| 1972–73 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman |  Félix Musfeld |
| Manager | Helmut Benthaus |
| Ground | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| Nationalliga A | 5th |
| Swiss Cup | Quarter-finals |
| Swiss League Cup | R1 |
| European Cup | R1 |
| Top goalscorer | Ottmar Hitzfeld (19) |
The 1973–74 season was Fussball Club Basel 1893's 80th season in their existence. It was their 28th consecutive season in the top flight of Swiss football after their promotion the season 1945–46. They played their home games in the St. Jakob Stadium.
Overview
editHelmut Benthaus was first team manager. This was his eighth season as manager. The Nationalliga A season 1973–74 was contested under 14 teams. Zürich won the championship 12 points ahead of Grasshopper Club, 13 ahead of the Servette and FC Winterthur. Basel finished in fifth position. They won 13 of their 26 league games, drew three and lost ten games. They scored a total of 57 goals conceding 39. Ottmar Hitzfeld was joint leagues top goal scorer with Ove Grahn of Lausanne-Sports both with 18 league goals. Basels second top scorer was Walter Balmer who managed 11 league goals.
In the Swiss Cup Basel played the round of 32 on 22 September 1973 away against Biel-Bienne in the Gurzelen Stadion and in the round of 16 on 6 October 1973 again away against Mendrisiostar. The quarter-finals were two leged fixtures. The first leg played on 31 October 1973 in Stade Tourbillon was a 1–0 defeat against Sion. The second leg played on 4 November 1973 in the St. Jakob Stadium ended in a 2–2 draw, thus Sion won 3–2 on aggregate.
Players
editNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Results
editNationalliga
editLeague standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Zürich | 26 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 67 | 20 | 45 | |
| 2 | Grasshopper Club Zürich | 26 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 41 | 27 | 33 | |
| 3 | Servette FC Genève | 26 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 49 | 35 | 32 | |
| 4 | FC Winterthur | 26 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 42 | 29 | 32 | |
| 5 | FC Basel | 26 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 57 | 39 | 29 | |
| 6 | BSC Young Boys | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 52 | 38 | 28 | |
| 7 | Neuchâtel Xamax | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 38 | 38 | 26 | |
| 8 | Lausanne Sports | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 45 | 48 | 26 | |
| 9 | FC St. Gallen | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 38 | 48 | 25 | |
| 10 | FC Sion | 26 | 5 | 12 | 9 | 24 | 31 | 22 | |
| 11 | CS Chênois | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 30 | 48 | 22 | |
| 12 | FC Lugano | 26 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 20 | 44 | 17 | |
| 13 | FC La Chaux-de-Fonds | 26 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 28 | 51 | 16 | |
| 14 | FC Chiasso | 26 | 2 | 7 | 17 | 18 | 53 | 11 |
Swiss Cup
edit- Legend
Win Draw Loss
- Round of 32
| 22 September 1973 | Biel-Bienne | 1 – 2 | Basel | Gurzelen Stadion, Biel/Bienne |
- Round of 16
| 6 October 1973 | Mendrisiostar | 1 – 4 | Basel | Centro Sportivo Comunale, Mendrisio |
- Quarter-final
| 31 October 1973 First leg | Sion | 1 – 0 | Basel | Stade Tourbillon, Sion |
| 4 November 1973 Second leg | Basel | 2 – 2 | Sion | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
Sion won 3–2 on aggregate.
Swiss League Cup
edit| Round of 16 | Neuchâtel Xamax | 4 – 1 | Basel | Stade de la Maladière, Neuchâtel |
- First round
| 18 September 1973 First leg | Basel | 5 – 0 |  Fram | Basel |
Cubillas  2'Balmer 21', 85'Hasler 75'Demarmels 88' |
Report | Stadium: St. Jakob Stadium |
| 20 September 1973 Second leg | Fram | 2 – 6 | Basel | Olten |
| Leifsson 52' Elíasson 78' |
Report | Tanner 4', 56' Cubillas 24'Geirsson 39' (o.g.)Wampfler 60'Stohler 66' (pen.) |
Stadium: Kleinholz |
Basel won 11–2 on aggregate.
- Second round
| 24 October 1973 First leg | Club Brugge  | 2 – 1 | Basel | Sint-Andries, Bruges |
| Carteus 7' Thio 60' (pen.) |
Report | Odermatt 39' (pen.) |
Stadium: Jan Breydel Stadium |
| 7 November 1973 Second leg | Basel | 6 – 4 | Club Brugge | Basel |
| Rüssmann 19' (o.g.) Balmer 31'Wampfler 37'Hitzfeld 63' (pen.), 70', 87' |
Report | Lambert 23', 46' (pen.), 68' Carteus 28' |
Stadium: St. Jakob Stadium |
Basel won 7–6 on aggregate.
- Quarter-final
| 27 February 1974 First leg | FC Basel | 3 – 2 |  Celtic | Basel |
| Hitzfeld 28', 64' (pen.) Odermatt 31' |
Report | Wilson 21' Dalglish 57' |
Stadium: St. Jakob Stadium |
| 20 March 1974 Second leg | Celtic | 4 – 2 (aet) | FC Basel | Glasgow |
| Dalglish 14' Deans 18'Callaghan 62'Murray 114' |
Report | Mundschin 33' Balmer 48' |
Stadium: Celtic Park |
Celtic won 6–5 on aggregate.