A visit to FC Basel was our trip this weekend as we were entertained by one of the biggest clubs in Switzerland.
Getting to Basel
A visit to FC Basel was quite straight forward and we obtained a Saturday morning flight from Stansted airport at 11.05am, arriving in Basel at 1.35pm with plenty of time to attend the match scheduled for 6pm that evening.
On arrival at Basel airport we grabbed a taxi to take us the 7km into the City Centre for a quick bag-drop at Hotel Metropol.
Basel Airport has international status and therefore you may see a variation of airport codes used – so don’t worry if you are flying to BSL airport yet on other paperwork or you see the codes MLH (Mulhouse), the French code, or EAP (EuroAirport) being the neutral code. It’s the same airport.
FC Basel History
FC Basel are a well decorated club, mainly on the domestic front winning the Swiss title on 20 occasions, second only to Grasshopper Zurich with 27 titles. Recent successes have occurred in successive seasons during 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. In the last six seasons they have seen Young Boys supersede them and have been the bride on four occasions in this time. The 2022/23 season saw them finish in fifth place.
Having participated in the Champions League group stages on seven occasions, FC Basel boast the largest number of appearances at this stage in this competition from Switzerland.
FC Basel 2023-24
The format of the Swiss league meant that we were attending matchday 28 of 33 in the first phase of the tournament. After 33 matches the top six enter the “Championship Group”. You can read our article about how the Swiss league format works here.
Going into matchday 28, FC Basel were in 9th place and fighting for that top six. The previous week had seen them play Young Boys, currently top of the league, and lost this match comprehensively 5-1. With six matches to play and 9pts from that sixth position it almost felt like a dead-rubber. However this match would be against Winterthur currently occupying that position so a win could make things look possible once more.
Finishing outside the top six would eliminate them from European competition next season for the first time since 1999-2000 season.
FC Basel Stadium
FC Basel play their matches at St Jakob-Park and have been here since 2001. The new stadium was built on the site of their previous home, St Jakob Stadium
We took a tram to the stadium and walked the last few hundred metres which was decorated with graffiti.
We arrived quite early for the match and found the Rotblau bar and restaurant attached to the stadium. Nothing was cheap (after all this is apparently one of the 10 most expensive cities in the world) so we attacked a Schnitzel for 25.50 CHF!
If you are searching for the FC Basel stadium on foot, you won’t see any looming floodlights to guide you. The stadium itself is hidden away inside a shopping centre and even when on top of it, you may not realise it’s there.
At the start of the match the Ultra’s in Section D created a fantastic spectacle.
FC Basel 1 Winterthur 1
Basel had some early opportunities with Benjamin Kololli curling an effort towards the top corner which was pushed away spectacularly by the Winterthur goalkeeper, Keller.
Winterthur responded with an effort by Sayfallah Ltaief crashing against the post, and the game was brought to life even further when Basil Stillhart unleashed a mighty effort which flew into the roof of the net from outside the penalty area to give the visitors the lead.
In the second half, a strong hand by Keller once more denied Basel what seemed a certain goal. Number 9 Barry saw his giant leap reach the ball, only for his header to smash against the upright.
The points seemed to be going to Winterthur, until a late and bizarre own goal by full-back Diaby levelled things for the home side. As the ball reached him, he guided his defensive header past the goalkeeper and into the net. Keller in goal scrambled back and it looked as though he had clawed the ball around the post, however the ball was judged to have crossed the line.
The result means that Basel have no realistic chance of making the Championship round. Watch the match highlights here.
Basel
Basel is a beautiful City so if visiting, do add on sufficient time to enjoy the city.
We would recommend finding this great bar called Schluggstube which the locals were surprised we located and call it the best secret in Basel. Filled from floor to ceiling with artefacts, it’s a cosy bar with just a few tables and we stayed for several beers on Saturday evening.
Covert Football Trips
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Choose grounds to avoid, select the dates you want to travel and note the airports you would prefer to fly from and then sit back and let us do all the hard work.
You could end up with a great trip to Switzerland watching the Super League!
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