2010–11 FC Basel season

The Swiss football club FC Basel began their 2010–11 season with various warm-up matches against Swiss lower league, Ukrainian Vyscha Liha, and Ligue 1 clubs. The aims for the team during the 2010–11 season were to take back the league and cup titles as well as to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

FC Basel
2010–11 season
FC Basel Logo
ChairmanSwitzerland Gisela Oeri
ManagerGermany Thorsten Fink
GroundSt. Jakob-Park
Swiss Super LeagueChampions
Swiss CupQuarterfinals
UEFA Champions LeagueGroup Stage
2010–11 UEFA Europa LeagueRound of 32
Top goalscorerLeague:
Alexander Frei (27)

All:
Alexander Frei (33)
Highest home attendance37,500 vs. Luzern
(25 May 2011)
Lowest home attendance25,349 vs. Sion
(28 August 2010)

Overview

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German Thorsten Fink remained head-coach for the second consecutive season. He brought four youngsters up from the U-21 team, being Matthias Baron, Janick Kamber and the brothers Taulant and Granit Xhaka. Further transfers into the team were Gilles Yapi who came from BSC Young Boys on a free transfer, Genséric Kusunga who also came in on a free transfer from Servette FC and Fwayo Tembo who was bought in from Étoile du Sahel. Yann Sommer also rejoined the team after being on loan to Grasshopper Club Zürich. During the winter break Aleksandar Dragović transferred in from Austria Wien.

In the other direction Marcos Gelabert transferred out to Neuchâtel Xamax, Stefan Wessels moved on to FK Ventspils, Serkan Sahin to Konyaspor, Carlitos to Malaga and Antonio da Silva’s loan came to an end and he returned to Karlsruher SC.

The Campaign

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Domestic League

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The format of the 2010–11 Swiss Super League season remained as it had been since the 2003–04 season, divided into two halves, autumn and spring, each half played in a double round robin. Basel entered the season as the reigning champions, having edged the Young Boys out on the final day of the last season. The club’s clear aim for the team in the league was to retain the title.

FCB began the season on 20 July with a home game against FC Zurich, which was won 3–2. The team won their first three games, but in the fourth round suffered an unforeseen 0–1 away defeat against Bellinzona. In the following round Basel suffered an embarrassing 1–4 home defeat against Luzern, which let the team slip to a midfield position in the league table. In the following nine rounds the team remained undefeated, but with five draws in these nine games Basel were well away from being league leaders. What then followed was another embarrassing 1–3 home defeat against Thun. The first half of the domestic season ended on 12 December as Basel travelled to Zurich to face Grasshopper in the away game at the Letzigrund. This game ended with a 1–2 defeat and this left the club with that midfield slot in the table. The triple burden of league, cup and Champions League group stage had taken its toll.

After the winter break, the second half of the season began on 6 February 2011 with a 3–2 revenging away win against Thun. This was the start to Basel’s best phase of the season, during which they advanced to become league leaders with eight consecutive victories and one draw. During the entire second half of the season the team suffered only one defeat, this being the match in the 31st round away against FC Sion, but this defeat meant that they slipped back to second position in the table. In round 33, ten days later, Basel achieved a 2–2 away draw, after twice being a goal behind, against their direct competitors for the title FC Zürich, both were then level on 66 points. Then Zürich lost the derby against Grasshopper Club and because Basel drew against St. Gallen, they moved one point clear at the top. Subsequently on the final match day, on 25 May, Basel’s victory against Luzern secured them the championship for the second time in succession.[1]

The team achieved their aim by winning the championship. Alexander Frei was top goal scorer for the club and in the league with 27 goals. Second top goal scorer in the league was Henri Bienvenu from the Young Boys with 16 goals. Marco Streller was the team’s second top scorer with ten goals, third was Valentin Stocker with seven goals. Frei achieved his personal aim in winning the top-scorer title.

Domestic Cup

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Basel entered the 2010–11 Swiss Cup in the first round of the competition and the team's clear aim was to defend the title having won the 2009–10 Swiss Cup. 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.

Mendrisio-Stabio (19 September 2010)

In the first round Basel were drawn against FC Mendrisio-Stabio, who at that time played in the 1. Liga, the third tier of Swiss football. The match was played in the Campo comunale Mendrisio with an attendance of 3,200 spectators. Head coach Thorsten Fink had mixed a number of their youngsters into the team, but nevertheless they dominated their opponents, although they were able to hold on for half an hour before the inevitable occurred. In the 31st minute Federico Almerares was able to put the visitors into the lead. Six minutes later Pascal Schürpf doubled the Basel lead and that was the score at half time. In the 64th minute Fwayo Tembo added a third, nine minutes later Schürpf added his second and two minutes from time Almerares also hit his second as well.[2]

Yverdon-Sports (15 October 2010)

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, if applicable. Basel were drawn against Yverdon-Sports, who at that time played in the 1. Liga, the third tier of Swiss football. The game was played in the Stade Municipal in Yverdon-les-Bains. Again, head coach Thorsten Fink played with a B-team, the goalie Franco Costanzo travelled with the team as substitute, but the players Alexander Frei, Behrang Safari, Valentin Stocker, Marco Streller, Daniel Unal, Granit Xhaka were all given a day off und Jacques Zoua was injured. There were six youngsters in the team, of whick Taulant Xhaka played his very first game in the starting eleven. Basel started slow and needed 25 minutes before they created their first good chance. Basel played better, but Yverdon held on with their players showing their fighting spirits. On 72 minutes the dead-lock was broken, Reto Zanni crossed from the right, Fwayo Tembo lengthened it and the ball dropped to Federico Almerares’ feet and he made no mistake. Five minutes later a free kick on the left was played shot from Almerares to Xherdan Shaqiri, his cross was met by Tembo who scored from close distance. Basel won 2–0 and advanced to the next round.[3]

Servette (20 November 2010)

In the third round, the ties were drawn, there was no seeding, everyone could meet everyone. The home advantage was granted to the team from the lower league, otherwise to the team that was drawn first. Basel were drawn at away against Servette, who at that time played in the Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football. The game was played in the Stade de Genève with an attendance of 14,150 spectators. Basel were without captain and goalie Franco Costanzo and defender Behrang Safari, both were given a day off, without midfielder Gilles Yapi, who was suspended (due to 5 yellow cards) and without Genséric Kusunga and Marco Streller, both injured. Other top players such as Alexander Frei and Benjamin Huggel were on the bench. Servette started well and they had the first chance but the long-distance free kick was well held by reserve goalie Yann Sommer. On 18 minutes Servette had the ball in their own defensive area, but they played an indecisive pass too many, Federico Almerares rushed between man and ball and was fouled. Scott Chipperfield put the subsequent spot-kick home sending goalie David González in the wrong direction. Basel controlled the rest of the first period, but created only few good chances. However, after the interval Servette took over control and with the first long cross into the box an attacker fell and referee Massimo Busacca decided on penalty here as well. Sommer was left without a chance and things were level again. Federico Almerares had a chance that hit the post, but not many other moves were dangerous. The 1–1 score remained after 90 minutes and also after extra time. Therefore, a penalty shoot-out had to bring the decision. Basel won the shoot-out 4–3 and advanced to the next round.[4]

Biel-Bienne ( 3 March 2011)

The winners of Round 3 played in the quarterfinals. The games were played on 2 and 3 March 2011 and Basel were drawn away against FC Biel-Bienne, who at that time played in the Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football. The game was played in the Gurzelen Stadion with a sold-out attendance of 6,500 on the day. Basel played with their B-team, head coach Thorsten Fink changed ten positions in the starting eleven, Gilles Yapi was the only remaining player compared to the previous championship game. Nevertheless, Basel were favourites and Biel the underdogs. Basel started the game better and in the early stages played concentrated forwards. They came to their first chance, but Scott Chipperfield failed to get contact to the cross, only a couple of inches were missing. Two minutes before the interval a long free kick from Granit Xhaka was deflected into the goal, unluckily, by Biel-Bienne defender Nicolas Kehrli. The Biel-Bienne team came out of the break highly motivated, but they missed their first chance as the ball went over the bar. Two minutes later Ramon Egli equalised for the underdogs, he lifted the ball over the onrushing goalie Yann Sommer and the teams were level. From then onwards, nothing seemed to be prolific for the favourites, they missed their chances. Both teams had their opportunities, but only the home team were able to take advantage. There was a corner for the home team and it was played long, then a cross from the other side and Giuseppe Morello put the home team a goal up. Basel coach reacted immediately, he brought his best forwards Alexander Frei and Marco Streller from the substitutes bench. But following a free-kick out of the Basel defence area, they could only watch the next counter-attack. Pietro Di Nardo trapped the poorly kicked ball and played forwards to Etoundi, who gave the hosts a surprising 3–1 lead and victory. This because the final attack was also from the home team, Egli’s shot, however, rebounded from the cross bar.[5]

Conclusion

The club's clear aim had been to defend the title, having won it during the previous season. The embarrassing defeat against a lower classed team was a big disappointment. The team had missed the aim entirely and this increased the pressure on the team in the aim of defending their championship title.

Xamax and Sion advanced to the final, which was played in Basel’s St. Jakob-Park. Sion achieved their overall 12th cup title and were thus qualified for the play-off round of next season’s UEFA Europa League.[6]

Champions League

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As Swiss Champions Basel entered the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League in the [2010–11 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round#Third qualifying round|third qualifying round]. Basel's clear aim for this competition was to reach the group stage and, if possible, to advance to the knock-out stage, which was to start after the winter break. Basel were top seeded based on their 2010 UEFA club coefficients in the Champions Path and were drawn against the Hungarian champions Debrecen.

Third qualifying round

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Debreceni VSC (28 July 2010)

Basel played the first match away from home, it was played in Budapest at Szusza Ferenc Stadium as Debrecen's Stadion Oláh Gábor Út did not meet UEFA criteria. It was a clear night, the pitch was dry and the match played in front of a crowd of 5,000 people. Both sides started well and created good opportunities in the opening stages of the match. Adamo Coulibaly had a good volley, but goalkeeper Franco Costanzo was able to save it. Then Alexander Frei nodded a right-wing cross from Samuel Inkoom just wide of the far post. Then Coulibaly played a neat ball to Péter Czvitkovics, but he drove his shot from ten metres against his team-mate. Xherdan Shaqiri had the best chances, but his header from close range went straight at Debrecen goalkeeper István Verpecz. In the 34th minute Jacques Zoua set up Valentin Stocker, who slammed his left-footed shot into the bottom corner of the goal. Both Shaqiri (60) and Stocker (69) had further good chances but failed to add the next goal to the scoresheet. In the later stages as József Varga danced between the Basel defenders but his shot was too weak and Costanzo held with ease. In the 88th minute, Basel head coach Thorsten Fink replaced Stocker and substituted in Granit Xhaka who had been brought up from the youth team only two months earlier. In the third minute of added time, he saw his chance and tried his luck from 25 metres out and indeed the teenage substitute was rewarded with a goal to remember and complete the 2–0 victory.[7]

Return match (4 August 2010)

The second leg of this fixture was played in the St. Jakob-Park a week later on 4 August. The weather was warm and dry, the pitch was dry and the match was played in front of 17,376 spectators. Basel took control of the game early. In the ninth minute, from just five metres out, Scott Chipperfield headed his first chance to the wrong side of the goal-post. But Basel needed just 26 minutes before they vanquished any hopes of a Debrecen comeback in the return leg. Defender Çağdaş Atan scored the first goal of the match as Benjamin Huggel's header rebounded off the crossbar and Çağdaş was positioned in the right place at the right time and was ready to put the ball into the net. Despite the fact that Jacques Zoua also struck the woodwork seven minutes later, it was only a matter of time before the next goal came. In the second half Chipperfield added the second in the 59th minute. Huggel was again the player that gave the assist, flicking on a cross for Chipperfield to leap in front of goalkeeper István Verpecz and turn the ball in. Xherdan Shaqiri then added the third in the 64th minute, having outplayed the Debrecen defence. Adamo Coulibaly's goal 16 minutes from time, on rebound after Franco Costanzo had saved his penalty, was only a small consolation, because Basel had already decided the tie for themselves and knocking the Hungarian titleholders out of the competition 3–1 on the day and 5–1 on aggregate.[8]

Play-off round

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In the [2010–11 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round#Play-off round|play-off round] Basel were again top seeded. Here they were drawn against the Moldovan champions, FC Sheriff Tiraspol. The winning side would enter into the 2010–11 Champions League Group Stage while the defeated side would enter into the 2010–11 Europa League Group Stage.

Sheriff Tiraspol (18 August 2010)

The first leg was played at home in the St. Jakob-Park in front of 13,640 spectators against Sheriff Tiraspol. Due to the rainy evening the pitch was described as wet. Referee was Terje Hauge from the Football Association of Norway. Both teams started well, but it soon showed that Basel were better. After 11 minutes it seemed that Alexander Frei had given his team the lead as he took on Behrang Safari's cross and applied a neat finish, but he was offside. Minutes later at the other end Vladimir Volkov shot flew wide of the goal, but these were rare attacking moments in the first half. It was not until the stroke of half-time that Frei, with a curling free-kick, forced keeper Vladislav Stoyanov to make his first real save. At the start of the second period Florent Rouamba had a good effort but home goalkeeper Franco Costanzo was ready. Basel responded to this with their best spell of the match. Only a timely tackle could stop Jacques Zoua from taking his chance in front of goal after a good cross from Xherdan Shaqiri. A corner from Frei was met well by Benjamin Huggel but he headed the ball onto the post. In the 54th minute Valentin Stocker was left unmarked and he headed the ball into the net after a looping cross from Shaqiri. Immediately the Moldovan champions tried to level things out. Sheriff were now on top, but first Basel captain and goalie Costanzo denied Wilfried Balima and then substitute Marko Đurović twice headed over from close range and later had a shot that hit the post. Basel caught themselves and fought back into the game. Aleksandr Yerokhin received a second booking for dissent and was sent off. Following this keeper Stoyanov brought down Basel’s substitute Federico Almerares but he made amends by diving low to save Huggel's penalty. The game ended with the 1–0 win for the home side.[9]

Return match (24 August 2010)

The second leg of this fixture was played in Sheriff Stadium in Tiraspol with 12,000 supports watching on this clear and warm evening. Referee was Martin Hansson from the Sweden and the pitch was declared as dry. Alexander Frei scored twice and gave the assist to the other as FC Basel won the match 3–0, and 4–0 on aggregate, to qualify for the group stage. One goal up following the first leg, Marco Streller doubled Basel's aggregate lead in the 74th minute, heading home a Frei free-kick that came in from the left. Soon after that Sheriff captain Vazha Tarkhnishvili received a second booking and was dismissed. Frei, with two late efforts, then sealed his team’s comfortable victory and the passage to the group stage, sending Sheriff into the UEFA Europa League.[10]

Group stage

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The draw for the group stage was held in Monaco on 26 August 2010. Teams were seeded into four pots based on their 2010 UEFA club coefficients.[11] Basel were seeded into the third pot. And they were drawn into Group E together with Bayern Munich, Roma and CFR Cluj.

CFR Cluj (15 September 2010)

Matchday 1 for Basel was played in the stadium Dr. Constantin Rădulescu in Cluj-Napoca which had a crowd of 9,395. Referee was Alan Kelly from the Football Association of Ireland. Cluj started fast and furious into the game and Basel never quite recovered after Juan Culio set up goals for Ionuţ Rada and Lacina Traoré inside the opening 12 minutes. Cluj head-coach Sorin Cârţu had only been appointed into his position at the beginning of the week and this was the perfect start to his new job. The victory owed everything to the hosts opening few minutes and to Argentinian midfielder Culio, who proved his qualities in giving two fine left-footed assists during this time. His first assist came from a set piece, a corner, and the second was out of open play down the right. The beneficiaries were Rada, from the corner, in the ninth minute, and Traoré, following a cross in the 12th, both of whom hit strong headers beyond Basel captain and keeper Franco Costanzo. Basel, who had started as favourites, only recovered their composure slowly. It was in the added time before the break that Valentin Stocker with a header at the near post following a corner kick from Alexander Frei. This lifted Basel’s spirits and gave Thorsten Fink's men something to play for during the second half. Indeed, the visitors could have claimed a point, Xherdan Shaqiri volleyed over bar and on 77 minutes goalkeeper Nuno Claro did well to tip the ball over as Scott Chipperfield sent a powerful header towards the goal. However, the score 2–1 remained until the final whistle and this was considered as a disappointing result by the visitors.[12]

Bayern Munich (28 September 2010)

Bayern Munich were the visiting team on matchday two in the St. Jakob-Park in front of a sold out 37.500 crowd. Referee was Craig Thomson from the Scottish Football Association on this cloudy, but cool evening. Both teams started quickly and well into the match and were looking for the early goal. Bayern took control of the game as it settled. The first chance came from Toni Kroos, but his low strike was excellently saved one-handed by Basel goalkeeper and captain Franco Costanzo. Bayern continually increased the pressure, but Daniel Van Buyten shot over the bar shortly afterwards. Then, after 18 minutes, the evening took an unexpected change of course as Basel's two attackers combined well to score the first goal. Marco Streller raced into the penalty area, he then out-tricked defender Van Buyten back heeling to Alexander Frei who curled his shot past the helpless Jörg Butt. After this Bayern grappled to find a response and Basel’s confidence grew. Xherdan Shaqiri took a fierce drive, but this was parried by Butt. The closest that the visitors came before the interval was a long distance shot from captain Mark van Bommel. After the break Bayern improved and as Benjamin Huggel brought Thomas Müller to fall in the box, Bastian Schweinsteiger coolly sank the penalty kick to level things out. Coach Louis van Gaal then attempted to strengthen the Bayern attack and brought on Mario Gómez and Ivica Olić, but neither managed to finish off a good cross from Philipp Lahm on 68 minutes. With a quick reaction, Butt was able to deny Streller with his effort and then Gilles Yapi went close with a good shot. Moving into the latter stages it was the visitors who looked more likely to snatch victory. But both Müller and Olić sent their chances over the top. Then one minute from time Schweinsteiger converted a Danijel Pranjić free-kick to turn tables and give Bayern the 2 – 1 victory and all three points.[13]

Roma (19 October 2010)

Referee Aleksey Nikolaev from the Russian Football Union was in charge of the game in the Stadio Olimpico on matchday three between Roma and Basel. A crowd of 22,365 saw the visitors take the lead on 12 minutes and this thanks to a fine team move that began deep back in their own half of the field. Gilles Yapi played the ball diagonally wide to Xherdan Shaqiri, his cross from the right was controlled by Marco Streller and his cushioned header back into the centre was met by Alexander Frei who fired home from 14 metres. The hosts then controlled the activities and had most of the possession. Marco Borriello fired his first shot over the goal, but he didn’t have to wait long for his next chance. Francesco Totti showed skill and vision and played a long pass from deep within his own half beyond the entire defence. Borriello kept cool and drew Basel keeper Franco Costanzo out, then chipped the ball beyond him into the goal to level things out. Roma continued their good work. Totti was unlucky twice not to score. On 37 minutes, he beat Yapi and moved inwards, but shot just wide of the far post with his left foot and, following the restart, another long-distance shot flew narrowly wide of goal. However, by this time Basel had reclaimed the lead. In the 44th minute Samuel Inkoom had been far too quick for Simone Perrotta and he controlled Xherdan Shaqiri's clever angled pass to hit an unstoppable low effort past the helpless Bogdan Lobonț. After the interval Roma stepped up the tempo of their game, and forced the visitors back into their own half most of the time, as they strived for an equaliser. Both sides missed presentable headed opportunities. Benjamin Huggel nodding centimetres wide and Roma duo Matteo Brighi and Philippe Mexès also headed over. With one minute to go a Totti' free-kick was well saved by Costanzo and his clearance flew to Cabral, who sneaked though at the other end to score the final goal in Basel’s 3–1 win.[14]

Roma (3 November 2010)

Matchday four was the return game of that played a fortnight before. Basel hosted Roma in the St. Jakob-Park with a sold-out attendance of 36,375 spectators. The two teams were level in the group on three points, but straight away both sides pressed forwards looking for an early lead. Jérémy Ménez had the first chance, but from a tight angle his shot scraped the cross bar and went over. Then at the other end keeper Júlio Sérgio bravely dived in to deny Benjamin Huggel. The hosts were looking better and more dangerous and so it was against the run of play as the visitors took the lead on 16 minutes. Samuel Inkoom did well to stop Mirko Vučinić before he could fire off his shot, but the entire defence was helpless as Ménez pushed home the loose ball. The visitors were then able to double their lead with 25 minutes gone. Valentin Stocker pulled down John Arne Riise as he entered the box, this enabled Francesco Totti to score with the spot-kick. It took until midway through the second period before the Basel’s attacking moves became threatening. First, Gilles Yapi sent a dipping volley narrowly over the top. Then David Abraham marched forward from his centre-back position, but he blasted his powerful shot just wide. Eventually Basel's attacking efforts were rewarded on 69 minutes. Stocker sent in a left-wing cross and this was deflected beyond Sérgio, allowing Alexander Frei to nod the ball into the unguarded goal. Shortly afterwards Basel again pressed forward, but Marco Streller's shot flew against the post. Again, it was against the run of play as in the 76th minute substitute Leandro Greco smashed home Roma's third goal. Nevertheless, Basel pushed forward and Xherdan Shaqiri's late goal for Basel on 83 minutes set up the tense final phase. Ultimately Roma held on for the crucial three points, winning 3–2 and climbed in the table to second position. To make things worse for Basel, during the added time Stocker was shown a second yellow card by referee Björn Kuipers and was therefore dismissed.[15]

Cluj (23 November 2010)

Visitors to the St. Jakob-Park, with an attendance of 34,239 spectators, on matchday five was CFR Cluj and referee on this damp and cold evening was Laurent Duhamel from the French Football Federation. In the early stages the play was slow, the nervousness was evident, because both sides were aware that only a win would guarantee their survival in the competition. Xherdan Shaqiri had the first two chances and both were long range shots. At the other end Emmanuel Culio mis controlled the ball after a good pass by Léo Veloso into the centre. With 15 minutes gone Samuel Inkoom set Federico Almerares free with a fine low ball into the box to which the Argentinian striker applied a sliding finish. Following this, the home side almost managed a second goal, but Alexander Frei's shot was cleared off the line by Felice Piccolo. The hosts had another threatening chance as Behrang Safari's double effort was blocked first by Tony and then by captain Cadú on the line. Up front CFR's struggled to create chances and this struggling continued into the second half. It wasn’t until the 60th minute until the next chance was created. Again, it came from the Basel, but Fwayo Tembo's shot was deflected onto the cross-bar by goalkeeper Nuno Claro’s outstretched leg. On 73 minutes Alexander Frei netted the ball with a close-range finish. Basel celebrated because they thought that he had put the game beyond doubt, but the goal was ruled out for offside. In the finishing stages the Basel defence had little to worry about, CRF attacking moves were definitely not dangerous and after Piccolo was given a straight red two minutes from time, they were non-existent. With the 1–0 victory Basel were guaranteed at least third spot, which would see them advance to the Europa League knockout phase. CFR were eliminated.[16]

Bayern Munich (8 December 2010)

Matchday six for Basel was played at the Allianz Arena as visitors to German champions Bayern Munich. Referee was Martin Hansson from the Swedish Football Association. Despite the evening being cloudy and cold, the match had an attendance of 64,000. The requirements were clear, FCB needed to win and AS Roma had to lose in order for Basel to progress, on the other hand Bayern had already secured the top spot in the group. Basel started well and fast. A long ball from Marco Streller sent Xherdan Shaqiri rushing behind the back four to deliver a cross for Alexander Frei, who shot the ball fiercely across the goal mouth, but goalkeeper Thomas Kraft parried superbly. The early Basel rush subsided and Bayern played forward. First Philipp Lahm played a good cross, then Thomas Müller a cross from the other side, before a Toni Kroos corner was somehow missed by three Bayern players stood within short distance of Franco Costanzo's goal. Basel remained dangerous with their counterattacks and Kraft reacted well twice as both Frei and Streller had good chances. Bayern brought the game under their control. Diego Contento snatched the ball from Cabral and set up Franck Ribéry to score the opener. Two minutes later Mario Gómez lengthened a Toni Kroos corner and this enabled Anatoliy Tymoshchuk to stab home the second from close range. Basel play stunned completely after this double burst and their moves did not improve after the break either. In the 49th minute Müller burst forward, played a quick through ball to Ribéry, which left him only to side-foot beyond keeper Franco Costanzo. The game was decided at this point and it lost on footballing quality. Bayern with another chance and only a brilliant reflex stop at point-blank range from Costanzo denied Bastian Schweinsteiger from adding a fourth. Basel substitute Federico Almerares wasted an excellent chance to pull one back. Late in the game only Costanzo's alertness prevented first Mark van Bommel and then Gomez from adding to the visitors suffering. The score remained at 3–0 and for Bayern this was their seventh successive home win in European competition.[17]

Europa League

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The knockout phase of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League began on 15 February 2011. The draw was held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon on 17 December 2010.

Knockout phase

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It involved 32 teams: the 24 teams that finished in the top two in each group in the group stage and the eight teams that finished in third place in the UEFA Champions League group stage. Basel were unseeded and were drawn, with the first leg at home, against Spartak Moscow, who as Russian Premier League vice-champions had also dropped from the Champions League.

Spartak Moscow (15 February 2011)

The match at the St. Jakob-Park with an attendance of 13,073 people was held on a cloudy and cold evening with the temperature at freezing point. Aleksandar Stavrev of the Football Federation of Macedonia was the referee and the pitch was reported as being soft. Both teams started well and shared equal possession of play. Alexander Frei broke the deadlock on 36 minutes. After a Xherdan Shaqiri corner was directed on towards Frei at the near post he headed the ball beyond the reach of Spartak’s goalkeeper Andriy Dykan. Five minutes later Marco Streller headed in another Shaqiri corner, Dykan had misjudged its flight and it stood 2-0. After the break Spartak pressed forward constantly. On 61 minutes captain Alex battled forward to the edge of the box and took aim, but his shot was blocked and fell into the path of Dmitri Kombarov, who smashed the ball in via keeper Franco Costanzo’s left-hand post. Just ten minutes later the scores were levelled as Artyom Dzyuba controlled the ball with his thigh and punted it home. On 78 minutes Shaqiri saw a direct red for his violent behaviour and from then Basel just attempted to hold on. But two minutes into added time captain Alex was presented with a free-kick just outside the penalty area. Instead of shooting, he pushed the ball across to Jano Ananidze and his low drive passed the wall and bounced into the target off Costanzo’s right-hand post. Spartak had taken a significant step towards the next round after recovering from being two down to secure an unlikely 3–2 victory.[18]

Return match (24 February 2011)

The second leg in the Luzhniki Stadium took place one week later. Referee was Cristian Balaj of the Romanian Football Federation and the pitch was reported as dry. The match had an attendance of 14,977 spectators, despite the cold temperature of minus 14 degrees. Trailing 3–2 following their last-minute defeat in the first leg, the requirements for Swiss champions were clear, they had to score at least two goals to have any chance of advancing to the next round. But it was Spartak Moscow that started better. Their mobile attacking trio Dmitri Kombarov, Aiden McGeady and Artem Dzyuba caused early problems for the visitors’ defence with their speedy runs up front. On 15 minutes, however, it was the visitors who opened the score. Spartak keeper Andriy Dykan attempted to punch away a left-wing cross, but this fell to the feet of Scott Chipperfield. The Australian international was left to complete the simplest of things and he was able to side-foot the ball into an unguarded net. This put his team on their way in the early stages of the first half, but many good chances were not created. In the second-half, irrespective of the fact that they had plenty of ball possession, the visitors could rarely test the Spartak goalie. Despite Basel’s head coach Thorsten Fink bringing on substitute Alexander Frei, who pushed a late chance wide of the goal, Basel rarely looked like finding their vital second goal. Spartak forward McGeady finally put the result beyond doubt with his added-time equaliser tapping the ball into the net after Dzyuba had rounded goalkeeper Franco Costanzo. Spartak advanced to the round of 16 in the Europa League following their 1–1 home draw which gave them a 4–3 aggregate victory over Basel.[19]

Conclusion

From the Basel group, Group E, Bayern Munich and Roma advanced to the knock-out phase, but both were knocked out in the next round. Barcelona and Manchester United advanced to the final, which the Spaniards won 3–1. From Basel’s point of few they reached the aim by reaching the group stage. The second aim was, if possible, to advance to the knock-out stage. They did not reach the knock-out stage of the Champions League but did reach the knock-out round of the Europa League. In the Europa League the final was played between Porto and Braga and Porto won the title with a 1–0 win. Therefore, for the club this was indeed a very pleasing result.[20]

Club

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FC Basel Holding AG

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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 members. Chairwoman of the Holding was Gisela Oeri. She owned 91.96% of the shares. The other 8,04% of the shares were owned by a group of investors, these being Manor AG, J. Safra Sarasin, Novasearch AG, MCH Group AG and Weitnauer Holding AG. As chairwoman of the holding Ms Oeri was also chairwoman of the club.

Club management

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The club's board of directors remained in the same constellation as in the previous season.

One of the most important occurrences during the year 2010 was the formation of the Nachwuchs Campus Basel, to English foundation Youth Campus Basel. This was founded by then FCB chairwoman Gigi Oeri with the aim of promoting youth football in Basel on a sustainable basis. The purpose of the foundation is the integral training and promotion of young football talents in football, schooling, education and personality. The first managing director of the foundation was Benno Kaiser and he was also in the club's board of directors. Since its formation, the foundation owns the accommodation centre which provides space for youth players and offers them supervised accommodation and nutrition. The foundation was to aid in the administration of the club's youth department. The foundation was to build, later to run and maintain the campus grounds.

Chairwoman   Mrs Gisela Oeri
Vice Chairman   Mr Bernhard Heusler
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[21])
(37,500 for international matches[22] / 120x80 m)

Source: Official Site

Team management

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The German Thorsten Fink remained head-coach for the second consecutive season. His team also remained in the same constellation as in the previous season.

Position Staff
Manager   Thorsten Fink
Assistant manager   Heiko Vogel
Fitness Coach   Nikola Vidović
Conditioning Coach   Marco Walker
Goalkeeper Coach   Romain Crevoisier
Team Administration   Gustav Nussbaumer
Youth Team Coach   Patrick Rahmen
Youth Team Co-Coach   Sandro Kamber

Last updated: 23 July 2010
Source: [citation needed]

Supplier: Nike
Sponsor(s): Novartis

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Home[23]
 
 
 
 
 
 
Away

Source: Official Site

First team

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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 20 July 2010 but subsequently left the club after that date.

FC Basel Starting 11 in their 4-4–2 formation

As of 23 July 2010[24] 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   ARG Franco Costanzo (Captain)
4 DF   TUR Çağdaş Atan
6 DF   AUT Aleksandar Dragović
7 MF   SUI Pascal Schürpf
8 MF   SUI Benjamin Huggel (Vice-captain)
9 FW   SUI Marco Streller
10 MF   CIV Gilles Yapi
11 MF   AUS Scott Chipperfield
13 FW   SUI Alexander Frei
14 MF   SUI Valentin Stocker
15 FW   ARG Federico Almerares
16 DF   SUI Taulant Xhaka
17 MF   SUI Xherdan Shaqiri
18 GK   SUI Yann Sommer
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 DF   ARG David Abraham
20 DF   SWE Behrang Safari
21 DF   SUI Genséric Kusunga
22 DF   GHA Samuel Inkoom
23 GK   SUI Massimo Colomba
24 MF   SUI Cabral
26 MF   SUI Daniel Unal
27 DF   GER Markus Steinhöfer
28 DF   SUI Beg Ferati
29 DF   SUI Janick Kamber
30 FW   ZAM Fwayo Tembo
31 FW   CMR Jacques Zoua
32 DF   SUI Reto Zanni
34 MF   SUI Granit Xhaka
35 FW   GER Matthias Baron

Multiple Nationality

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2010–11 Summer transfers

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10 MF   CIV Gilles Yapi (from BSC Young Boys - Free)
16 DF   SUI Taulant Xhaka (from Basel U-21)
18 GK   SUI Yann Sommer (loan return from Grasshopper Club Zürich)
21 DF   SUI Genséric Kusunga (from Servette FC - Free)
29 DF   SUI Janick Kamber (from Basel U-21)
30 FW   ZAM Fwayo Tembo (from Étoile du Sahel - 1,300,000 SFr)
34 MF   SUI Granit Xhaka (from Basel U-21)
35 FW   GER Matthias Baron (from Basel U-21)
15 FW   ARG Marcos Gelabert (to Neuchâtel Xamax - ?)
18 GK   GER Stefan Wessels (to FK Ventspils - Free)
25 MF   BRA Antonio da Silva (footballer) (loan return to Karlsruher SC)
30 MF   POR Carlitos (to Malaga - Free)
33 DF   TUR Serkan Sahin (to Konyaspor - 875,000 SFr)

Out on loan

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3 DF   ALG Sabri Boumelaha (out on loan to FC Wil)
5 DF   SUI Dominik Ritter (on loan to FC Winterthur)
16 FW   SUI Orhan Mustafi (on loan to Arminia Bielefeld)
18 GK   SUI Jayson Leutwiler (on loan to Yverdon Sport)
27 MF   SUI Marco Aratore (on loan to FC Aarau)

Winter break transfers

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6 DF   AUT Aleksandar Dragović (from Austria Wien)
27 DF   GER Markus Steinhöfer (from Eintracht Frankfurt)

Competitions

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Overall

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At the start of the season, Basel was entered into 3 competitions — the Swiss Super League, the Swiss Cup, and the UEFA Champions League. Upon elimination from the group stage of the Champions League, Basel dropped into the UEFA Europa League.

Competition Started round Final
position / round
First match Last match
Swiss Super League Winner 20 July 2010 25 May 2011
Swiss Cup Round 1 Quarter-final 20 September 2010 3 March 2011
UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round Group stage 28 July 2010 8 December 2010
UEFA Europa League Round of 32 Round of 32 17 February 2011 24 February 2011

Source: Competitions

Results and fixtures

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Legend

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Kickoff times are in CET.

Pre- and mid-season friendlies

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17 June 2010 Pre-season Landkreisauswahl Miesbach   1 – 12   Basel Sportplatz Warngau, Munich
20:15 Dengler   61' (1:8) Summary Almerares   3' (0:1)
Almerares   11' (0:2)
Zoua   24' (0:3)
Almerares   25' (0:4)
Kusunga   31' (0:5)
Tembo   42' (0:6)
Almerares   49' (0:7)
Almerares   55' (0:8)
Mustafi   83' (1:9)
Aratore   83' (1:10)
Mustafi   88' (1:11)
Mustafi   89' (1:12)
Attendance: 600
Referee:   Ferdinand Friedrich
19 June 2010 Pre-season Rottach-Egern   1 – 7   Basel Sportgelände am Birkenmoos, Rottach-Egern
17:45 Kapsa   66' (1:6) Summary Schürpf   25' (0:1)
Kusunga   32' (0:2)
Schürpf   47' (0:3)
Mustafi   55' (0:4)
Schürpf   60' (0:5)
Mustafi   65' (0:6)
Baron   71' (1:7)
Attendance: 100
Referee:   Florian Kornblum
22 June 2010 Pre-season Kiefersfelden   1 – 21   Basel Kohlstatt-Stadion, Kiefersfelden
17:45 Müllauer   14' Summary Almerares   7', 25', 45'
Unal   26', 35'
Tembo   33', 46'
Çağdaş   37'
Yapi   46'
Baron   48', 50', 58', 78', 84'
Kusunga   55', 76'
Aratore   61'
Cabral   63', 79'
Mustafi   70'
Schürpf   82'
Attendance: 300
Referee:   Krische
26 June 2010 Pre-season Basel   1 – 0   Shakhtar Donetsk Sportplatz Chrüzmatt, Olten
17:45 Zanni   70' (pen.) Summary Attendance: 730
Referee:   Markus von Känel
29 June 2010 Pre-season Basel   4 – 1   Wohlen Stadion Schützenmatte, Basel
17:45 Aratore   47'
G. Xhaka   52'
Almerares   84'
Zoua   90'
Summary Piu   43' Attendance: 400
Referee:   Claudio Circhetta
2 July 2010 Pre-season Basel   2 – 2   Lugano Stadion Gitterli, Liestal
17:45 Tembo   43'
Unal   89'
Summary Senger   16'
Da Silva   58'
Attendance: 700
Referee:   Sascha Amhof
6 July 2010 Pre-season Laufen   0 – 7   Basel Sportplatz Nau, Laufen
18:45 Summary Yapi   28', 40'
Almerares   48', 76', 86'
Çağdaş   60'
Buch   84'
Attendance: 835
Referee:   Pascal Erlachner
8 July 2010 Pre-season Basel   7 – 0   SC Dornach Leichtathletik-Stadion St. Jakob
18:45 Almerares   28', 62', 65'
Schürpf   32', 88'
G. Xhaka   42'
Zoua   87'
Summary Attendance: 400
Referee:   Sascha Amhof
10 July 2010 Pre-season Basel   5 – 0   FC Sochaux Stade des Peupliers, Bavois, Vaud
18:00 Zoua   8', 60'
Behrang Safari   27'
Almerares   87', 91' (pen.)
Summary Attendance: 750
Referee:   Stephan Klossner
15 July 2010 Pre-season SV Weil   0 – 4   Basel Nonnenholz, Weil am Rhein
18:30 Summary Yapi   18'
Shaqiri   25'
Almerares   77', 89'
Attendance: 1,500
Referee:   Dominik Waldkirch
10 August 2010 Mid-season SC Freiburg   1 – 3   Basel Badenova-Stadion, Freiburg
18:30 Schuster   19' Summary Abraham   24'
Baron   28'
Barth   89' (o.g.)
Attendance: 7,700
Referee:   Markus Schmidt
2 September 2010 Mid-season FC Black Stars   1 – 2   Basel Bachgraben, Basel
19:00 Schuster   19' (1:0) Summary Baron   22' (1:1)
Chipperfield   29' (1:2)
Attendance: 500
Referee:   Daniel Stocker
6 October 2010 Mid-season Basel   4 – 0   Saint-Louis Neuweg Gigersloch, Dornach
19:00 Unal   11' (1:0)
Almerares   20' (2:0)
Chipperfield   27' (3:0)
Almerares   44' (4:0)
Summary Attendance: 500
Referee:   Claudio Circhetta
6 October 2010 Mid-season SC Dornach   0 – 3   Basel Gigersloch, Dornach
20:00 Summary   22' (0:1) Baron
  34' (0:2) Chipperfield
  39' (0:3) Baron
Attendance: 500
Referee:   Claudio Circhetta

Winterbreak and mid-season friendlies

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7 January 2011 Winterbreak Basel   3 – 1   Karlsruher SC Sports facilities St. Jakob, Münchenstein
15:00 Stocker   2' (1:0)
Almerares   57' (2:0)
Almerares   62' (3:0)
Summary   35' (1:1) Buckley Attendance: 600
Referee:   Adrien Jaccottet
9 January 2011 Winter break Basel   0 – 4   Borussia Dortmund St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
14:00 Summary   45' (0:1) Lewandowski
  61' (0:2) Şahin
  70' (0:3) Da Silva
  88' (0:4) Ginczek
Attendance: 12,788
Referee:   Nikolaj Hänni
12 January 2011 Training camp test Basel   2 – 1   ADO Den Haag Marbella Football Center, Marbella
16:00 Huggel   56' (1:1)
Streller   62' (2:1)
Summary   45+1' (0:1) Derijck Attendance: 70
Referee:   Juan Francisco Caravaca
13 January 2011 Training camp test Basel   2 – 1   Roda JC Marbella Football Center, Marbella
16:00 A. Frei   58' (1:1)
Sandro Wieser   73' (2:1)
Summary   8' (0:1) Janssen Attendance: 80
Referee:   Juan Francisco Caravaca
15 January 2011 Training camp test Basel   5 – 0   Club Brugge KV Marbella Football Center, Marbella
10:30 Tembo   5' (1:0)
Kusunga   34' (2:0)
Huggel   64' (3:0)
Baron   71' (4:0)
Baron   89' (5:0)
Summary Attendance: 30
Referee:   Sebastian Bortolotti
19 January 2011 Training camp test Basel   0 – 0   Lech Poznań Marbella Football Center, Marbella
16:00 Summary   14′ Attendance: 80
Referee:  
22 January 2011 Winterbreak Lausanne-Sport   5 – 2   Basel Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne
14:30 Moussilou   24' (1:1)
Pasche   41' (2:2)
Avanzini   59' (3:2)
Moussilou   61' (4:2)
Avanzini   78' (5:2)
Summary   12' (0:1) Streller
  35' (1:2) Stocker
Attendance: played behind closed doors
Referee:   Reto Walker
26 January 2011 winterbreak Basel   3 – 0   FC Wohlen Sports facilities St. Jakob, Münchenstein
15:00 Shaqiri   11' (1:0)
Kusunga   19' (2:0)
A. Frei   27' (3:0)
Summary Attendance: 100
Referee:   Marco Speranda
29 January 2011 Winterbreak Basel   6 – 0   Yverdon-Sports Sports facilities St. Jakob, Münchenstein
14:30 Streller   16' (1:0)
A. Frei   21' (2:0)
Streller   28' (3:0)
G. Xhaka   45' (4:0)
A. Frei   60' (pen. 5:0)
Shaqiri   80' (6:0)
Summary   8′ Dabo Attendance: 700
Referee:   Dejan Starovlah
24 March 2011 Mid-season SV Muttenz   3 – 2   Basel Margelacker, Muttenz
19:00 Jegge   40' (1:1)
Biancavilla   54' (2:1)
Shashivari   61' (3:1)
Summary   23' (0:1) Steinhöfer
  77' (3:2) Baron
Attendance: 1,100
Referee:   Adrien Jaccottet
27 April 2011 Mid-season Basel   1 – 1   FC Wohlen Leichtathletik-Stadion St. Jakob, Basel
16:00 Shaqiri   41' (1:0) Summary   80' (1:1) Roduner Attendance: 300
Referee:   Pascal Erlachner
4 May 2011 Mid-season FC Liestal   0 – 8   Basel Gitterli, Liestal
18:00 Summary   1' (0:1) A. Frei
  8' (0:2) A. Frei
  17' (0:3) Streller
  32' (0:4) Zoua
  48' (0:5) Baron
  53' (0:6) Shaqiri
  70' (0:7) Buess
  77' (0:8) Deza
Attendance: 700
Referee:   Fedayi San
Note: Test player Jean Deza played his second game for Basel, he later signed for MŠK Žilina.

Swiss Super League

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First half of season

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20 July 2010 Round 1 Basel 3 – 2 Zurich St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:15 Frei   18' (1:1)
Shaqiri   30'
Çağdaş   38'
Zoua   45' (2:2)
Kusunga   50'
Stocker   56'
Frei   69'
Frei   80' (3:2)
Summary   13' (0:1) Teixeira
  29' Zouaghi
  36' (1:2) Djurić
  76' Margairaz
Attendance: 30,520
Referee:   Sascha Kever
24 July 2010 Round 2 Sion 1 – 2 Basel Stade Tourbillon, Sion
17:45 Dingsdag   19' (1:1) Summary   13' (0:1) Frei
  19' Costanzo
  57' Safari
  75' Cabral
  78' Stocker
  90+3' (1:2) D. Abraham
Attendance: 13,200
Referee:   Jérôme Laperrière
1 August 2010 Round 3 Basel 3 – 0 St. Gallen St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00 Frei   20' (1:0)
Yapi   27' (2:0)
Almerares   81' (3:0)
Summary   49' Winter Attendance: 27,813
Referee:   Alain Bieri
7 August 2010 Round 4 Bellinzona 1 – 0 Basel Stadio Comunale Bellinzona, Bellinzona
17:45 Lustrinelli   52' (1:0)
Ciarrocchi   56'
La Rocca   72'
Mihajlovic   90+4'
Summary   32' Safari
  84' Ferati
Attendance: 4,600
Referee:   Daniel Wermelinger
14 August 2010 Round 5 Basel 1 – 4 Luzern St. Jakob-Park, Basel
17:45 Chipperfield   45'
Costanzo   52'
Tembo   90' (1:4)   64'
Summary   13' (0:1) Gygax
  25' Puljić
  31' Ferreira
  33' (0:2) Yakin
  55' (pen. 0:3) Yakin
  59' Lustenberger
  64' Gygax
  66' Zibung
  72' (0:4) Pacar
Attendance: 29,049
Referee:   Massimo Busacca
21 August 2010 Round 6 Thun 1 – 1 Basel Stadion Lachen, Thun
17:45 Rama   85' (1:1)
Rama   86'
Schneider   89'
Andrist   90'
Summary   50' Ferati
  70' Almerares
  81' (0:1) Schürpf
  90' Abraham
Attendance: 7,100
Referee:   Stephan Studer
28 August 2010 Round 7 Basel 4 – 1 Neuchatel St. Jakob-Park, Basel
17:45 Çağdaş   22'
Streller   26' (1:0)
Frei   36' (2:0)
Frei   53' (3:0)
Frei   65' (4:0)
Summary   38' Nuzzolo
  65' Wüthrich
  66' Kuljić
  77' (4:1) Gohou
Attendance: 27,063
Referee:   Alain Bieri
12 September 2010 Round 8 Young Boys 2 – 2 Basel Wankdorf, Bern
16:00 Jemal   4' (1:0)
Degen   22' (2:0)
Summary   39' (2:1) Frei
  74' (2:2) Chipperfield
Attendance: 25,772
Referee:   Stephan Studer
22 September 2010 Round 9 Basel 2 – 2 Grasshopper St. Jakob-Park, Basel
19:45   3'
D. Abraham   34' (1:1)
Streller   44' (2:1)
  70'
  73'
 
Summary   8' (0:1) Menezes
  43'
  51' (2:2) Emeghara
  64'
  80'
  90+4'
Attendance: 28,274
Referee:   Sascha Kever
25 September 2010 Round 10 Zurich 1 – 4 Basel Letzigrund, Zürich
17:45 Margairaz   51' (1:3) Summary   10' (0:1) Inkoom
  44' (0:2) Streller
  46' (0:3) Stocker
  67' (1:4) Streller
Attendance: 12,700
Referee:   Jérôme Laperrière
3 October 2010 Round 11 Basel 1 – 1 Sion St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00 Stocker   67' Summary   33'   Ogăraru
  43' Bühler
Attendance: 29,033
Referee:   Nikolaj Hänni
24 October 2010 Round 12 St. Gallen 1 – 3 Basel AFG Arena, St. Gallen
16:00 Frei   83' (1:3) Summary   8' (0:1) Streller
  37' (0:2) Streller
  76' (0:3) Streller
Attendance: 15,070
Referee:   Bernhard Brugger
30 October 2010 Round 13 Basel 3 – 1 Bellinzona St. Jakob-Park, Basel
17:45 Chipperfield   30' (1:0)
Almerares   41' (2:0)
Chipperfield   54' (3:0)
 
Summary   37' Edusei
  42' Mihoubi
  61' (3:1) Feltscher
  70' Lustrinelli
  89' Mattila
Attendance: 27,780
Referee:   Bruno Grossen
7 November 2010 Round 14 Luzern 1 – 1 Basel Stadion Allmend, Luzern
12:45 Veskovac   25'
Kibebe   45'
Pulji   53'
Ferreira   64' (1:0)
Luqmon   92'
Summary   25' Stocker
  54' Tembo
  90+2' Abraham
  90+4' (1:1) Almerares
  90+4' Almerares
Attendance: 8,700
Referee:   Stephan Studer
Note: Game interrupted for almost 6 minutes after 8 minutes play, because hundreds of tennis balls from the FCB fan sector flew onto the terrain (protest against the early play-off time, due to a tennis match).
13 November 2010 Round 15 Basel 1 – 3 Thun St. Jakob-Park, Basel
17:45 Inkoom   5'
Zanni   50'
Abraham   51'
Chipperfield   61' (1:2)
Yapi   67'
Summary   8' (pen. 0:1) Scarione
  27' (0:2) Proschwitz
  59' Taljević
  76' (1:3) Taljević
Attendance: 29,670
Referee:   Dietmar Drabek
27 November 2010 Round 16 Neuchâtel 1 – 2 Basel Stade de la Maladière, Neuchâtel
17:45 Nuzzolo   43' (1:0) Summary   63' (1:1) Almerares
  79' (1:2) Valentin Stocker
Attendance: 3,988
Referee:   Daniel Wermelinger
5 December 2010 Round 17 Basel 3 – 1 Young Boys St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00 Frei   52' (1:1)
Shaqiri   68' (2:1)
Frei   77' (3:1)
Summary   41' (0:1) Doubai Attendance: 30,499
Referee:   Claudio Circhetta
12 December 2010 Round 18 Grasshopper 2 – 1 Basel Letzigrund, Zürich
16:00 Emeghara   12' (1:0)
Emeghara   14' (2:0)
Summary   80' (2:1) Streller
  59'   87' Tembo
Attendance: 7,700
Referee:   Stephan Studer

Second half of season

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6 February 2011 Round 19 Thun 2 – 3 Basel Stadion Lachen, Thun
16:00 Scarione   19' (1:0)
Lezcano   92' (2:3)
Summary   50' (1:1) Stocker
  57' (1:2) Abraham
  71' (1:3) Frei
Attendance: 6,100
Referee:   Cyril Zimmermann
12 February 2011 Round 20 Basel 3 – 0 St. Gallen St. Jakob-Park, Basel
17:45 Huggel   11' (1:0)
Frei   40' (2:0)
Abraham   86' (3:0)
Summary Attendance: 26,534
Referee:   Massimo Busacca
20 February 2011 Round 21 Basel 1 – 0 Sion St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00 Shaqiri   61' (1:0)
Stocker   88'
Summary   16' Sio
  28' Dingsdag
  87' Ogăraru
  90+4' Marin
Attendance: 25,349
Referee:   Stephan Studer
27 February 2011 Round 22 Luzern 0 – 1 Basel Stadion Gersag, Lucerne
16:00 Zverotić   56'
H. Yakin   70'
Puljić   90+4'
Zibung   90+6'
Summary   14' (0:1) A. Frei
  80' A. Frei
  90+1' Steinhöfer
  90+3' Yapi
  90+3' Chipperfield
  90+4' Dragović
Attendance: 8,700
Referee:   Alain Bieri
6 March 2011 Round 23 Basel 3 – 1 Zurich St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00 Cabral   40'
Zoua   50' (1:1)
A. Frei   61' (2:1)
A. Frei   62'
G. Xhaka   65'
Costanzo   68'
Shaqiri   72'
Streller   78'
A. Frei   89' (3:1)
Summary   2' (0:1) Chermiti
  19' Stahel
  21' Mehmedi
  34' Djuric
  75' Zouaghi
Attendance: 30,418
Referee:   Stephan Studer
13 March 2011 Round 24 AC Bellinzona 0 – 4 Basel Stadio Comunale, Bellinzona
16:00 Mihajlovic   24'
Diana   42'
Pergl   42'
Summary   9' (0:1) Shaqiri
  21' (0:2) Zoua
  42' Chipperfield
  55' (0:3) Stocker
  64' (0:4) Stocker
Attendance: 2,563
Referee:   Patrick Graf
20 March 2011 Round 25 Grasshopper Club Zürich 1 – 2 Basel Letzigrund, Zürich
16:00 Emeghara   31'
Toko   65' (1:1)
Zuber   85'
Summary   20' Stocker
  43' (0:1) Streller
  48' Yapi
  70' Chipperfield
  81' (1:2) Frei
  85' Streller
Attendance: 8,500
Referee:   Alain Bieri
2 April 2011 Round 26 Basel 1 – 0 Neuchâtel Xamax St. Jakob-Park, Basel
17:45 Unal   10'
Frei   39' (1:0)
Abraham   41'
Steinhöfer   91'
Summary   87' Gelabert
  88' Besle
Attendance: 26,440
Referee:   Stephan Klossner
10 April 2011 Round 27 Young Boys 3 – 3 Basel Wankdorf, Bern
16:00 Bienvenu   26' (1:0)
Lulić   33' (2:0)
Nef   40'
Raimondi   80' (3:3)
Wölfli   90+1'
Summary   30' G. Xhaka
  38' (2:1) A. Frei
  65' (2:2) Streller
  77' (2:3) Tembo
Attendance: 31,120
Referee:   Massimo Busacca
17 April 2011 Round 28 Basel 2 – 2 Grasshopper St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00 A. Frei   58' (1:2)
Abraham   69' (2:2)
Yapi   70'
Summary   9' (0:1) Pavlović
  13' (0:2) Callà
Attendance: 30,071
Referee:   Cyril Zimmermann
20 April 2011 Round 29 Neuchâtel 2 – 2 Basel Stade de la Maladière, Neuchâtel
20:00 Gelabert   25'
Ismaeel   27'
Niasse   43' (1:1)
Binya   53'
Nuzzolo   90+3' (2:2)
Summary   25' (0:1) Stocker
  45' Streller
  73' (1:2) A. Frei
Attendance: 5,450
Referee:   Ludovic Gremaud
23 April 2011 Round 30 Basel 2 – 1 Young Boys St. Jakob-Park, Basel
17:45 Chipperfield   25' (1:1)
Stocker   46'
G. Xhaka   85'
A. Frei   85' (2:1)
Costanzo   90+2'
Summary   19' Farnerud
  21' (0:1) Bienvenu
  40' Sutter
  70'   79' Lulić
Attendance: 31,595
Referee:   Nikolaj Hänni
1 May 2011 Round 31 Sion 3 – 0 Basel Stade Tourbillon, Sion
16:00 Prijović   26' (1:0)
Sio   28' (2:0)
Sio   40'
Prijović   47' (3:0)
Zambrella   84'
Summary   20' Safari
  Cabral
Attendance: 11,800
Referee:   Daniel Wermelinger
8 May 2011 Round 32 Basel 2 – 0 Bellinzona St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00 Huggel   39' (1:0)
A. Frei   89' (2:0)
Summary   41' Feltscher
  72' Mattila
  89' Wahab
  90+4' Mihajlović
Attendance: 26,114
Referee:   Thomas Prammer
11 May 2011 Round 33 Zurich 2 – 2 Basel Letzigrund, Zürich
19:45 Schönbächler   33'
Djurić   43' (1:0)
Nikci   75' (2:1)
Béda   12'   90+3'
Summary   52' Shaqiri
  69' (1:1) A. Frei
  77' (2:2) A. Frei
  79' Huggel
  90+1' Abraham
Attendance: 22,800
Referee:   Stephan Studer
15 May 2011 Round 34 Basel 5 – 1 Thun St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00 Dragović   25'
Huggel   34' (1:0)
A. Frei   43' (2:1)
G. Xhaka   45' (3:1)
A. Frei   59' (4:1)
Shaqiri   79' (5:1)
Summary   32' Glarner
  38' (1:1) Andrist
  42' Matić
  61' Da Costa
Attendance: 29,063
Referee:   Massimo Busacca
22 May 2011 Round 35 St. Gallen 0 – 0 Basel AFG Arena, St. Gallen
16:00 Regazzoni   11'
Abegglen   49'
Summary   12' Shaqiri
  50' Huggel
  79' Dragović
Attendance: 19,500
Referee:   Alain Bieri
25 May 2011 Round 36 Basel 3 – 0 Luzern St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00 A. Frei   6' (1:0)
Shaqiri   45' (2:0)
Zoua   54' (3:0)
Summary   41' Kukeli
  51' Puljić
  53' Urtić
Attendance: 37,500 (sold out)
Referee:   Massimo Busacca

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Basel (C) 36 21 10 5 76 44 +32 73 Qualification to Champions League group stage[a]
2 Zürich 36 21 9 6 74 44 +30 72 Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round
3 Young Boys 36 15 12 9 65 50 +15 57 Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round
4 Sion 36 15 9 12 47 36 +11 54 Qualification to Europa League play-off round[b]
5 Thun 36 11 16 9 48 43 +5 49 Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round
6 Luzern 36 13 9 14 62 57 +5 48
7 Grasshopper 36 10 11 15 45 54 −9 41
8 Neuchâtel Xamax 36 8 8 20 44 67 −23 32
9 Bellinzona (R) 36 7 11 18 42 75 −33 32 Qualification to relegation play-offs
10 St. Gallen (R) 36 8 7 21 34 67 −33 31 Relegation to Swiss Challenge League
Source: Super League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Due to the winners of 2010–11 UEFA Champions League, Barcelona, having qualified for the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League group phase via their domestic leagues and the subsequent vacation of the title holder spot, Basel as Swiss champions were moved up from the third qualification round into the group stage.
  2. ^ By winning the 2010–11 Swiss Cup. The team was later disqualified from the Europa League after Celtic's successful protest over the team's use of ineligible players.

Swiss Cup

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19 September 2010 Round 1 FC Mendrisio-Stabio 0 – 5 Basel Campo comunale Mendrisio, Mendrisio
15:30 Martinelli   69' SFV summary
FCB Summary
  31' (0:1) Almerares
  36' (0:2) Schürpf
  44' Schürpf
  63' (0:3) Tembo
  70' (0:4) Schürpf
  88' (0:5) Almerares
Attendance: 3,200
Referee:   Bruno Grossen
15 October 2010 Round 2 Yverdon-Sport FC 0 – 2 Basel Stade Municipal, Yverdon-les-Bains
19:30 Manière   57'
Gil   68'
Paquito   74'
SFV summary
FCB summary
  45' Kusunga
  70' Huggel
  72' (0:1) Almerares
  77' (0:2) Tembo
  90' Chipperfield
Attendance: 1,800
Referee:   Cyril Zimmermann
20 November 2010 Round 3 Servette FC 1 – 1
(3–4 p)
Basel Stade de Genève
19:00 de Azevedo   47' (pen.)
Kouassi   53'
Pizzinat   64'
SFV summary
FCB summary
  18' (pen.) Chipperfield
  35' G. Xhaka
  38' Cabral
  68' Çağdaş
Attendance: 14,150
Referee:   Massimo Busacca
Penalties
Baumann  
Routis  
de Azevedo  
Karanović  
Nater  
Frei  
Tembo  
Huggel  
Almerares  
Inkoom  
3 March 2011 Quarterfinals FC Biel-Bienne 3 – 1 FC Basel Gurzelen Stadion
19:30 Egli   53' (1:1)
Morello   80' (2:1)
Etoundi  84' (3:1)
SFV summary
FCB summary
Kehrli   43' (o.g.)
  55' Ferati
  68' Yapi
  90+3' Dragović
Attendance: 6,500
Referee:   Daniel Wermelinger

UEFA Champions League

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Third qualifying round

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Play-off round

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18 August 2010 POR leg 1 Basel   1 – 0   Sheriff Tiraspol St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:45 Stocker   54'
Zoua   67'
UEFA report
summary
  7' Branković
  53' Samardžić
  85' Vranješ
  76'   86' Yerokhin
Attendance: 13,460
Referee: Terje Hauge (NOR)
24 August 2010 POR leg 2 Sheriff Tiraspol   0 – 3   Basel Sheriff Stadium, Tiraspol
20:45 UEFA report
FCB summary
Frei   80', 87'   17'
Atan   40'
Streller   73'
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Martin Hansson
15 September 2010 Matchday 1 CFR Cluj   2 – 1   Basel Dr. Constantin Rădulescu, Cluj-Napoca
20:45 Rada   9'   90+2'
Traoré   12'
Panin   25'
UEFA report
FCB report
  45+2' Stocker
  55' Streller
Attendance: 9,593
Referee: Alan Kelly (Ireland)
28 September 2010 Matchday 2 Basel   1–2   Bayern Munich St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:45 Frei   18' UEFA report
FCB summary
  56' (pen), 89' Schweinsteiger Attendance: 37,500
Referee: Craig Thomson (Scotland)
19 October 2010 Matchday 3 Roma   1–3   Basel Stadio Olimpico, Roma
20:45 Borriello   21' UEFA report
FCB summary
  12' Frei
  44' Inkoom
  90+3' Cabral
Attendance: 22,365
Referee: Aleksey Nikolaev (Russia)
3 November 2010 Matchday 4 Basel   2–3   Roma St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:45 Frei   69'
Shaqiri   83'
UEFA report
FCB summary
  16' Menez
  26' Totti
  76' Greco
Attendance: 36,375
Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)
23 November 2010 Matchday 5 Basel   1–0   CFR Cluj St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:45 Almerares   15' UEFA summary
FCB summary
Attendance: 34,239
Referee: Laurent Duhamel (France)
8 December 2010 Matchday 6 Bayern Munich   3–0   Basel Allianz Arena, Munich
20:45 Ribéry   35', 49'
Tymoshchuk   37'
UEFA report
FCB summary
Attendance: 64,000
Referee: Martin Hansson (Sweden)

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Bayern Munich 6 5 0 1 16 6 +10 15 Advance to knockout phase
2   Roma 6 3 1 2 10 11 −1 10
3   Basel 6 2 0 4 8 11 −3 6 Transfer to Europa League
4   CFR Cluj 6 1 1 4 6 12 −6 4
Source: Soccerway

UEFA Europa League / knockout phase

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17 February 2011 First leg Basel   2 – 3   Spartak Moscow St. Jakob-Park, Basel
21:05 CEST Stocker   34'
Frei   36'
Streller   41'
Yapi   48'
Shaqiri   78'
Kusunga   90+1'
UEFA report
FCB summary
  34' McGeady
  52' De Sousa Pereira
  61' D. Kombarov
  70' Dzyuba
  82' Dikan
  90' Suchý
  90+2' Ananidze
Attendance: 13,073
Referee: Aleksandar Stavrev (Macedonia)
24 February 2011 Second leg Spartak Moscow   1 – 1   Basel Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
19:00 CEST McGeady   90+1' UEFA report
FCB summary
  15' Chipperfield
  31' Cabral
  72' Zoua
  86' Safari
Attendance: 14,977
Referee: Cristian Balaj (Romania)

Spartak Moscow won 4–3 on aggregate.

Statistics

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Includes all competitive matches.

Last updated on 28 August

Top scorers

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Position Number Player Super League Champions League Swiss Cup Total
FW 13   Alexander Frei 7 2 0 9
FW 9   Marco Streller 1 1 0 2
MF 14   Valentin Stocker 0 2 0 2
FW 31   Jacques Zoua 1 0 0 1
DF 19   David Abraham 1 0 0 1
MF 7   Pascal Schürpf 1 0 0 1
FW 15   Federico Almerares 1 0 0 1
FW 10   Gilles Yapi 1 0 0 1
FW 30   Fwayo Tembo 1 0 0 1
DF 4   Çağdaş Atan 0 1 0 1
MF 11   Scott Chipperfield 0 1 0 1
MF 17   Xherdan Shaqiri 0 1 0 1
MF 34   Granit Xhaka 0 1 0 1
/ / Own Goals 0 0 0 0
TOTALS 14 9 0 23

Top assistants

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Position Number Player Super League Champions League Swiss Cup Total
MF 14   Valentin Stocker 3 0 0 3
FW 13   Alexander Frei 2 1 0 3
DF 22   Samuel Inkoom 2 0 0 2
DF 20   Behrang Safari 1 1 0 2
MF 8   Benjamin Huggel 0 2 0 2
MF 17   Xherdan Shaqiri 0 2 0 2
FW 30   Fwayo Tembo 1 0 0 1
FW 31   Jacques Zoua 0 1 0 1
TOTALS 9 7 0 16

Discipline

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Position Number Player Super League Champions League Swiss Cup Total
               
MF 14   Valentin Stocker 2 0 1 0 0 0 3 0
DF 4   Çağdaş Atan 2 0 1 0 0 0 3 0
DF 20   Behrang Safari 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
MF 24   Cabral 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0
DF 28   Beg Ferati 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
GK 1   Franco Costanzo 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
FW 13   Alexander Frei 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0
DF 22   Samuel Inkoom 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
DF 21   Genséric Kusunga 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
MF 17   Xherdan Shaqiri 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
FW 30   Fwayo Tembo 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
MF 11   Scott Chipperfield 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
DF 19   David Abraham 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
FW 15   Federico Almerares 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
FW 31   Jacques Zoua 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
TOTALS 17 1 6 0 0 0 23 1

References

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  1. ^ Zea Zea, Antonio (2011). "Switzerland 2010/11". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (19 September 2010). "FC Mendrisio-Stabio - FC Basel 0:5 (0:2)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  3. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (15 October 2010). "Yverdon-Sport FC - FC Basel 0:2 (0:0)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  4. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (20 November 2010). "Servette FC - FC Basel 3:4 n.P. (1:1, 1:1, 0:1)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  5. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. "FC Biel-Bienne - FC Basel 3:1 (0:1)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  6. ^ Zea, Antonio (29 May 2011). "Schweizer Cup 2010/2011". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  7. ^ Watson-Broughton, Matthew (28 July 2010). "Basel do enough to down Debrecen". uefa.com. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  8. ^ Glunk, Rudolf Aleksander (4 August 2010). "Debrecen well beaten by Basel". uefa.com. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  9. ^ uefa.com (18 August 2010). "Stocker header boosts Basel bid". uefa.com. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  10. ^ uefa.com (24 August 2010). "Basel make light work of Sheriff". uefa.com. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  11. ^ "Lineup complete for group-stage draw". UEFA.com. 26 August 2010.
  12. ^ Crossan, David (15 September 2010). "Culio the secret to CFR's success". uefa.com. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  13. ^ James, Andy (28 September 2010). "Schweinsteiger turns tables on Basel". uefa.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  14. ^ Aikman, Richard (19 October 2010). "Brilliant Basel stun Roma". uefa.com. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  15. ^ James, Andy (3 November 2010). "Roma hang on to make amends at Basel". uefa.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  16. ^ James, Andy (23 November 2010). "Basel close the door on CFR". uefa.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  17. ^ Holyman, Ian (8 December 2010). "Ribéry at the double as Bayern beat Basel". uefa.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  18. ^ Andrejevs, Andrejs (15 February 2011). "Spartak snatch victory at Basel". uefa.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  19. ^ van Poortvliet, Richard. "Spartak shake off Basel revival". uefa.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  20. ^ uefa.com (18 May 2011). "2010/11 Season". uefa.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  21. ^ "Figures and facts". FC Basel 1893. 2011. Archived from the original on 3 February 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  22. ^ "AFC Ajax UEFA Champions League | Season 2011/12 | Group D" (PDF). UEFA Champions League.
  23. ^ (in German) FC Basel. "Das neue Heimtrikot" (in German). Archived from the original on 14 July 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2008.
  24. ^ Das Kader - Spielerporttaits

Sources

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