Zahavi error, Mohamed Salah put the visitors two goals up. A long-range drive from Marcelo Díaz on 32 minutes beat home keeper Juan Pablo for the third time. Basel reduced the pace and Maccabi reacted. Barak Yitzhaki had a shot that Basel keeper Yann Sommer parried the ball, but via defender Schär it landed in the net. A good finish from Zahavi another three minutes later pulled a second goal back and after the break Maccabi kept up the pressure. Maharan Radi caught a loose ball and equalised on the hour. After this Paulo Sousa’s team ran out of stamina and they lost momentum. Basel controlled the rest of the game and were closer to scoring the winner than the hosts.[18]

Ludogorets Razgrad (21 August 2013)

In the play-off round Basel were drawn against Bulgarian team Ludogorets Razgrad and the first leg was an away game. Ludogorets played their match at Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia instead of their regular stadium Ludogorets Arena in Razgrad. The official attendance figure was 11,927.[19] Basel started well into the game and took an early lead as Mohamed Salah sprinted on to a through ball from Fabian Frei to hammer his left footed shot past Vladislav Stoyanov into the net in the 11th minute. Despite the early set back, Ludogorets were still in play. On 22 minutes a good move on the right and Roman Bezjak laid off for Marcelinho, who chipped the ball over the advancing keeper Yann Sommer for the equaliser. Marcelo Díaz had a good chance for the visitors at the end of the first half, but Ludogorets were the better side at this time. After the break the Bulgarian champions took the lead as Ivan Stoyanov's first-time volley from Júnior Caiçara's cross landed in the net in the 50th minute, despite Sommer getting his hand to the ball. Basel reacted, on 59 minutes a long through ball from Marcelo Díaz and again Salah sprinted on to it and pushed the ball past the advancing keeper Stoyanov. Just five minutes later a neat pass from Valentin Stocker between the defenders played Giovanni Sio into space and he made no mistake and put the ball home. Chances followed at both ends, first Marcelinho’s header was too high, then Alexandre Barthe hit his shot into the side netting and Salah was denied a hat-trick goal as Júnior Caiçara brought him down after a 50-meter sprint. Referee Wolfgang Stark of the German Football Association showed the defender the red card and on 84 minutes Fabian Schär converted the spot-kick to the final score 4–2 for the visitors.[20]

Return game (27 August 2013)

The St. Jakob-Park had an attendance of 15,733 fans as referee William Collum of the Scottish Football Association blew his whistle for the kick-off for the second leg. Basel’s first chance came after Marcelo Díaz's corner was missed by a bunch of players at the near post, the ball bounced and Fabian Frei with a close-range header opened the score card. Ludogorets' equaliser could have come with the next chance, but Ivan Stoyanov hit the cross-bar with his free-kick. At the other end Giovanni Sio rushed into the penalty-area to shoot, but his effort rebounded from the far post. The ball virtually returned to him, but by this time the angle was too acute for him to put it home.The home side dominated the first period, but a dangerous threat of a second goal was not made. The visitors' first chance at goal in the second half came on 65 minutes as a long range shot from Fábio Espinho flew over the top. Finally, 11 minutes from time Matías Delgado's corner was pushed home by Philipp Degen to the final 2–0 score line. Basel brushed their opponents away.[21]

Group stage

In the group stage they were drawn into Group E together with Chelsea, Schalke 04 and Steaua București. Their next aim was to remain in the competition and reach the knockout phase. The group stage for Basel began on 18 September with they away game in Stamford Bridge where they notched up a surprising 2-1 win over Chelsea. Despite the fact that they followed this up with a 1-0 home win in the return fixture at St. Jakob-Park, Basel finished in the Group E the league table in just third position, because of the two defeats against Schalke and because they did not manage a win against Steaua. Thus they qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League round of 32 and their second aim was therefore not fully achieved.

In the knockout phase of the Europa League Basel were drawn against the team that they had eliminated during the qualifying phase of the Champions League Maccabi Tel Aviv. The away tie, scheduled for 20 February, ended in a goalless draw and the second leg, played on 27 February 2014, was won by Basel 3–0. In the round of 16 Basel were drawn against Red Bull Salzburg. The first leg in Basel on 13 March 2014 ended in a goalless draw and the second leg, played a week later in the Red Bull Arena was decided by two goals from Streller and Sauro after RB Salzburg had taken an early lead.

The Quarter-finals draw paired Basel with Valencia. The first leg, a home tie, was won 3–0, but the away tie in Mestalla ended in a 3–0 win for the Spaniards who then won after extra time (5–3 on aggregate) after both Díaz and Gastón Sauro were both shown the red card within just a few minutes of each other. Despite this defeat, Basel's European aims were achieved, in fact they can be described as another successful one.

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 13 July but subsequently left the club after that date.

As of 15 March 2014[22]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   SUI Yann Sommer 4 DF   SUI Philipp Degen 5 DF   SUI Arlind Ajeti 6 DF  AUT Aleksandar Dragović 7 MF   SUI David Degen 8 MF  CIV Serey Die 9 FW   SUI Marco Streller (Captain) 10 MF  ARG Matías Delgado 11 FW  PAR Raul Bobadilla 13 DF  BUL Ivan Ivanov 14 MF   SUI Valentin Stocker 15 DF   SUI Kay Voser 16 DF   SUI Fabian Schär 17 MF   SUI Endogan Adili 18 GK   SUI Germano Vailati 19 DF  SWE Behrang Safari 20 MF   SUI Fabian Frei

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 MF  CHI Marcelo Díaz 22 MF  EGY Mohamed Salah 23 GK   SUI Mirko Salvi 24 FW  PRK Pak Kwang-Ryong 25 DF  CZE Marek Suchý 26 DF  ARG Gastón Sauro 27 DF   SUI Naser Aliji 28 MF   SUI Stephan Andrist 30 FW  CIV Giovanni Sio 32 FW  BIH Admir Seferagić 33 MF  EGY Mohamed Elneny 34 DF   SUI Taulant Xhaka 35 DF   SUI Fabian Ritter 36 FW   SUI Breel Embolo 37 DF   SUI Simon Dünki 38 FW   SUI Albian Ajeti 39 MF   SUI Davide Callà

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

The Uhrencup is a club football tournament, held annually in Grenchen.

Basel v Fortuna Düsseldorf

5 July 2013 Uhrencup Round 1	Basel	3 – 0	Fortuna Düsseldorf	Stadion Brühl, Grenchen
19:30 CEST	Jevtić  7' (1:0) Veljko Simic  68' (2:0) Adili  78' (3:0)	FCB summary		Attendance: 4,191 Referee: Pascal Erlachner

Basel v Red Star Belgrade

8 July 2013 Uhrencup Round 2	Basel	2 – 1	Red Star Belgrade	Stadion Brühl, Grenchen
19:30 CEST	D. Degen  3' Fabian Ritter  22' Dragović  58' Stocker  80' (1:1) Bobadilla  88' (2:1)	FCB summary	3' Mladenović  42' (0:1) Mladenović  22'  60' Aleksandar Kovačević	Attendance: 4,563 Referee: Fedayi San

Kickoff times are in CET

Results summary

Basel v Maccabi Tel Aviv

30 July 2013 1st Leg	Basel	1 – 0	Maccabi Tel Aviv	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
19:00	Schär  38' Stocker  39' (1:0) Safari  76' Ajeti  90+4'	FCB summary UEFA Report	8' Yeini  38' Itzhaki  43' Tibi  90' Alberman  90+2' Ben Harush	Attendance: 12,353 Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)

Maccabi Tel Aviv v Basel

6 August 2013 2nd Leg	Maccabi Tel Aviv	3 – 3	Basel	Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv
19:00	Carlos García  5' Prica  13' Schär  34' (o.g. 1:3) Zahavi  37' (2:3) Radi  55' (3:3) Yitzhaki  68' Alberman  13'	FCB summary UEFA report	5' (pen. 0:1) Schär  21' (0:2) Salah  32' (0:3) Díaz  40' Stocker  41' Xhaka  75' Salah	Attendance: 14,000 Referee: Clément Turpin (France)

Basel won 4–3 on aggregate.