FC Basel
2014–15 season
FC Basel Logo
OwnerFCB Holding AG
ChairmanBernhard Heusler
ManagerPaulo Sousa
GroundSt. Jakob-Park
Super League1st
Swiss CupRunners-up
Champions LeagueRound of 16
Top goalscorerLeague: Shkëlzen Gashi (21)
All: Shkëlzen Gashi (25)
Highest home attendanceSwiss League:
33,372 vs. Zürisch
(9 August 2014)
Champions League:
36,000 vs. Liverpool
(1 October 2014)
36,000 vs. Real Madrid
(26 November 2014 )
Lowest home attendanceSwiss League:
25,304 vs. Vaduz
(28 February 2015)
Champions League:
34,464 vs. Porto
(28 February 2015)

The 2014–15 FC Basel season was the 122nd season in club history and the club's 20th consecutive season in the top flight of Swiss football.

Basel were the reigning Swiss Super League champions. They prepared their season with various warm-up matches against teams from Switzerland, Austria and Czech Republic. Their 2014–15 Swiss Super League season began on 19 July with an away game against Aarau. Basel qualified for the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League, starting in the group stage. They were drawn in Group B against Real Madrid, Liverpool and Ludogorets Razgrad and started on 16 July with an away tie against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. In the first round of the 2014–15 Swiss Cup, played on 23 August 2014, Basel were drawn away against CS Italia. The final was played on 7 June 2015.

Club

FC Basel Holding AG

The FC Basel Holding AG owns 75% of FC Basel 1893 AG and the other 25% is owned by the club FC Basel 1893 members. The club FC Basel 1893 functions as a base club independent of the holding company and the AG. FC Basel 1893 AG is responsible for the operational business of the club, e.g. the 1st team, a large part of the youth department and the back office are affiliated there. All decisions that affect the club FC Basel 1893 are made within the AG.

Club management

The FC Basel 120th AGM took place in April 2014 and was held in Basel's congress center. The members of the board were all re-elected unanimously. These are president Bernhard Heusler, vice-president Adrian Knup, sport director Georg Heitz, financial manager Stephan Werthmüller and marketing manager René Kamm. The other three directors are Reto Baumgartner since 2008, Dominik Donzé since 2009 and Benno Kaiser since 1999 and they were also willing to continue and they were also elected without counter-votes.

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
Director Switzerland Mr Reto Baumgartner
Director Switzerland Mr Dominik Donzé
Director Switzerland 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 2014
Source: FCB Official Site

Team management

Basel's team manager was Paulo Sousa. On 28 May 2014, Basel announced he had signed a three-year contract.[3] His assistants were Ignacio Torreño, Víctor Sánchez and Manuel Cordeiro, all three of which were brought in by Sousa. Massimo Colomba remained the goalkeeper coach. Massimo Ceccaroni was head of the FCB Youth System, while the head coach of the Youth Team (U–21) was Thomas Häberli.

Position Staff
Manager Portugal Paulo Sousa
since 18 June 2014
1 Assistant manager Ignacio Torreño
2 Assistant manager Víctor Sánchez
3 Assistant manager Manuel Cordeiro
Goalkeeper Coach Switzerland Massimo Colomba
Team Administration Switzerland Gustav Nussbaumer
Youth Team Coach Switzerland Thomas Häberli
Youth Team Co-Coach Switzerland Roland Heri

Last updated: 1 July 2014
Source: FCB Official Site

Overview

Offseason and preseason

At the end of the 2013–14 FC Basel season, four first-team players left the club to continue their careers elsewhere: Yann Sommer to Borussia Mönchengladbach; Valentin Stocker to Hertha BSC; Kay Voser to Fulham; and Admir Seferagić to Schaffhausen. Moreover, David Degen retired from football. 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.

Midseason

During the winter break, two team members transferred to Bundesliga clubs: Serey Dié to VfB Stuttgart and Marcelo Díaz to Hamburger SV. Two further players were loaned out: Naser Aliji to Vaduz from 17 January until 30 June 2015, and Giovanni Sio to Bastia from 1 February until 30 June 2015. In the other direction, on 10 January, Basel announced that left-back Adama Traoré had joined from Vitória de Guimarães, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract.[4]

The campaign

Domestic league

The club's primary objective for the team in the new season was for them to win the Swiss Super League championship for the sixth-straight year.

First half of season

. 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, with Albert Bunjaku scoring both goals for the guests. 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 disappointing home draw against Thun and an upsetting 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.

Second half of season

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. Amongst these were the 4–1 away big win against Luzern, goal scoreres 2x Gashi, Delgado, Callà, and the two home big wins, 6–0 against Aarau, goal scorers, 2x Gashi, 2x Delgado, 2x Streller, and 5–1 against Zürich, hattrick Embolo. With these victories FCB took a big step towards the championship title, as they then led the table with ten points.

However, the home game against FC Zürich was overshadowed by a ten-minute interruption. The moods had already been heated, following the red cards against Davide Chiumiento and Shkëlzen Gashi, then because pyrotechnic material flew close to the playing field after the Zürich goal, especially from the guest fan-sector, the referee interrupted the game and sent both teams into the changing rooms. Then, after the match there were further incidents outside the stadium.[5]

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.

Domestic cup

The club's clear aim for the Basel team for the 2014–15 Swiss Cup was for them to regain the cup title. In the previous two seasons, they had ended both cup competitions as runners-up. In the first-round teams from 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.

CS Italien GE ( 23 August 2014)

Basel were drawn against CS Italien GE, an amateur team who at that time played in the 2. Liga, the sixth tier of Swiss football. The match was played in Stade des Arberes in Meyrin with an attendance of 2,650 fans. As expected, the amateurs had no chance. The FCB 4–0 victory was a clear victory, however, it was not a big win, it was not a show of force, as one could have expected. But it was a seriously downplayed performance against a second division club five classes lower. CS Italien managed exactly one shot at Germano Vailati’s goal, while FCB had further chances in addition to the goals from Delgado (7th), Embolo (30th), Frei (53rd) and Gashi (93rd), some were unfortunate and some were excessively playful, but they remained unused chances.[6]

Winterthur (21 September 2014)

In the second-round teams from Super League were seeded, the home advantage was granted to the team from the lower league, if applicable. Basel were drawn against Winterthur, who played in the second tier of Swiss football. The match was played in the Schützenwiese and referee was Stephan Studer. Head coach Paulo Sousa let the Basel team play without various of their top performers such as Marco Streller, Fabian Frei and Shkelzen Gashi for this cup tie. Others stepped in for this trio. First and foremost, the 17-year-old striker Breel Embolo, who decided the game early with his goals in the 36th and 42nd minute to lead the game 3–0 at half time. In the 67th minute, the teenager also scored the 4–0 and completed his hattrick. The first Basel goal was scored by Mohamed Elneny in the 32nd minute with a shot from 20 meters, that found its way into the goal via the inside of the post. Basel had a difficult first 30 minutes. Winterthur played out some good moves and created good chances to score, before the first Basel goal and then, especially at the beginning of the second half, when FCB reserve keeper Germano Vailati had to make a few saves. Among other things, he brilliantly fended off a free kick from Tunahan Cicek on 56 minutes. Then, at the latest after the 0–4 and the dismissal of Dennis Iapichino, for a last grasp foul in the 71st, the hosts’ resistance was broken in front of the 5,050 spectators in the sold-out stadium.[7]

Wohlen (29 October 2014)

In the third round, matches between teams from the Super League were avoided as much as possible. Two clashes of this kind took place anyway. The team from the lower league received home rights, otherwise the team drawn first got home rights. Basel were drawn against second tier Wohlen, who were then the Swiss Challenge League leaders. The match was played in the Stadion Niedermatten in Wohlen, which has a capacity of 3,734, so the hosts’ built an additional grandstand for their fans and the attendance on the matchday was 4,100 spectators. Referee in this tie was Adrien Jaccottet. The FCB team, who competed without Shkelzen Gashi and Serey Die, among others, undoubtedly wielded the finer blade. With their first two chances at goal, FC Basel proved the difference in Wohlen. After eleven minutes, the Japanese attacker Yoichiro Kakitani converted the cross from Matias Delgado with a side-kick. Five minutes before the break, Kakitani provided an ideal pass into Giovanni Sio's path, which Sio safely netted to make it 2–1 at half time. In between, Mërgim Brahimi in the 14th minute had brought the underdogs back into the game with a foul penalty. With increasing playing time, the difference in class became more visible. The favourite let the ball circulate skilfully within their own ranks and gave FC Wohlen no further significant chances to score. The way that the FCB team brought the victory over the rounds was masterful. Substitute Breel Embolo ended the game in the 91st minute.[8]

Münsingen (4 March 2015)

There was no home advantage granted in the draw for the quarter-finals. SC Buochs, from the fifth tier of Swiss football, were the lowest-ranked team in this round and FC Münsingen from the third tier were also still in the competition. The other six teams were from the Super League. Basel were drawn away against Münsingen. This was a repeat of the second-round clash in the previous season, in which a record attendance of 4,100 fans were present in the Sportanlage Sandreutenen. The hosts rebuilt the additional grandstands for this clash as well and again this time the attendance was over 4,000 fans. The Basel team were able to ensure clear conditions early on in the game, by the interval they were already leading 5–0. The amateur team from Münsingen were overwhelmed from the beginning. Time after time their defence was overrun by the FCB attackers. The Japanese attacker Yoichiro Kakitani shone out above the others with his hattrick. The outsider, who had eliminated Wil in the previous round, had nothing against this dominance. The 0–1 in the seventh minute would not have been necessary from the hosts' point of view, because it was made possible by a gift from goalie Lars Müller. The goalkeeper had rushed out of his goal, but he failed to block the ball against Ahmed Hamoudi, and so the Egyptian was able to calmly slide the leather into the empty goal. Basel never gave up the game dictation, although they played without various top performers. Regular goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik, Taulant Xhaka and Derlis Gonzalez remained on the bench. Marco Streller, Shkelzen Gashi and Fabian Schär did not even figure in the squad. Münsingen were able to score a consolation goal in the closing stages to make it 1–6. Following a cross from Daniel Preradovic, Christian Plüss poked the ball over the line in the middle. Both players had been substituted in.[9]

St. Gallen (8 April 2015)

In the semi-final St. Gallen were drawn at home in the AFG Arena against Basel. Goal getter Shkelzen Gashi put Basel in the front after a quarter of an hour, the pass came from Breel Embolo, who had out danced three opponents following an error by Daniele Russo. At halftime it was 0–2. Mario Mutsch, who was put under pressure from Gashi, unluckily deflected a corner kick from Matias Delgado into his own goal. On 60 minutes Embolo served Gashi with a splendid 30-meter pass. Centre back Russo hesitated, not only this time, and the goal getter slotted home with a hard, low shot into the far corner. After an hour the game was decided in this one-sided football festival in front of 16,690 spectators. Džengis Čavušević was granted the consolation goal in the 87th minute for the never giving up and always combative St. Gallen team. With FC Basel, the technical, tactical and more fluent team made it into the final in their own stadium. Alongside double goal scorer Gashi, Breel Embolo stood out from the well-rehearsed and ball-safe FCB ensemble. Embolo skilfully retreated when St. Gallen had ball possession, in order to rush forwards at high speed from the second row on counter-attacks He prepared two hits and with his dribbling was a constant source of danger for the St. Gallen defence. A downer for the 18-year-old Swiss Neo-International was the yellow card that he was shown by referee Stephan Klossner after 18 minutes. Since it was his second warning in the cup competition, the attacking talent was suspended for the final.[10]

Sion (7 June 2015)

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. He scored after a cross from Elsad Zverotić with a diving header.[11]

Conclusion

The FC Sion cup myth is alive more than ever after this final, because they celebrated their 13th victory in their 13th final of this knockout competition. Sion didn’t give their opponents a chance, even playing in their own stadium. The 13th Cup triumph will forever have a special place in the club’s history. The Red-Whites have never been able to win a cup final so clearly and the fact that this was achieved with the strongest Super League club over the previous years was astonishing and impressive at the same time.[12]

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.

Champions League

Basel entered into the Champions League in the group stage. Their initial aim is to remain in the competition and reach the Champions League knockout phase. Third position in the group would entitle them to a slot in the Europa League knockout phase and this was their minimum aim. The draw was held on 28 August 2014 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Basel were seeded into pot 2 and were drawn into Group B together with Real Madrid, the title holders and top seeded in pot 1, Liverpool from pot 3, who had qualified as runners-up in the 2013–14 Premier League, and Ludogorets Razgrad, who as Bulgarian football league champions had qualified to pot 4 by beating FC Steaua București in the play-off round.

Real Madrid (16 September 2014)

Basels first game was on 16 September, an away tie against Real in the stadium Santiago Bernabéu with an attendance of 65,364 fans. This first tie turned out very bad for Basel. The home team dominated ball possession from the very beginning, but the first two efforts from Luka Modrić and Cristiano Ronaldo both flew over the crossbar. As it seemed that Basel had over stood the start furioso, full-back Nacho’s cross was deflected by Marek Suchý into his own goal after just 14 minutes. Basel almost drew level 2 minutes later, but Marco Streller sent Taulant Xhaka's cross into the side netting. Basel’s goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík was beaten again on 30 minutes, Modrić's pass over the defence fell into the path of Gareth Bale, who lifted the ball over the outrushing keeper and tapped it into an empty goal. This started Real’s best period, another minute later Ronaldo doubled up, as Modrić and Bale set him up. On 37 minutes Karim Benzema's effort was deflected, but Vaclík was able to claw it away, however, James Rodríguez pushed the ball home. Exactly one minute later Luca Zuffi played a neat through ball to Derlis Gonzalez, who raced in to fire the ball low across Iker Casillas into the far corner. After the break the game cooled down. Basel had a good chance as Gonzalez received a ball that had come over the defenders, but Casillas showed a stunning reaction. Minutes later Basel centre-back Fabian Schär hit a long-range shot that beat the Real goalie but bounced off the post. On 79 minutes Benzema netted the last and Basel lost 1–5. Despite the fact that Basel had 48% ball possession, they were never really in the game. A rampant Real Madrid had eased Basel aside toward the end of the first period.[13]

Liverpool (1 October 2014)

On matchday 2, Basel had a home game at the St. Jakob-Park with a sold-out attendance of 36,000 fans against Liverpool. The hosts could have been forgiven their cautious approach into this game, following their heavy defeat against Real in the Spanish capital two weeks earlier. Head coach Paulo Sousa made a bold decision to give 17-year-old forward Breel Embolo his maiden Champions League start. Basel started well into the game. In the early stages Mohamed Elneny snapped at Steven Gerrard‘s heels and won ball possession. But the Liverpool captain made amends for losing the ball, because as it came to Basel captain Marco Streller, Gerrard blocked Streller’s promising shot. Goalkeeper Simon Mignolet stood exactly right as an Elneny’s effort bent inward and goalward and soon afterwards Ahmed Hamoudi hammered his shot just beyond the far post, just as Basel produced the more threatening chances before the half time break. The most dangerous of these chances came on 35 minutes as Geoffroy Serey Die received Marco Streller’s return one/two pass and out dribbled two challenges, but his angled shot was kicked away by Mignolet. Marco Streller scored the decisive goal seven minutes after the break. He was spot on after a corner kick and a save from Liverpool goalkeeper Mignolet. In its creation, the goal was lucky because Mignolet had been checked by his own defender and thus enabled Streller to shoot. But it was anything other than a "lucky punch" if one looks at the entire game. FCB were the better team, they had clear advantages in the midfield area, they won a majority of the one against one duels and, at least until the 1–0, they also had more than the better share of the game. After the goal, Basel only had to worry two or three times about their victory. The closest to the equaliser was Mario Balotelli. Just after the hour, the Italian striker forced Basel goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik with a powerful free kick from about 25 meters to an unorthodox parade with his chest. A little later, Raheem Sterling and Lazar Marković also had opportunities. But Basel wouldn't let them take the victory from themselves anymore. A victory for the prestige.[14]

Ludogorets Razgrad (22 October 2014)

Matchday 3 was a tie against Ludogorets Razgrad, who played their home matches at Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia instead of their regular stadium, Ludogorets Arena in Razgrad. Basel started well into the match, had more possession and made good moves and Breel Embolo had the first chance. Ludogorets first chance came on 17 minutes as a long free kick was headed towards goal, Tomáš Vaclík parried well. One minute later 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 of the German Football Association showed Serey Die a very harsh direct red card. The numerical disadvantage was not obvious immediately, after a nice one/two with Davide Calla, Derlis Gonzalez almost put Basel a goal up, big save from goalie Vladislav Stoyanov. Ludogorets slowly gained the upper hand as time went by, they forced Basel back, but the FCB defence did their work, because, Ludogorets only created one single chance before the interval. In the second period the home team had more possession and created a number of chances, especially from set pieces, but goalie Vaclík was equal to them all. Going into added time Yordan Minev advanced on the left, failing an open man the full back had a shot at goal and the ball deflected slightly off Taulant Xhaka’s back and caught Vaclík wrongfooted. Ludogorets late show downed ten-man Basel and won the game 1–0. At the end of the day, because Liverpool lost at home against Real, three teams were then equal on three points, Basel, Liverpool and Ludogorets Razgrad.[15]

Ludogorets Razgrad (4 November 2014)

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 on this rainy evening and after just 90 seconds they had their first chance to score through Derlis Gonzalez. However, thereafter it took a long time for FCB to come up with further clear opportunities. Although they had significantly more all possession in the first half hour, over the last 30 meters there was either a lack of precision on the final pass or assertiveness. The spell broke on 34 minutes, captain Fabian Frei found the precision, with a good pass to Breel Embolo, who won the duel with Georgi Terziev and cold bloodedly put the hosts in front. The 17-year-old Cameroonian had lost a lot of balls in the start phase and had problems with the tightly knit Bulgarian defensive. Seven minutes after Embolo's opening goal, Derlis Gonzalez increased in a similar way to 2–0 and thus ensured an early decision. Fabian Frei had prepared the second goal as well, he served his team-mate with a wonderful steep pass into the depth. After the break Basel dominated territory and ball. Shkelzen Gashi increased to 3–0 from short range on 59 minutes, following a neat pass from Embolo. Another six minutes later Marek Suchy prodded home a corner from Luca Zuffi for the final result. The Swiss champions won the home game against the Bulgarian champions deservedly with 4–0 and moved up to second place in the group table.[16]

Real Madrid (26 November 2014)

The return game against Real Madrid was three weeks after the Ludogorets game. On matchday 5 in the St. Jakob-Park was sold out with 36,000 spectators. And the fans created a gripping atmosphere with their noise, singing and passion and it was as so the home fans knew that their team required extra help to keep Madrid's star constellation from shining. Basel started well and fast into the game. The first chance fell on 12 minutes for Breel Embolo but the ball went wide. The second came for Marco Streller on 23 minutes, but he miscued. On 35 minutes Karim Benzema, who had not been seen before, entered the box with speed from the left, diagonally to the by-line outplaying Fabian Schär and passed with precision backwards 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. They searched for the equaliser and that would have been an exploit against Real. Especially during the last half an hour, the FCB came up with scoring chances, the closest from Embolo. The teenager failed in the 67th minute from a tight angle on goalie Keylor Navas. Then, seconds from the end, it was substitute Ahmed Hamoudi who curled the ball inwards, but just wide of the goal. This meant Real made it five wins out of five. In the other group match Ludogorets and Liverpool drew 2–2 and Basel remained in second position in the table.[17]

Liverpool (9 December 2014)

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 for the first time since 2008/09. Basel only needed the draw to secure their first knockout-stage appearance since season 2011/12, so long as Ludogorets didn’t win their match in Madrid.

Anfield had an attendance of 43,290 spectators on this cloudy and windy evening and both teams were roared on by their noisy fans, some 3,000 FCB fans had travelled in from Basel. FCB had the first chance after just 3 minutes, but Shkëlzen Gashi shot wide. Basel had expected its opponents to come forward with power, looking for chances, shooting at goal in the first 15/20 minutes. But, with the exception of an early effort by Steven Gerrard, precious little came of this initial furiousness. It wasn't necessarily just because of Liverpool's recurring problem of having to be creative, Basel head coach Paulo Sousa obviously had the right match plan in place. In the initial phase, Basel largely blocked the pass routes towards Gerrard, therefore, the playmaker had practically no influence. The Liverpool team seemed to lose their patience and they looked insecure. Raheem Sterling decided to pass back instead of trying himself after 20 minutes. The home fans reacted indignantly to this for the first time. Basel tempted Liverpool, with aggressive pressing in various situations, the home team rowed up a number of bad passes. One minute later a cross from Mohamed Elneny dropped for Marco Streller, but his shot was blocked. Liverpool's passing lacked fluency and the visitors were sharper and created the greater threat. 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. The home fans reacted indignantly to this as well. Up until half time Basel created more good chances. The very strong Luca Zuffi was often the origin of these moves, after 30 minutes he set up Derlis Gonzalez and after 39 minutes he set up Fabian Schär after a rebound. Taulant Xhaka’s cross to Streller at the far post and his side kick volley came very close. Basel dominated the first half and thoroughly deserved to be in the lead.

After the brake Liverpool picked up, played more resolutely forwards created two chances but these efforts lacked precision. On 59 minutes Xhaka ran diagonally from the right sideline toward the centre and struck a shot with left, goalie Simon Mignolet was beaten, but the ball rolled inches wide. Then on 60 minutes Lazar Marković, trying to get away, struck Behrang Safari in the face. Referee Björn Kuipers of the Royal Dutch Football Association had no choice and dismissed him with red. Out of the game, the nine Liverpool outfield players achieved very little. A shot by Martin Skrtel on 68 minutes, an intervention timed to the millisecond by goalie Tomas Vaclik against Gerrard on 71 minutes. The culmination of a hectic final phase came in the 81st minute as a standard. Significantly it was captain Gerrard with a wonderful free kick to the top left corner and via the post into the net for the equaliser. Then followed a very tense finishing period, during which both teams had two/three further chances for the winning goal. Zuffi’s shot rought a big save from Mignolet (83), Jordan Henderson saw Vaclík stop his deflected header on the goal-line (85), Safari’s cross was missed only by inches by Gashi in front of the open goal (90+2) and at the other end as Vaclík pushed aside another Henderson effort in the 93rd minute, Basel's job was done. 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 end result and the draw.[18]

Conclusion

Liverpool’s point advanced them to the Europa League knockout phase. Here they were defeated by Beşiktaş, level on aggregate, in the penalty shoot-out. Basel advanced to the Champions League knockout phase.

From the Basel point of view this was a very successful group stage, their aim had been achieved.

Champions League knockout phase

Basel's initial Champions League aim, to remain in the competition and reach the knockout phase was achieved herewith. With the draw to the round of 16 there were indeed hopes that they could reach the next round and the next aim was communicated as reaching the quarterfinals. The draw was held on 15 December 2014 at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. In the draw the eight group winners were seeded and the eight group runners-up were unseeded.

Porto (18 February 2015)

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. There was a decent-sized pocket of Porto fans, but they did well to make themselves heard. 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. The furious, physical nature of the game had evaporated somewhat as the game approached the final whistle.[19]

Porto (10 March 2015)

Before this second leg, all talk was about how Porto would cope without Jackson Martínez, after their forward and captain was ruled out for "several weeks" with a groin problem. 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, after he turned around Walter Samuel, before rifling in from over 20 Meters with some 14 minutes left that gave the 4–0 end result. Samuel, who conceded the set piece for the opening goal, ended the evening with another low because he was sent off. The second leg was fairer than the physically aggressive first leg, a total of four yellow cards and one red were shown during the return match.[20]

Conclusion

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.[21]

Basel's Champions League journey ended here, but the Champion League campaign can be described as being a very successful adventure and they had achieved the club's aims.

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 19 July but subsequently left the club after that date.

As of 1 July 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 Czech Republic CZE Tomáš Vaclík
3 DF Ivory Coast CIV Adama Traoré
4 DF Switzerland SUI Philipp Degen
5 DF Switzerland SUI Arlind Ajeti
6 DF Argentina ARG Walter Samuel
7 MF Switzerland SUI Luca Zuffi
8 MF Ivory Coast CIV Serey Die
9 FW Switzerland SUI Marco Streller (Captain)
10 MF Argentina ARG Matías Delgado
11 MF Albania ALB Shkëlzen Gashi
13 DF Bulgaria BUL Ivan Ivanov
14 FW Japan JPN Yoichiro Kakitani
16 DF Switzerland SUI Fabian Schär
17 DF Czech Republic CZE Marek Suchý
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 GK Switzerland SUI Germano Vailati
19 DF Sweden SWE Behrang Safari
20 MF Switzerland SUI Fabian Frei (vice-captain)
21 MF Chile CHI Marcelo Díaz
23 GK Switzerland SUI Pascal Albrecht
24 FW Egypt EGY Ahmed Hamoudi
25 FW Paraguay PAR Derlis González
26 DF Argentina ARG Gastón Sauro
27 DF Switzerland SUI Naser Aliji
30 FW Ivory Coast CIV Giovanni Sio
33 MF Egypt EGY Mohamed Elneny
34 MF Albania ALB Taulant Xhaka
36 FW Switzerland SUI Breel Embolo
39 MF Switzerland SUI Davide Callà

Out on loan

MF Switzerland SUI Darko Jevtić (on loan at Lech Poznań from 11 June 2014 until 30 June 2015)[23]
GK Switzerland SUI Mirko Salvi (on loan at Biel from 1 July 2014 until 30 June 2015)[24]
26 DF Argentina ARG Gastón Sauro (on loan at Calcio Catania from 21 August 2014 until 30 June 2015)[25]
DF Switzerland SUI Michael José Gonçalves (on loan at Wil from 12 January until 30 June 2015)[26]
27 DF Switzerland SUI Naser Aliji (on loan at Vaduz from 17 January until 30 June 2015)[27]
30 FW Ivory Coast CIV Giovanni Sio (on loan to Bastia from 1 February until 30 June 2015)[28]

Transfers summer 2014

In

1 GK Czech Republic CZE Tomáš Vaclík (from Sparta Prague)[29]
6 DF Argentina ARG Walter Samuel (from Inter Milan Free transfer)[30]
7 MF Switzerland SUI Luca Zuffi (from FC Thun)
11 MF Albania ALB Shkëlzen Gashi (from Grasshopper Club Zürich)[31]
14 FW Japan JPN Yoichiro Kakitani (from Cerezo Osaka)
25 FW Paraguay PAR Derlis González (from S.L. Benfica)

Out

GK Switzerland SUI Yann Sommer (to Borussia Mönchengladbach)
MF Switzerland SUI David Degen (end of football career)[32]
MF Switzerland SUI Valentin Stocker (to Hertha BSC)
DF Switzerland SUI Kay Voser (to Fulham)[33]
FW Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Admir Seferagić (to Schaffhausen)[24]

Transfers winter 2014/15

In

3 DF Ivory Coast CIV Adama Traoré (from Melbourne Victory)[4]

Out

8 MF Ivory Coast CIV Serey Die (to VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga)[34]
21 MF Chile CHI Marcelo Díaz (to Bundesliga club Hamburger SV)[35]

Results and fixtures

Kickoff times are in CET

Legend

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Friendly matches

Pre- and mid-season

24 June 2014 (2014-06-24) Pre-season FC Basel Switzerland 3 – 1 Switzerland Solothurn Stadion Schützenmatte, Basel
20:00 Ar. Ajeti 24' (1:1)
Sauro 38' (2:1)
Embolo 57' (3:1)
FCB summary 23' (0:1) Sasso Attendance: 750
Referee: Switzerland Lionel Tschudi
Note: The match was played over 2x 30 Minutes, fair game, no bookings
27 June 2014 Pre-season FC Köniz Switzerland 1 – 3 Switzerland Basel Sportplatz Liebefeld, Köniz
73' (1:3) Tugai FCB summary 5' (0:1) Delgado
32' (0:2) Zuffi
53' (0:3) Al. Ajeti
Attendance: 600
Referee: Switzerland Lukas Fänhdrich
Note: Fair game, no bookings
3 July 2014 Pre-season Wacker Innsbruck Austria 0 – 3 Switzerland Basel Tivoli-Neu, Innsbruck
Željko Đokić Yellow card 77' FCB summary 15' (0:1) F. Frei
43' (0:2) Streller
52' (0:3) Embolo
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Austria Andreas Heiss
8 July 2014 Pre-season Basel Switzerland 0 – 4 Czech Republic Sparta Prague Rottach-Egern, Germany
18:00 CEST Sauro Yellow card 47' FCB summary 5' (0:1) Hušbauer
8' (pen. 0:2) Hušbauer
46' (0:3) Holek
59' (0:4) Nhamoinesu
Yellow card 81' Kadeřábek
Stadium: Sportplatz Birkenmoos
Attendance: 100
Referee: Germany Peter Sippel
12 July 2014 Pre-season Basel Switzerland 2 – 1 Czech Republic Terek Grozny Neuried bei München, Germany
15:30 Streller 28' (1:0)
Zuffi 85' (pen. 2:1)
FCB summary 51' (1:1) Aílton
Yellow card 67' Kydriashov
Red card 90+2' Godzyur
Attendance: 250
Referee: Germany Matthias Jöllenbeck
15 July 2014 Pre-season Basel Switzerland 1 – 2 Switzerland Schaffhausen Stadion Rankhof, Basel
17:00 Safari 83' (1:2) FCB summary 21' (0:1) Almerares
22' (0:2) Tadić
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Switzerland Alain Bieri (Solothurn)
Note: Fair game, no bookings
5 August 2014 Mid-season Basel Switzerland 6 – 0 Switzerland Wohlen Youth Campus Basel, Münchenstein
Delgado 14' (1:0)
Delgado 17' (pen.)
Kakitani 36' (3:0)
Callà 40' (4:0)
Embolo 56' (5:0)
Hamoudi 82' (6:0)
FCB Summary Attendance: 50 (closed doors)
Referee: Poland Tomasz Superczynski
Note: Fair game, no bookings
15 November 2014 Mid-season Basel Switzerland 5 – 1 Switzerland SC Dornach St. Jakob-Park, Basel
Callà
Sio
Gashi
Kakitani
Delgado
Summary Jankovic Attendance: 0 (closed doors)

Winter break and mid-season

10 January 2015 Winter break Basel Switzerland 9 – 0 France FC Hégenheim FC Basel Campus, Basel
10:30 Streller 7' (1:0)
P. Degen 12' (2:0)
González 27' (3:0)
Gashi 37' (4:0)
Sio 52' (5:0)
Díaz 54' (6:0)
Al. Ajeti 78' (7:0)
Elneny 87' (8:0)
Embolo 89' (pen.)
FCB summary Attendance: 1,000
Referee: Switzerland Sascha Amhof
Note: Fair game, no bookings
13 January 2015 Training camp Basel Switzerland 2 – 2 Germany Karlsruher SC Marbella Football Center, San Pedro de Alcántara
16:15 Streller 15' (1:1)
Embolo Yellow card 61'
Schär Yellow card 62'
Samuel 86' (2:2)
FCB summary 8' (0:1) Yamada
70' (1:2) Gordon
Yellow card 83' Stoll
Yellow card 90+1' Micanski
Attendance: 100
Referee: Spain Juan Antonio Vargas
16 January 2015 Training camp Basel Switzerland 2 – 1 Germany Fortuna Düsseldorf Marbella Football Center, San Pedro de Alcántara
17:00 Delgado 22' (1:0)
Kakitani 44' (2:1)
Gashi Yellow card 83'
FCB summary 23' (1:1) Liendl Attendance: 600
Referee: Spain Juan Antonio Vargas
20 January 2015 Training camp Basel Switzerland 3 – 2 Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv Marbella Football Center, San Pedro de Alcántara
16:00 Embolo 67' (1:2)
Embolo 80' (2:2)
Delgado 89' (pen.)
FCB summary 10' (0:1) Vida
Yellow card 42' Gusev
65' (0:2) Teodorczyk
Yellow card 88' Vida
Attendance: 20
Referee: Spain Velazquez
24 January 2015 Winter break Basel Switzerland 2 – 0 Germany SC Freiburg Stadion Schützenmatte, Basel
14:30 Streller 33' (1:0)
Elneny 40' (2:0)
Embolo Yellow card Yellow-red card 75'
FCB summary Attendance: 1,828
Referee: Switzerland Fabian Hänggi
27 January 2015 Winter break Basel Switzerland 2 – 1 Switzerland Schaffhausen Youth Campus Basel, Münchenstein
14:00 Delgado 11' (pen. 1:1)
Kakitani 14' (2:1)
FCB summary 6' (0:1) Tadić Attendance: 400
Referee: Switzerland Alain Bieri (Solothurn)
Note: Fair game, no bookings
30 January 2015 Winter break Eintracht Braunschweig Germany 2 – 0 Switzerland Basel Eintracht-Stadion, Braunschweig
18:30 Nielsen 63' (1:0)
Zuck 71' (2:0)
FCB summary Attendance: 3,850
Referee: Germany Harm Osmers
Note: Fair game, no bookings
27 March 2015 Mid-season Basel Switzerland 4 – 0 Switzerland Old Boys Youth Campus Basel, Münchenstein
15:30 Streller 19' (1:0)
Korkmaz 31' (2:0)
Hayoz 83' (3:0)
Kakitani 86' (4:0)
FCB summary Yellow card 64' Gutierrez Attendance: 200
Referee: Switzerland Zenel Musa

Swiss Super League

First half of season

19 July 2014 Round 1 Aarau 1 – 2 Basel Stadion Brügglifeld, Aarau
17:45 Schultz 85' (1:2) FCB summary
Soccerway summary
15' (0:1) Embolo
38' (0:2) Aliji
Yellow card 76' Aliji
Yellow card 78' Frei
Attendance: 3,644
Referee: Switzerland Nikolaj Hänni
27 July 2014 Round 2 Basel 3 – 0 Luzern St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00 Streller 22' (1:0)
Gashi 39' (2:0)
Xhaka Yellow card 58'
Callà 90+4' (3:0)
FCB summary
Soccerway summary
Yellow card 56' Lustenberger
Yellow card 67' Jantscher
Yellow card 73' Lezcano
Attendance: 29,410
Referee: Switzerland Sascha Amhof
2 August 2014 Round 3 Thun 2 – 3 Basel Arena Thun, Thun
17:45 Kaluđerović 49' (1:2)
Sadik 84' (2:2)
Schindelholz Yellow card 87'
FCB summary
Soccerway summary
19' (0:1) Streller
27' (0:2) {Gashi
Yellow card 59' Gashi
Yellow card 74' González
Yellow card 85' Streller
88' (2:3) Schär
Attendance: 9,214
Referee: Switzerland Alain Bieri (Solothurn)
9 August 2014 Round 4 Basel 4 – 1 Zürich St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00 Gashi 24' (1:0)
Suchý Yellow card 34'
Zuffi 39' (2:0)
González Yellow card 44'
Díaz Yellow card 67'
Schär Yellow card 71'
Kakitani 74' (3:1)
Xhaka Yellow card 81'
Delgado 87' (4:1)
FCB summary
Soccerway summary
Yellow card 27' Chikhaoui
55' (2:1) Chermiti
Yellow card 62' Yapi Yapo
Yellow card 90+4' Kecojević
Attendance: 33,372
Referee: Switzerland Stephan Klossner
14 August 2014 Round 5 Basel 0 – 2 St. Gallen St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00 Delgado Yellow card 61' FCB summary Yellow card 29' Facchinetti
40' (0:1) Bunjaku
44' (0:2) Bunjaku
Yellow card 67' Rodriguez
Yellow card 80' Herzog
Attendance: 27,483
Referee: Switzerland Nikolaj Hänni
17 August 2014 Round 6 Sion 2 – 3 Basel Stade Tourbillon, Sion
13:45 Vanczák Yellow card 9'
Herea 69' (1:2)
Carlitos 75' (pen. 2:2)
Rüfli Yellow card 90+2'
FCB summary
Summary
Yellow card 7' Elneny
19' (0:1) Gashi
Yellow card 31' Suchý
59' (0:2) Streller
84' (o.g. 2:3) Vaņins
Yellow card 90+2' P. Degen
Attendance: 11,800
Referee: Switzerland Stephan Studer
31 August 2014 Round 7 Basel 3 – 1 BSC Young Boys St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00 González 4' (1:0)
Streller 20' (2:0)
Gashi Yellow card 37'
Samuel Yellow card 45'
Schär Yellow card 56'
VaclíkVaclík Yellow card 61'
González Yellow card 64'
Streller Yellow card 69'
Kakitani 81' (3:1)
FCB summary Yellow card 12' Nuzzolo
32' (2:1) Nuzzolo
soccer ball with red X 62′ Gajić
Yellow card 69' Sanogo
Attendance: 31,103
Referee: Switzerland Alain Bieri (Solothurn)
13 September 2014 Round 8 Grasshopper Club 3 – 1 Basel Letzigrund, Zürich
17:45 Ngamukol 12' (1:0)
Dingsdag 45' (2:1)
Lang 72' (3:1)
FCB summary Yellow card 35' Safari
39' (1:1) Zuffi
Yellow card 37' Díaz
Yellow card 73' Delgado
Yellow card 81' Yellow-red card 83' Callà
Attendance: 7,700
Referee: Switzerland Sascha Amhof
23 September 2014 Round 9 Basel 3 – 1 Vaduz St. Jakob-Park, Basel
19:45 Zuffi 2' (1:0)
Xhaka Yellow card 76'
Streller 80' (2:1)
Hamoudi 90+3' (3:1)
FCB summary
Summary
11' (pen. 1:1) Lang
Yellow card 48' Lang
Yellow card 44' Kaufmann
Attendance: 25,347
Referee: Switzerland Sandro Schärer
27 September 2014 Round 10 Basel 1 – 1 Thun St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00 Elneny Yellow card 47'
Xhaka 51' (1:0)
Hamoudi Yellow card 60'
FCB summary
Soccerway summary
Yellow card 31' Schindelholz
Yellow card 36' González
Yellow card 77' Glarner
90' (1:1) Sadik
Attendance: 26,854
Referee: Switzerland Stephan Klossner
4 October 2014 Round 11 St. Gallen 2 – 1 Basel AFG Arena, St. Gallen
20:00 Čavušević 85' (1:1)
Bunjaku Yellow card 90'
Bunjaku 90+3' (2:1)
FCB summary
Soccerway summary
Yellow card 35' Suchý
56' (0:1) Callà
Yellow card 90+4' González
Attendance: 16,366
Referee: Switzerland Sascha Amhof
Note: 49th minute, game interrupted due to excessive smoke development due to pyros being lit.
18 October 2014 Round 12 Young Boys 0 – 1 Basel Stade de Suisse, Bern
20:00 Renato Steffen Yellow card 45'
Guillaume Hoarau Yellow card 69'
Moreno Costanzo Yellow card 90+1'
FCB summary 31' (0:1) Gashi
Yellow card 51' Aliji
Yellow card 70' P. Degen
Yellow card 74' Vaclík
Attendance: 22,002
Referee: Switzerland Nikolaj Hänni
25 October 2014 Round 13 Basel 1 – 1 Sion St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00 Xhaka Yellow card 47'
Sio 64' (1:1)
P. Degen Yellow card 91'
Schär Yellow card 94'
FCB summary 51' (0:1) Yellow card 41' Moussa Konaté
Yellow card 88' Akolo
Yellow card 92' Kouassi
Attendance: 26,722
Referee: Switzerland Alain Bieri (Solothurn)
1 November 2014 Round 14 Basel 2 – 0 Grasshopper Club St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00 Gashi 23' (1:0)
González 47' (2:0)
Gashi Yellow card 61'
FCB summary Yellow card 39' Kahraba
Yellow card 74' Pavlović
Yellow card 81' Dingsdag
Attendance: 29,339
Referee: Switzerland Sascha Amhof
9 November 2014 Round 15 Vaduz 0 – 4 Basel Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz
13:45 Stahel Yellow card 3'
Muntwiler Yellow card 26'
FCB summary 27' (0:1) Díaz
Yellow card 38' Schär
45+2' (0:2) Embolo
49' (0:3) Embolo
76' (0:4) Gashi
Attendance: 6,733 (sold out)
Referee: Switzerland Pascal Erlachner
Note: Minute of mourning for the deceased Rainer Hasler (ex-Vaduz)
23 November 2014 Round 16 Basel 3 – 0 Aarau St. Jakob-Park, Basel
13:45 Gashi 86' (2:0)
Díaz Yellow card 56'
Sousa (head coach) Red card 71'
Gashi 86' (2:0)
Embolo 90+1' (3:0)
FCB summary Yellow card 39' Radice
Yellow card 77' Andrist
Attendance: 28,742
Referee: Switzerland Nikolaj Hänni
Note: 71 minutes Paulo Sousa (head coach) sent onto the stands
30 November 2014 Round 17 Zürich 1 – 2 Basel Letzigrund, Zürich
16:00 Kecojević Yellow card 75'
Chikhaoui 88' (pen. 1:2)
FCB summary 41' (0:1) Gashi
Yellow card 53' Gashi
Yellow card 86' Díaz
90+4' (1:2) Gashi
Attendance: 16,302
Referee: Switzerland Stephan Studer
6 December 2014 Round 18 Luzern 0 – 3 Basel Swissporarena, Luzern
17:45 Samuel Yellow card 19'
Delgado 55' (0:1)
Delgado 61' (0:2)
Embolo 90+3' (0:3)
FCB summary Yellow card 16' Affolter
Yellow card 17' Jantscher
Attendance: 11,830
Referee: Switzerland Nikolaj Hänni

Second half of season

8 February 2015 Round 19 Grasshopper Club 2 – 4 Basel Letzigrund, Zürich
16:00 CET Abrashi Yellow card 31'
Dabour 49' (1:1)
Bauer Yellow card 56'
Lang 74' (2:3)
FCB summary
Soccerway summary
28' (0:1) Elneny
69' (1:2) Gashi
72' (1:3) Streller
81' (2:4) Callà
Yellow card 84' González
Yellow card 86' Delgado
Attendance: 6,300
Referee: Switzerland Alain Bieri (Solothurn)
14 February 2015 Round 20 Basel 1 – 1 Sion St. Jakob-Park, Basel
17:45 CET Vaclík Red card 45+1'
Gashi 68' (1:1)
FCB summary Yellow card 6' Fernandes
45+1' (pen. 0:1) Pa Modou
Yellow card 56' Salatić
Yellow card 70' Lacroix
Yellow card 74' Akolo
Yellow card 78' Yellow-red card 90' Perrier
Yellow card 86' Ziegler
Attendance: 25,363
Referee: Switzerland Sascha Amhof
22 February 2015 Round 21 Young Boys 4 – 2 Basel Stade de Suisse, Bern
16:00 Gerndt 10' (1:0)
Lecjaks Yellow card 16'
Hoarau Yellow card 24'
Gerndt 27' (2:0)
Gajić 60' (3:0)
Vilotić Yellow card 76'
Hadergjonaj Yellow card 84'
Hoarau 90+3' (4:2)
FCB summary Yellow card 15' González
Yellow card 41' Safari
71' (3:1) Gashi
Yellow card 88' Gashi
Yellow card 90' Traoré
90+2' (3:2) Streller
Attendance: 17,420
Referee: Switzerland Stephan Klossner
28 February 2015 Round 22 Basel 1 – 0 Vaduz St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00 Luca Zuffi Yellow card 23'
F. Frei 41' (1:0)
F. Frei Yellow card 48'
Suchý Yellow card 80'
FCB summary Yellow card 42' Neumayr Attendance: 25,304
Referee: Switzerland Fedayi San
7 March 2015 Round 23 Basel 3 – 0 Thun St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00 Xhaka Yellow card 41'
Gashi 45+1' (1:0)
Streller 52' (2:0)
Gashi 58' (3:0)
FCB summary Yellow card 40' Ferreira Attendance: 26.354
Referee: Switzerland Pascal Erlachner
15 March 2015 Round 24 St. Gallen 2 – 2 Basel AFG Arena, St. Gallen
16:00 Sikorski 16' (1:1)
Mutsch Yellow card 17'
Tréand 42' (2:2)
Janjatović Yellow card 69'
FCB summary 9' (0:1) Delgado
34' (1:2) Callà
Yellow card 66' Traoré
Yellow card 69' Xhaka
Yellow card 74' Embolo
Yellow card 89' Streller
Attendance: 17,457
Referee: Switzerland Sandro Schärer
21 March 2015 Round 25 Luzern 1 – 4 Basel Swissporarena, Luzern
17:45 Omlin Yellow card 48'
Bozanic Yellow card 48'
Puljić 52' (1:3)
Lustenberger Yellow card 81'
FCB summary Yellow card 31' Xhaka
32' (0:1) Gashi
47' (pen. 0:2) Delgado
49' (0:3) Gashi
Yellow card 81' P. Degen
87' (1:4) Callà
Attendance: 13,002
Referee: Switzerland Stephan Studer
4 April 2015 Round 26 Basel 6 – 0 Aarau St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00 Delgado 6' (pen. 1:0)
Streller 16' (2:0)
Gashi 22' (3:0)
Streller 33' (4:0)
Delgado 36' (5:0)
Gashi 63' (6:0)
Samuel Yellow card 70'
Hamoudi Yellow card 79'
FCB summary Yellow card 27' Lüscher
Yellow card 71' Andrist
Attendance: 26,979
Referee: Switzerland Sandro Schärer
12 April 2015 Round 27 Basel 5 – 1 Zürich St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00 Gashi 24'
Gashi Red card 44'
Streller Yellow card 44'
Embolo 45+1' (2:0)
Embolo 47' (3:0)
Embolo 78' (4:1)
Djimsiti 88' (o.g. 5:1)
FCB summary Yellow card 8' Etoundi
Yellow card 27' Kajević
Yellow card 32' Gavranović
Red card 38' Davide Chiumiento
Yellow card 44' Rikan
Yellow card 70' Kecojević
71' (3:1) Etoundi
Attendance: 32,042
Referee: Switzerland Sascha Amhof
Note: 72nd minute game interrupted for 10 minutes, because the referee no longer saw safety as being guaranteed (crowd problems)
18 April 2015 Round 28 Sion 0 – 1 Basel Stade Tourbillon, Sion
17:45 Kouassi Yellow card 34'
Zverotić Yellow card 80'
ZieglerYellow card 86'
FCB summary Yellow card 28' Schär
34' (0:1) Embolo
Yellow card 68' Callà
Yellow card 71' F. Frei
Yellow card 73' Suchý
Yellow card 81' González
Attendance: 12,500
Referee: Switzerland Alain Bieri (Solothurn)
26 April 2015 Round 29 Basel 1 – 2 Luzern St. Jakob-Park, Basel
13:45 Suchý Yellow card 25'
Delgado 37' (1:2)
FCB summary 1' (0:1) Lezcano
32' (0:2) Schneuwly
Yellow card 36' Thiesson
Yellow card 83' Lustenberger
Attendance: 28,897
Referee: Switzerland Stephan Studer
29 April 2015 Round 30 Vaduz 1 – 3 Basel Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz
19:45 Muntwiler Yellow card 34'
Sara Yellow card 46'
Pak 66' (1:2)
FCB summary 30' (0:1) Streller
45+1' (pen. 0:2) González
82' (1:3) Zuffi
Attendance: 5,248
Referee: Switzerland Sascha Amhof
2 May 2015 Round 31 Basel 2 – 1 Grasshopper Club St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00 Callà Yellow card 34'
Elneny 55' (1:1)
Callà 59' (1:2)
Schär Yellow card 90+2'
FCB summary 45+1' (0:1) Ravet
Yellow card 65' Gülen
Attendance: 28,852
Referee: Switzerland Stephan Klossner
10 May 2015 Round 32 Zürich 1 – 2 Basel Letzigrund, Zürich
16:00 Rikan Yellow card 28'
Nef Yellow card 77'
Kecojević 86' (1:1)
FCB summary 42' (0:1) Callà
90+2' (1:2) Suchý
Attendance: 11,569
Referee: Switzerland Alain Bieri (Solothurn)
17 May 2015 Round 33 Basel 0 – 0 Young Boys St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00 Xhaka Yellow card 25'
Suchý Yellow card 45'
Traoré Yellow card 71'
FCB summary
Scoresway summary
Yellow card 15' Lecjaks
Yellow card 37' von Bergen
Yellow card 90+1' Vitkieviez
Attendance: 34,231
Referee: Switzerland Sascha Amhof
20 May 2015 Round 34 Aarau 2 – 1 Basel Stadion Brügglifeld, Aarau
20:30 Mohamed Elneny 5' (o.g. 1:0)
Djurić 49' (2:0)
Burki Yellow card 71'
Jaggy Yellow card 89'
FCB summary
Scoresway summary
Yellow card 42' Ajeti
Yellow card 61' Sameul
62' (2:1) Embolo
Attendance: 4,551
Referee: Austria Robert Schörgenhofer
25 May 2015 Round 35 Thun 2 – 2 Basel Arena Thun, Thun
16:00 Sadik 16' (1:0)
Frontino Yellow card 60'
Sadik 86' (2:2)
FCB summary
(Soccerpunter report)
Yellow card 67' Hamoudi
73' (pen. 1:1) Gashi
75' (1:2) Kakitani
Yellow card 90' Huser
Attendance: 8,717
Referee: Switzerland Fedayi San
29 May 2015 Round 36 Basel 4 – 3 St. Gallen St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:30 Streller 17' (1:0)
Samuel 49' (2:2)
Schär Yellow card 53'
Zuffi 78' (3:3)
Samuel Yellow card 85'
Al. Ajeti 87' (4:3)
FCB summary 30' (1:1) Mathys
38' (1:2) Aleksić
Yellow card 53' Aleksić
54' (2:3) Aratore
Yellow card 75' Tréand
Attendance: 33,403
Referee: Switzerland Stephan Studer

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Basel (C) 36 24 6 6 84 41 +43 78 Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round
2 Young Boys 36 19 9 8 64 45 +19 66
3 Zürich 36 15 8 13 55 48 +7 53 Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round
4 Thun 36 13 13 10 47 45 +2 52 Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round
5 Luzern 36 12 11 13 54 46 +8 47
Source: Swiss Super League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) Champions
Results summary
OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
36 24 6 6 84 41  +43 78 12 4 2 43 15  +28 12 2 4 41 26  +15

Last updated: 29 May 2015.
Source: Fussballdaten.de

Swiss Cup

23 August 2014 Round 1 CS Italien (GE) 0 – 4 Basel Stade des Arberes, Meyrin
17:00 Antonili Yellow card 23'
Blanco Yellow card 82'
FCB summary
ASF/SFV summary
7' (0:1) Delgado
30' (0:2) Embolo
53' (0:3) F. Frei
90+3' (0:4) Gashi
Attendance: 2,650 (sold out)
Referee: Switzerland Nicolas Jancevski
20 September 2014 Round 2 Winterthur 0 – 4 Basel Schützenwiese, Winterthur
14:00 Bengondo Yellow card 15'
Iapichino Red card 71'
FCB summary
ASF/SFV summary
32' (0:1) Yellow card 45' Elneny
36' (0:2) Embolo
41' (0:3) Embolo
Yellow card 65' Díaz
67' (0:4) Embolo
Attendance: 5,000 (sold out)
Referee: Switzerland Stephan Studer
29 October 2014 Round 3 Wohlen 1 – 3 Basel Stadion Niedermatten, Wohlen
19:30 Brahimi Yellow card 61' 15' (1:1) FCB summary
ASF/SFV summary
11' (0:1) Kakitani
41' (1:2) Sio
90+1' (1:3) Embolo
Yellow card 90+2' Embolo
Attendance: 4,100 (sold out)
Referee: Switzerland Adrien Jaccottet (Basel)
4 March 2015 Quarterfinal FC Münsingen 1 – 6 Basel Sportanlage Sandreutenen, Münsingen
19:30 Max Dreier Yellow card 37'
Antonius Dreier Yellow card 40'
Christian Plüss 81' (1:6)
FCB summary
ASF/SFV summary
6' (0:1) Hamoudi
24' (0:2) Kakitani
34' (0:3) Embolo
41' (0:4) Delgado
43' (0:5) Kakitani
59' (0:6) Kakitani
Yellow card 65' Samuel
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Switzerland Alain Bieri (Solothurn)
8 April 2015 Semifinal St. Gallen 1 – 3 FC Basel AFG Arena, St. Gallen
20:15 Mutsch Yellow card 34'
Dejan Janjatović Yellow card 50'
Čavušević 87' (1:3)
Stéphane Besle Yellow card 89'
Everton Bilher Yellow card 39' Yellow-red card 90+2'
FCB summary
ASF/SFV summary
14' (0:1) Gashi
Yellow card 18' Embolo
44' (o.g. 0:2) Mutsch
60' (0:3) Gashi
Yellow card 90+2' Callà
Attendance: 16,690
Referee: Switzerland Stephan Klossner
7 June 2015 Final FC Basel 0 – 3 FC Sion St. Jakob-Park, Basel
14:00 Gashi Yellow card 46'
T. Xhaka Yellow card 49'
F. Frei Yellow card 64'
FCB summary
ASF/SFV summary
18' (0:1) Konaté
50' (0:2) Fernandes
60' (0:3) Carlitos
Yellow card 72' Zverotić
Attendance: 35,674 (sold out)
Referee: Switzerland Nikolaj Hänni
Note: Beginning of the second half with a 15 minute delay, because of the firing of pyrotechnics in the Sion fan sector.

UEFA Champions League

Group stage

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification RM BSL LIV LUD
1 Spain Real Madrid 6 6 0 0 16 2 +14 18 Advance to knockout phase 5–1 1–0 4–0
2 Switzerland Basel 6 2 1 3 7 8 1 7 0–1 1–0 4–0
3 England Liverpool 6 1 2 3 5 9 4 5 Transfer to Europa League 0–3 1–1 2–1
4 Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad 6 1 1 4 5 14 9 4 1–2 1–0 2–2
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
16 September 2014 Round 1 Real Madrid Spain 5 – 1 Switzerland Basel Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
20:45 Suchý 14' (o.g. 0:1)
Bale 30' (0:2)
Ronaldo 31' (0:3)
Rodríguez 37' (0:4)
Benzema 79' (1:5)
Pepe Yellow card 85'
FCB summary
UEFA report
38' (1:4) González
Yellow card 55' Elneny
Yellow card 60' Samuel
Yellow card 90+1' Xhaka
Attendance: 65,364[36]
Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)
1 October 2014 Round 2 Basel Switzerland 1 – 0 England Liverpool St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:45 Streller 52' (1:0)
Suchý Yellow card 60'
FCB summary
UEFA report
Yellow card 9' Sterling
Yellow card 54' Gerrard
Yellow card 71' Balotelli
Attendance: 36,000[37] (sold out)
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)
22 October 2014 Round 3 Ludogorets Razgrad Bulgaria 1 – 0 Switzerland Basel Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia[A]
20:45 Minev Yellow card 24'
Moți Yellow card 86'
Minev 90+2' (1:0)
Espinho Yellow card 90+3'
FCB summary
UEFA report
Red card 18' Serey Die
Yellow card 43' Xhaka
Yellow card 45+2' González
Yellow card 67' Embolo
Yellow card 85' F. Frei (C)
Yellow card 90+3' Schär
Attendance: 29,150[38]
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Germany)
4 November 2014 Round 4 Basel Switzerland 4 – 0 Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:45 Embolo 34' (1:0)
González 41' (2:0)
González Yellow card 42'
Gashi 59' (3:0)
Suchý 65' (4:0)
FCB summary
UEFA report
Yellow card 84' Marcelinho Attendance: 35,272[39]
Referee: Stéphane Lannoy (France)
26 November 2014 Round 5 Basel Switzerland 0 – 1 Spain Real Madrid St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:45 P. Degen Yellow card 44'
Suchý Yellow card 53'
Schär Yellow card 80'
FCB summary
UEFA report
35' (0:1) Ronaldo
Yellow card 43' Sergio Ramos
Yellow card 48' Coentrão
Attendance: 36,000[40] (sold out)
Referee: Milorad Mažić (Serbia)
9 December 2014 Round 6 Liverpool England 1 – 1 Switzerland Basel Anfield, Liverpool
20:45 Leiva Yellow card 47'
Marković Red card 60'
Lovren Yellow card 66'
Moreno Yellow card 77'
Gerrard 81' (1:1)
FCB summary
UEFA report
25' (0:1) Frei
Yellow card 80' Schär
Attendance: 43,290[41]
Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)
Notes
  1. ^
    Ludogorets Razgrad play their home matches at Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia instead of their regular stadium, Ludogorets Arena, Razgrad.

Round of 16

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 15 December 2014. The first legs of the knockout phase were played on 17, 18, 24 and 25 February, and the second legs played on 10, 11, 17 and 18 March 2015.

18 February 2015 First leg Basel Switzerland 1 – 1 Portugal Porto St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:45 González 11' (1:0)
F. Frei Yellow card 22'
Elneny Yellow card 26'
Samuel Yellow card 46'
Gashi Yellow card 57'
Suchý Yellow card 62'
FCB summary
UEFA report
Yellow card 29' Casemiro
Yellow card 36' Torres
Yellow card 51' Sandro
79' (pen. 1:1) Yellow card 87' Danilo
Attendance: 34,464[42]
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (England)
10 March 2015 Second leg Porto Portugal 4 – 0 Switzerland Basel Estádio do Dragão, Porto
20:45 Brahimi 14' (1:0)
Herrera 47' (2:0)
MarcanoYellow card 55'
Casemiro 56' (3:0)
Aboubakar 76' (4:0)
FCB summary
UEFA report
Yellow card 30' Gashi
Yellow card 38' González
Yellow card 55' Safari
Yellow card 49' Yellow-red card 90+1' Samuel
Attendance: 43,108[43]
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)

Porto won 5–1 on aggregate.

See also

References

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  2. AFC Ajax 2011/2012 UEFA
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Sources

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