2016–17 FC Basel season

FC Basel
2016–17 season
Chairman Bernhard Heusler
Manager Urs Fischer
Ground St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland
Super League Season started on
23 July 2016
Swiss Cup Started on
13 August 2016
Champions League Started on
13 September 2016
← 2015–16 2017–18 →

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 matches against teams from Germany, Russia and France as well as from Switzerland. The 2016–17 Swiss Super League season started on the week-end 23/24 July, the last round will be played on 2 June 2017. Basel started with a home game against Sion.

Basel were qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League in the Group stage. The draw was held on 25 August 2016, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Baesl were drawn into Group A along with Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Ludogorets Razgrad. The first game was at home against Razgrad on 13 September and the last being the home game against Arsenal on 6 December.

The draw for the first round of the 2016–17 Swiss Cup was held on 1 July 2016. The Super- and Challenge League clubs were seeded and could not be drawn against each other. The lower division teams were granted home game advantage. The first round was played on the week-end 13/14 August 2016. The final will be played on 25 May 2017.

Club

Management

Urs Fischer has a running three-year contract as first team manager, which started in June 2015. His assistants are Werner Leuthard, Marco Walker and Markus Hoffmann. Massimo Colomba is the Goalkeeper coach. Massimo Ceccaroni is head of the FCB Youth System. The new coach of the Youth Team (U–21) will be Raphaël Wicky.

Position Staff
Manager Switzerland Urs Fischer (since 18 June 2015)
1 Assistant manager Switzerland Werner Leuthard
2 Assistant manager Austria Markus Hoffmann
3 Assistant manager Switzerland Marco Walker
Goalkeeper Coach Switzerland Massimo Colomba
Team Administration Switzerland Gustav Nussbaumer
Youth Team Coach Switzerland Raphaël Wicky (from July 2016)
Youth Team Co-Coach Switzerland Romain Villiger

Last updated: 23 July 2016
Source: FCB Official Site

Further information

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

Last updated: 1 June 2016
Source: FCB Official Site

Overview

Offseason and preseason

At the end of the 2015–16 FC Basel season Walter Samuel and Philipp Degen ended their football careers. Behrang Safari left the club to continue his career by his home club Malmö FF. Breel Embolos transfer to Schalke 04 was confirmed by both teams on 26 June.[3][4] Despite the fact that he still had a valid contract Naser Aliji joined 2. Bundesliga side 1. FC Kaiserslautern on a free transfer.[5]

Basel announced on 31 August that the contract between them and the 26-year-old Egyptian international Ahmed Hamoudi had been resolved on mutual consent with immediate effect.[6] On 2 September Basel announced that Nicolas Hunziker had been loaned out to the Grasshoppers to gain playing experience.[7] That far during the current season Hunziker had played four games in the Promotion League with the FCB U-21 team, scoring five goals.

On 4 May Basel announced that they had signed 18 year old Paraguayan defender Blás Riveros from Olimpia Asunción on a five-year deal. Due to Riveros commitments with the Paraguay national football team and the Copa America, he was not be expected to join the Basel first team until the beginning of July.[8] On 10 May Basel also announced that they had signed Egyptian defender Omar Gaber from Zamalek on a four-year deal.[9][10] On 15 June Serbian goalkeeper Đorđe Nikolić transferred in from Jagodina, signing a four-year contract.[11] Basel announced on 28 June that they had signed Seydou Doumbia on loan from Roma until 30 June 2017.[12] Three further transfers in were Mohamed Elyounoussi[13] who signed in from Molde, Kevin Bua[14] who came from Zürich and Éder Balanta[15] who transferred in from River Plate. Each of whom signed a four-year deal. One former player transferred back in from VfB Stuttgart, Geoffroy Serey Die,[16] who had left the club a year and a half before due to differences with the former team manager Paulo Sousa.

The Campaign

Domestic League

Basel's priority aim for the new season is to win the league championship for the eighth consecutive time. The 2016–17 Swiss Super League season started on the week-end 23/24 July. Basel played at home game against Sion. Four of the new signings, Gabar, Balanta, Elyounoussi and Doumbia made their first team league debuts in the 3–0 home win.[17] Doumbia scored his first goal for his new club in the same game and just one week later on 31 July during the away game against Vaduz he scored his second. It was the last goal of the game and Basel won 5–1.[18] Basel took first position in the league table from the very beginning. In fact they started the season very well, winning each of their first seven games, scoring at least thrre goals in each fixture. After these seven games they were nine points clear of BSC Young Boys in second place and Luzern in third. They had scored 24 goals conceding just 5.

Domestic Cup

Basel's clear aim for the 2016–17 Swiss Cup is to regain the title that they last won in 2011–12. The draw for the first round was held on 1 July 2016 and the team was drawn away against Rapperswil-Jona. The game was won 1–0, the goal being scored by Jean-Paul Boëtius in the 58th minute.[19] In the second round Basel were drawn away against Zug 94, the game played on 18 September, and also won 1–0, the goal scored by Daniel Høegh in the 45th minute. The third round was played on 26 October 2016 and Basel won 4–1 away against FC Tuggen Tuggenfrom the 1. Liga Promotion, the third highest tier in the Swiss football pyramid. The Qarterfinal will be played on 2 March 2017, Basel drawn at home against Zürich.[20]

Champions League

Basel entered into this season's Champions League in the Group stage. The draw was held on 25 August 2016, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Basel were drawn into Group A along with Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Ludogorets Razgrad. The first game was at home against Razgrad on 13 September and the last being the home game against Arsenal on 6 December. The clubs initial aim is to remain in the competition after the group stage.

Ludogorets Razgrad (13 September 2016)

The first game was played in St. Jakob-Park. Basel took control of the game from the start. But despite a few chances early in the game, Bjarnason (2), Steffen (6) and Delgado (7), Basel were not able to create many chanes against the massive Ludogorets Razgrad defence. Ludogorets waited for conter attacks. Basel's Janko injured himself and was replaced by Doumbia in the 40th minute. Ludogorets went into the lead just before half time breakaway goal by Brazilian forward Cafu. He ran on to a measured pass from Marcelinho, he turned Marek Suchý inside out and sloted in a low shot past Tomáš Vaclík (45). Basel created few clear scoring opportunities but were gifted a chance to equalize when Ludogorets goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov flapped at defender Michel Lang's cross. The ball dropped to Steffen, who volleyed into an unguarded net from a tight angle (79).[21]

Arsenal (28 September 2016)

Basel's second game was away from home in the Emirates Stadium as guests of Arsenal Football Club. This was the first ever meeting between the clubs in European competition. Arsenal made two changes to the side that had beaten Chelsea in the Premier League on the previous Saturday, with David Ospina replacing Petr Čech between the posts. Replacing the injured Francis Coquelin in the centre of midfield, Granit Xhaka started against the team he began his career with and also faced his brother Taulant for the first time in club football. Mohamed Elneny was also brought on as a substitute against his former side. Urs Fischer, on the other hand, had shuffled his pack from their visit to St. Gallen at the weekend, with his front four completely changing. Theo Walcott scored a first half double, with a brace in assists from Sánchez securing a 2-0 win.[22] The first was a lightning break from Arsenal, a ball over the top found Alexis Sánchez in acres of space in the right hand channel and he deftly whiped in a volleyed cross which the Englishman made no mistake with, burying his header past Vaclík. The second was almost too easy for Arsenal, as they waltzed through the Basel defence again. Walcott strolled up to the edge of the box unchallenged, played a perfect one-two with Alexis Sánchez, who was standing with his back to goal, and clinically dispatched the return ball into the far corner, off the post. The home team were all over the visitors, and their one touch passing was sublime to watch. Walcott and Özil played back to Sánchez, but his shot was incredibly saved by Vaclík. Bellerín had a chance and again Vaclík did brilliantly to parry. It was completely and utterly one sided in North London and Basel looked shell shocked, especially during the first half.

Paris Saint-Germain (19 October 2016)

Basel's second away game in the third round was in the Parc des Princes as guests of Paris Saint-Germain. This was also the first ever meeting between these two clubs in European competition. In the 5 Minute Delgado kicked a corner which was headed in to the middle by Bjarnason and Lang headed the ball onto the cross bar. Lang, Steffen and Doumbia missed good chances. Another chance for the visitors in the 36th Minute and Doumbia's angled header hit the post. In the 40th minute Blaise Matuidi's low cross was touched off by Edinson Cavani and Ángel Di María thundered his right-foot strike into the roof of the net.Lucas Moura put the hosts two goals up on 62 minutes. Suchý had a chance in the 66th minute but his header hit the cross bar, the third time basel struck the woodwork. In the 93rd miunte Cavani scored from the penalty spot to make the end result a very unlucky 0–3.

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 23 July but subsequently left the club after that date.

As of 23 July 2016 [23]

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

No. Position Player
1 Czech Republic GK Tomáš Vaclík
3 Ivory Coast DF Adama Traoré
4 Egypt DF Omar Gaber
5 Switzerland DF Michael Lang
6 Ivory Coast MF Serey Die
7 Switzerland MF Luca Zuffi
8 Iceland MF Birkir Bjarnason
9 Slovenia FW Andraž Šporar
10 Argentina MF Matías Delgado (Captain)
11 Switzerland MF Renato Steffen
13 Serbia GK Đorđe Nikolić
15 Sweden MF Alexander Fransson
16 Switzerland DF Manuel Akanji
17 Czech Republic DF Marek Suchý (vice-captain)
No. Position Player
18 Switzerland GK Germano Vailati
20 Switzerland MF Dereck Kutesa
21 Austria FW Marc Janko
23 Colombia DF Éder Álvarez Balanta
24 Norway FW Mohamed Elyounoussi
25 Paraguay DF Blás Riveros
26 Denmark DF Daniel Høegh
29 Switzerland MF Charles Pickel
30 Switzerland DF Eray Cümart
33 Switzerland FW Kevin Bua
34 Albania MF Taulant Xhaka
35 Switzerland FW Nicolas Hunziker
39 Switzerland MF Davide Callà
77 Netherlands FW Jean-Paul Boëtius
88 Ivory Coast FW Seydou Doumbia

Out on loan

30 Switzerland MF Cedric Itten (on loan at Luzern until 30 June 2017)[24]
22 Serbia MF Zdravko Kuzmanović (on loan at Málaga until 30 June 2017)[25]
23 Switzerland GK Mirko Salvi (on loan at Lugano until 30 June 2017)[26]
20 Serbia MF Veljko Simić (on loan at Chiasso from 26 July 2016 until 30 June 2017)[27]
35 Switzerland FW Nicolas Hunziker (on loan at Grasshopper Zürich until 30 June 2017)[7]

In on loan

88 Ivory Coast FW Seydou Doumbia (on loan from Roma until 30 June 2017)[12]

Transfers summer 2016

In

4 Egypt DF Omar Gaber (from Zamalek)[10]
6 Ivory Coast MF Serey Die (from VfB Stuttgart)[16]
13 Serbia GK Đorđe Nikolić (from Jagodina)[11]
23 Colombia DF Éder Álvarez Balanta (from River Plate)[15]
24 Norway FW Mohamed Elyounoussi (from Molde)[13]
25 Paraguay DF Blás Riveros (from Olimpia Asunción)[8]
33 Switzerland FW Kevin Bua (from Zürich)[14]

Out

4 Switzerland DF Philipp Degen (end of career)[28]
6 Argentina DF Walter Samuel (end of career)
19 Sweden DF Behrang Safari (to Malmö FF free transfer)
24 Egypt FW Ahmed Hamoudi (contract resolved)[6]
27 Albania DF Naser Aliji (to Kaiserslautern)[5]
36 Switzerland FW Breel Embolo (to Schalke 04 for reportedly €25m)[4]

Results and Fixtures

Kickoff times are in CET

Legend

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Friendly matches

Pre- and mid-season

Swiss Super League

First half of season

Second half of season

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Basel 17 14 2 1 48 15 +33 44 Qualification to Champions League group stage
2 Young Boys 17 9 5 3 39 22 +17 32 Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round
3 Luzern 17 9 2 6 35 30 +5 29 Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round
4 Sion 17 8 2 7 35 30 +5 26 Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round
5 Grasshopper 17 6 3 8 26 32 −6 21
6 St. Gallen 17 6 3 8 20 26 −6 21
7 Lausanne-Sport 17 5 2 10 29 33 −4 17
8 Lugano 17 4 5 8 23 35 −12 17
9 Thun 17 3 7 7 21 31 −10 16
10 Vaduz 17 4 3 10 20 42 −22 15 Relegation to Swiss Challenge League
Updated to match(es) played on 4 December 2016. Source: Swiss Super League, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Draw.[29]

Swiss Cup

Main article: 2016–17 Swiss Cup

The draw for the first round was held on 1 July 2016. 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, in Rapperswil. 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 are qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League in the Group stage. The draw was held on 25 August 2016, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Baesl were drawn into Group A along with Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Ludogorets Razgrad. The first match was at home game against Razgrad.

Notes
  1. ^ Ludogorets Razgrad play their home matches at Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia instead of their regular stadium, Ludogorets Arena, Razgrad.

Sources and References

  1. ↑ "The largest stadium in Switzerland". FC Basel 1893. 2015. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  2. ↑ http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/StatDoc/competitions/UCL/01/67/63/78/1676378_DOWNLOAD.pdf
  3. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Embolo wechselt zum FC-Schalke 04". fcb.ch. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
  4. 1 2 theguardian.com (2016). "Schalke seal £20m deal for Switzerland striker Breel Embolo". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
  5. 1 2 FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Naser Aliji verlässt den FCB" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  6. 1 2 FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Der FCB und Ahmed Hamoudi loesen Vertrag auf". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  7. 1 2 FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Nicolas Hunziker leihweise zu GC". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
  8. 1 2 FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Der FC Basel 1893 verpflichtet Blás Riveros". fcb.ch. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  9. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Der FC Basel 1893 verpflichtet Omar Gaber". fcb.ch. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  10. 1 2 Talaat, Tarek (2016). "Omar Gaber: Defender aims to emulate success of Salah and Elneny". bbc.com. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  11. 1 2 FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Der FC Basel 1893 verpflichtet Djordje Nikolic". fcb.ch. Retrieved 2016-06-15.
  12. 1 2 FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Seydou Doumbia leihweise zum FCB" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  13. 1 2 FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Mohamed Elyounoussi wechselt zum FCB" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  14. 1 2 FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Der FC Basel 1893 verpflichtet Kevin Bua" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  15. 1 2 FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Der FC Basel 1893 verpflichtet Eder Balanta" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
  16. 1 2 FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Willkommen zurück beim FCB, Serey Die" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  17. ↑ Marti, Caspar (2016). "3:0 gegen Sion – der FCB war beim Auftact parat". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
  18. ↑ Marti, Caspar (2016). "Klarer Sieg beim FC Vaduz". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
  19. ↑ Herklotz, Guido (2016). "Spielbericht Rapperswil-FCB". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-08-14.
  20. ↑ Schweizerischer Fussballverband (SFV) (2016). "Statistik und Resultate Saison 2016/2017". Schweizerischer Fussballverband (SFV). Retrieved 2016-11-16.
  21. ↑ newsobserver (2016). "Basel held 1-1 by Ludogorets in Champions League". newsobserver.com. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  22. ↑ "Arsenal 2-0 Basel". Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Das Kader – Spielerportraits" [The Team – Player Portraits]. FC Basel 1893 (in German). fcb.ch. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  24. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Itten leihweise zum FC Luzern" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-06-18.
  25. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Zdravko Kuzmanovic leihweise zum FC Malaga" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-06-24.
  26. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Salvi ein weiteres Jahr leihweise beim FC Lugano" (in German). fcb.ch. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  27. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Veljko Simic leihweise zum FC Chiasso". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
  28. ↑ Marti, Caspar (2016). "Philipp Degen: "Ich bin ein sehr emotionaler Mensch"" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
  29. ↑ "Super League 2016/2017 - Season rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  30. ↑ "Full Time Summary Matchday 1 – Tuesday 13 September 2016" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  31. ↑ "Full Time Summary Matchday 3 – Wednesday 19 October 2016" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 19 October 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  32. ↑ "Full Time Summary Matchday 4 – Tuesday 1 November 2016" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  33. ↑ "Full Time Summary Matchday 5 – Wednesday 23 November 2016" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
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