2014–15 FC Basel season

FC Basel

2014–15 season
Owner	FCB Holding AG
Chairman	Bernhard Heusler
Manager	Paulo Sousa
Ground	St. Jakob-Park
Super League	1st
Swiss Cup	Runners-up
Champions League	Round of 16
Top goalscorer	League: Shkëlzen Gashi (21) All: Shkëlzen Gashi (25)
Highest home attendance	Swiss 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 attendance	Swiss League: 25,304 vs. Vaduz (28 February 2015) Champions League: 34,464 vs. Porto (28 February 2015)
Home colours Away colours

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	Mr Bernhard Heusler
Vice Chairman	Mr Adrian Knup
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) (37,500 for international matches) / 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. 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	Paulo Sousa since 18 June 2014
1 Assistant manager	Ignacio Torreño
2 Assistant manager	Víctor Sánchez
3 Assistant manager	Manuel Cordeiro
Goalkeeper Coach	Massimo Colomba
Team Administration	Gustav Nussbaumer
Youth Team Coach	Thomas Häberli
Youth Team Co-Coach	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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	CZE	Tomáš Vaclík
3	DF	CIV	Adama Traoré
4	DF	SUI	Philipp Degen
5	DF	SUI	Arlind Ajeti
6	DF	ARG	Walter Samuel
7	MF	SUI	Luca Zuffi
8	MF	CIV	Serey Die
9	FW	SUI	Marco Streller (Captain)
10	MF	ARG	Matías Delgado
11	MF	ALB	Shkëlzen Gashi
13	DF	BUL	Ivan Ivanov
14	FW	JPN	Yoichiro Kakitani
16	DF	SUI	Fabian Schär
17	DF	CZE	Marek Suchý

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
18	GK	SUI	Germano Vailati
19	DF	SWE	Behrang Safari
20	MF	SUI	Fabian Frei (vice-captain)
21	MF	CHI	Marcelo Díaz
23	GK	SUI	Pascal Albrecht
24	FW	EGY	Ahmed Hamoudi
25	FW	PAR	Derlis González
26	DF	ARG	Gastón Sauro
27	DF	SUI	Naser Aliji
30	FW	CIV	Giovanni Sio
33	MF	EGY	Mohamed Elneny
34	MF	ALB	Taulant Xhaka
36	FW	SUI	Breel Embolo
39	MF	SUI	Davide Callà

Out on loan

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

Transfers summer 2014

In

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

Out

—	GK	SUI	Yann Sommer (to Borussia Mönchengladbach)
—	MF	SUI	David Degen (end of football career)
—	MF	SUI	Valentin Stocker (to Hertha BSC)
—	DF	SUI	Kay Voser (to Fulham)
—	FW	BIH	Admir Seferagić (to Schaffhausen)

Transfers winter 2014/15

In

3

DF

CIV

Adama Traoré (from Melbourne Victory)

Out

8	MF	CIV	Serey Die (to VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga)
21	MF	CHI	Marcelo Díaz (to Bundesliga club Hamburger SV)

Results and fixtures

Kickoff times are in CET

Legend

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Friendly matches

Pre- and mid-season

FC Basel v Solothurn

24 June 2014 (2014-06-24) Pre-season	FC Basel	3 – 1	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: Lionel Tschudi
Note: The match was played over 2x 30 Minutes, fair game, no bookings

FC Köniz v Basel

27 June 2014 Pre-season	FC Köniz	1 – 3	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: Lukas Fänhdrich
Note: Fair game, no bookings

Wacker Innsbruck v Basel

3 July 2014 Pre-season	Wacker Innsbruck	0 – 3	Basel	Tivoli-Neu, Innsbruck
	Željko Đokić  77'	FCB summary	15' (0:1) F. Frei 43' (0:2) Streller 52' (0:3) Embolo	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Andreas Heiss

Basel v Sparta Prague

8 July 2014 Pre-season	Basel	0 – 4	Sparta Prague	Rottach-Egern, Germany
18:00 CEST	Sauro  47'	FCB summary	5' (0:1) Hušbauer 8' (pen. 0:2) Hušbauer 46' (0:3) Holek 59' (0:4) Nhamoinesu  81' Kadeřábek	Stadium: Sportplatz Birkenmoos Attendance: 100 Referee: Peter Sippel

Basel v Terek Grozny

12 July 2014 Pre-season	Basel	2 – 1	Terek Grozny	Neuried bei München, Germany
15:30	Streller 28' (1:0) Zuffi 85' (pen. 2:1)	FCB summary	51' (1:1) Aílton  67' Kydriashov  90+2' Godzyur	Attendance: 250 Referee: Matthias Jöllenbeck

Basel v Schaffhausen

15 July 2014 Pre-season	Basel	1 – 2	Schaffhausen	Stadion Rankhof, Basel
17:00	Safari 83' (1:2)	FCB summary	21' (0:1) Almerares 22' (0:2) Tadić	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)
Note: Fair game, no bookings

Basel v Wohlen

5 August 2014 Mid-season	Basel	6 – 0	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: Tomasz Superczynski
Note: Fair game, no bookings

Basel v SC Dornach

15 November 2014 Mid-season	Basel	5 – 1	SC Dornach	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
	Callà Sio Gashi Kakitani Delgado	Summary	Jankovic	Attendance: 0 (closed doors)

Winter break and mid-season

Basel v FC Hégenheim

10 January 2015 Winter break	Basel	9 – 0	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: Sascha Amhof
Note: Fair game, no bookings

Basel v Karlsruher SC

13 January 2015 Training camp	Basel	2 – 2	Karlsruher SC	Marbella Football Center, San Pedro de Alcántara
16:15	Streller 15' (1:1) Embolo  61' Schär  62' Samuel 86' (2:2)	FCB summary	8' (0:1) Yamada 70' (1:2) Gordon  83' Stoll  90+1' Micanski	Attendance: 100 Referee: Juan Antonio Vargas

Basel v Fortuna Düsseldorf

16 January 2015 Training camp	Basel	2 – 1	Fortuna Düsseldorf	Marbella Football Center, San Pedro de Alcántara
17:00	Delgado 22' (1:0) Kakitani 44' (2:1) Gashi  83'	FCB summary	23' (1:1) Liendl	Attendance: 600 Referee: Juan Antonio Vargas

Basel v Dynamo Kyiv

20 January 2015 Training camp	Basel	3 – 2	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  42' Gusev 65' (0:2) Teodorczyk  88' Vida	Attendance: 20 Referee: Velazquez

Basel v SC Freiburg

24 January 2015 Winter break	Basel	2 – 0	SC Freiburg	Stadion Schützenmatte, Basel
14:30	Streller 33' (1:0) Elneny 40' (2:0) Embolo   75'	FCB summary		Attendance: 1,828 Referee: Fabian Hänggi

Basel v Schaffhausen

27 January 2015 Winter break	Basel	2 – 1	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: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)
Note: Fair game, no bookings

Eintracht Braunschweig v Basel

30 January 2015 Winter break	Eintracht Braunschweig	2 – 0	Basel	Eintracht-Stadion, Braunschweig
18:30	Nielsen 63' (1:0) Zuck 71' (2:0)	FCB summary		Attendance: 3,850 Referee: Harm Osmers
Note: Fair game, no bookings

Basel v Old Boys

27 March 2015 Mid-season	Basel	4 – 0	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	64' Gutierrez	Attendance: 200 Referee: Zenel Musa

Swiss Super League

Main article: 2014–15 Swiss Super League

First half of season

Aarau v Basel

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  76' Aliji  78' Frei	Attendance: 3,644 Referee: Nikolaj Hänni

Basel v Luzern

27 July 2014 Round 2	Basel	3 – 0	Luzern	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00	Streller 22' (1:0) Gashi 39' (2:0) Xhaka  58' Callà 90+4' (3:0)	FCB summary Soccerway summary	56' Lustenberger  67' Jantscher  73' Lezcano	Attendance: 29,410 Referee: Sascha Amhof

Thun v Basel

2 August 2014 Round 3	Thun	2 – 3	Basel	Arena Thun, Thun
17:45	Kaluđerović 49' (1:2) Sadik 84' (2:2) Schindelholz  87'	FCB summary Soccerway summary	19' (0:1) Streller 27' (0:2) {Gashi  59' Gashi  74' González  85' Streller 88' (2:3) Schär	Attendance: 9,214 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

Basel v Zürich

9 August 2014 Round 4	Basel	4 – 1	Zürich	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Gashi 24' (1:0) Suchý  34' Zuffi 39' (2:0) González  44' Díaz  67' Schär  71' Kakitani 74' (3:1) Xhaka  81' Delgado 87' (4:1)	FCB summary Soccerway summary	27' Chikhaoui 55' (2:1) Chermiti  62' Yapi Yapo  90+4' Kecojević	Attendance: 33,372 Referee: Stephan Klossner

Basel v St. Gallen

14 August 2014 Round 5	Basel	0 – 2	St. Gallen	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Delgado  61'	FCB summary	29' Facchinetti 40' (0:1) Bunjaku 44' (0:2) Bunjaku  67' Rodriguez  80' Herzog	Attendance: 27,483 Referee: Nikolaj Hänni

Sion v Basel

17 August 2014 Round 6	Sion	2 – 3	Basel	Stade Tourbillon, Sion
13:45	Vanczák  9' Herea 69' (1:2) Carlitos 75' (pen. 2:2) Rüfli  90+2'	FCB summary Summary	7' Elneny 19' (0:1) Gashi  31' Suchý 59' (0:2) Streller 84' (o.g. 2:3) Vaņins  90+2' P. Degen	Attendance: 11,800 Referee: Stephan Studer

Basel v BSC Young Boys

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  37' Samuel  45' Schär  56' VaclíkVaclík  61' González  64' Streller  69' Kakitani 81' (3:1)	FCB summary	12' Nuzzolo 32' (2:1) Nuzzolo 62′ Gajić  69' Sanogo	Attendance: 31,103 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

Grasshopper Club v Basel

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	35' Safari 39' (1:1) Zuffi  37' Díaz  73' Delgado  81'  83' Callà	Attendance: 7,700 Referee: Sascha Amhof

Basel v Vaduz

23 September 2014 Round 9	Basel	3 – 1	Vaduz	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
19:45	Zuffi 2' (1:0) Xhaka  76' Streller 80' (2:1) Hamoudi 90+3' (3:1)	FCB summary Summary	11' (pen. 1:1) Lang  48' Lang  44' Kaufmann	Attendance: 25,347 Referee: Sandro Schärer

Basel v Thun

27 September 2014 Round 10	Basel	1 – 1	Thun	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Elneny  47' Xhaka 51' (1:0) Hamoudi  60'	FCB summary Soccerway summary	31' Schindelholz  36' González  77' Glarner 90' (1:1) Sadik	Attendance: 26,854 Referee: Stephan Klossner

St. Gallen v Basel

4 October 2014 Round 11	St. Gallen	2 – 1	Basel	AFG Arena, St. Gallen
20:00	Čavušević 85' (1:1) Bunjaku  90' Bunjaku 90+3' (2:1)	FCB summary Soccerway summary	35' Suchý 56' (0:1) Callà  90+4' González	Attendance: 16,366 Referee: Sascha Amhof
Note: 49th minute, game interrupted due to excessive smoke development due to pyros being lit.

Young Boys v Basel

18 October 2014 Round 12	Young Boys	0 – 1	Basel	Stade de Suisse, Bern
20:00	Renato Steffen  45' Guillaume Hoarau  69' Moreno Costanzo  90+1'	FCB summary	31' (0:1) Gashi  51' Aliji  70' P. Degen  74' Vaclík	Attendance: 22,002 Referee: Nikolaj Hänni

Basel v Sion

25 October 2014 Round 13	Basel	1 – 1	Sion	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Xhaka  47' Sio 64' (1:1) P. Degen  91' Schär  94'	FCB summary	51' (0:1)  41' Moussa Konaté  88' Akolo  92' Kouassi	Attendance: 26,722 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

Basel v Grasshopper Club

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  61'	FCB summary	39' Kahraba  74' Pavlović  81' Dingsdag	Attendance: 29,339 Referee: Sascha Amhof

Vaduz v Basel

9 November 2014 Round 15	Vaduz	0 – 4	Basel	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz
13:45	Stahel  3' Muntwiler  26'	FCB summary	27' (0:1) Díaz  38' Schär 45+2' (0:2) Embolo 49' (0:3) Embolo 76' (0:4) Gashi	Attendance: 6,733 (sold out) Referee: Pascal Erlachner
Note: Minute of mourning for the deceased Rainer Hasler (ex-Vaduz)

Basel v Aarau

23 November 2014 Round 16	Basel	3 – 0	Aarau	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
13:45	Gashi 86' (2:0) Díaz  56' Sousa (head coach)  71' Gashi 86' (2:0) Embolo 90+1' (3:0)	FCB summary	39' Radice  77' Andrist	Attendance: 28,742 Referee: Nikolaj Hänni
Note: 71 minutes Paulo Sousa (head coach) sent onto the stands

Zürich v Basel

30 November 2014 Round 17	Zürich	1 – 2	Basel	Letzigrund, Zürich
16:00	Kecojević  75' Chikhaoui 88' (pen. 1:2)	FCB summary	41' (0:1) Gashi  53' Gashi  86' Díaz 90+4' (1:2) Gashi	Attendance: 16,302 Referee: Stephan Studer

Luzern v Basel

6 December 2014 Round 18	Luzern	0 – 3	Basel	Swissporarena, Luzern
17:45	Samuel  19' Delgado 55' (0:1) Delgado 61' (0:2) Embolo 90+3' (0:3)	FCB summary	16' Affolter  17' Jantscher	Attendance: 11,830 Referee: Nikolaj Hänni

Second half of season

Grasshopper Club v Basel

8 February 2015 Round 19	Grasshopper Club	2 – 4	Basel	Letzigrund, Zürich
16:00 CET	Abrashi  31' Dabour 49' (1:1) Bauer  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  84' González  86' Delgado	Attendance: 6,300 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

Basel v Sion

14 February 2015 Round 20	Basel	1 – 1	Sion	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
17:45 CET	Vaclík  45+1' Gashi 68' (1:1)	FCB summary	6' Fernandes 45+1' (pen. 0:1) Pa Modou  56' Salatić  70' Lacroix  74' Akolo  78'  90' Perrier  86' Ziegler	Attendance: 25,363 Referee: Sascha Amhof

Young Boys v Basel

22 February 2015 Round 21	Young Boys	4 – 2	Basel	Stade de Suisse, Bern
16:00	Gerndt 10' (1:0) Lecjaks  16' Hoarau  24' Gerndt 27' (2:0) Gajić 60' (3:0) Vilotić  76' Hadergjonaj  84' Hoarau 90+3' (4:2)	FCB summary	15' González  41' Safari 71' (3:1) Gashi  88' Gashi  90' Traoré 90+2' (3:2) Streller	Attendance: 17,420 Referee: Stephan Klossner

Basel v Vaduz

28 February 2015 Round 22	Basel	1 – 0	Vaduz	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Luca Zuffi  23' F. Frei 41' (1:0) F. Frei  48' Suchý  80'	FCB summary	42' Neumayr	Attendance: 25,304 Referee: Fedayi San

Basel v Thun

7 March 2015 Round 23	Basel	3 – 0	Thun	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Xhaka  41' Gashi 45+1' (1:0) Streller 52' (2:0) Gashi 58' (3:0)	FCB summary	40' Ferreira	Attendance: 26.354 Referee: Pascal Erlachner

St. Gallen v Basel

15 March 2015 Round 24	St. Gallen	2 – 2	Basel	AFG Arena, St. Gallen
16:00	Sikorski 16' (1:1) Mutsch  17' Tréand 42' (2:2) Janjatović  69'	FCB summary	9' (0:1) Delgado 34' (1:2) Callà  66' Traoré  69' Xhaka  74' Embolo  89' Streller	Attendance: 17,457 Referee: Sandro Schärer

Luzern v Basel

21 March 2015 Round 25	Luzern	1 – 4	Basel	Swissporarena, Luzern
17:45	Omlin  48' Bozanic  48' Puljić 52' (1:3) Lustenberger  81'	FCB summary	31' Xhaka 32' (0:1) Gashi 47' (pen. 0:2) Delgado 49' (0:3) Gashi  81' P. Degen 87' (1:4) Callà	Attendance: 13,002 Referee: Stephan Studer

Basel v Aarau

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  70' Hamoudi  79'	FCB summary	27' Lüscher  71' Andrist	Attendance: 26,979 Referee: Sandro Schärer

Basel v Zürich

12 April 2015 Round 27	Basel	5 – 1	Zürich	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00	Gashi 24' Gashi  44' Streller  44' Embolo 45+1' (2:0) Embolo 47' (3:0) Embolo 78' (4:1) Djimsiti 88' (o.g. 5:1)	FCB summary	8' Etoundi  27' Kajević  32' Gavranović  38' Davide Chiumiento  44' Rikan  70' Kecojević 71' (3:1) Etoundi	Attendance: 32,042 Referee: Sascha Amhof
Note: 72nd minute game interrupted for 10 minutes, because the referee no longer saw safety as being guaranteed (crowd problems)

Sion v Basel

18 April 2015 Round 28	Sion	0 – 1	Basel	Stade Tourbillon, Sion
17:45	Kouassi  34' Zverotić  80' Ziegler 86'	FCB summary	28' Schär 34' (0:1) Embolo  68' Callà  71' F. Frei  73' Suchý  81' González	Attendance: 12,500 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

Basel v Luzern

26 April 2015 Round 29	Basel	1 – 2	Luzern	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
13:45	Suchý  25' Delgado 37' (1:2)	FCB summary	1' (0:1) Lezcano 32' (0:2) Schneuwly  36' Thiesson  83' Lustenberger	Attendance: 28,897 Referee: Stephan Studer

Vaduz v Basel

29 April 2015 Round 30	Vaduz	1 – 3	Basel	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz
19:45	Muntwiler  34' Sara  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: Sascha Amhof

Basel v Grasshopper Club

2 May 2015 Round 31	Basel	2 – 1	Grasshopper Club	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Callà  34' Elneny 55' (1:1) Callà 59' (1:2) Schär  90+2'	FCB summary	45+1' (0:1) Ravet  65' Gülen	Attendance: 28,852 Referee: Stephan Klossner

Zürich v Basel

10 May 2015 Round 32	Zürich	1 – 2	Basel	Letzigrund, Zürich
16:00	Rikan  28' Nef  77' Kecojević 86' (1:1)	FCB summary	42' (0:1) Callà 90+2' (1:2) Suchý	Attendance: 11,569 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

Basel v Young Boys

17 May 2015 Round 33	Basel	0 – 0	Young Boys	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00	Xhaka  25' Suchý  45' Traoré  71'	FCB summary Scoresway summary	15' Lecjaks  37' von Bergen  90+1' Vitkieviez	Attendance: 34,231 Referee: Sascha Amhof

Aarau v Basel

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  71' Jaggy  89'	FCB summary Scoresway summary	42' Ajeti  61' Sameul 62' (2:1) Embolo	Attendance: 4,551 Referee: Robert Schörgenhofer

Thun v Basel

25 May 2015 Round 35	Thun	2 – 2	Basel	Arena Thun, Thun
16:00	Sadik 16' (1:0) Frontino  60' Sadik 86' (2:2)	FCB summary (Soccerpunter report)	67' Hamoudi 73' (pen. 1:1) Gashi 75' (1:2) Kakitani  90' Huser	Attendance: 8,717 Referee: Fedayi San

Basel v St. Gallen

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  53' Zuffi 78' (3:3) Samuel  85' Al. Ajeti 87' (4:3)	FCB summary	30' (1:1) Mathys 38' (1:2) Aleksić  53' Aleksić 54' (2:3) Aratore  75' Tréand	Attendance: 33,403 Referee: 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 for the 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 for the Europa League third qualifying round
4	Thun	36	13	13	10	47	45	+2	52	Qualification for the 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

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
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

Main article: 2014–15 Swiss Cup

CS Italien (GE) v Basel

23 August 2014 Round 1	CS Italien (GE)	0 – 4	Basel	Stade des Arberes, Meyrin
17:00	Antonili  23' Blanco  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: Nicolas Jancevski

Winterthur v Basel

20 September 2014 Round 2	Winterthur	0 – 4	Basel	Schützenwiese, Winterthur
14:00	Bengondo  15' Iapichino  71'	FCB summary ASF/SFV summary	32' (0:1)  45' Elneny 36' (0:2) Embolo 41' (0:3) Embolo  65' Díaz 67' (0:4) Embolo	Attendance: 5,000 (sold out) Referee: Stephan Studer

Wohlen v Basel

29 October 2014 Round 3	Wohlen	1 – 3	Basel	Stadion Niedermatten, Wohlen
19:30	Brahimi  61' 15' (1:1)	FCB summary ASF/SFV summary	11' (0:1) Kakitani 41' (1:2) Sio 90+1' (1:3) Embolo  90+2' Embolo	Attendance: 4,100 (sold out) Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (Basel)

FC Münsingen v Basel

4 March 2015 Quarterfinal	FC Münsingen	1 – 6	Basel	Sportanlage Sandreutenen, Münsingen
19:30	Max Dreier  37' Antonius Dreier  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  65' Samuel	Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

St. Gallen v FC Basel

8 April 2015 Semifinal	St. Gallen	1 – 3	FC Basel	AFG Arena, St. Gallen
20:15	Mutsch  34' Dejan Janjatović  50' Čavušević 87' (1:3) Stéphane Besle  89' Everton Bilher  39'  90+2'	FCB summary ASF/SFV summary	14' (0:1) Gashi  18' Embolo 44' (o.g. 0:2) Mutsch 60' (0:3) Gashi  90+2' Callà	Attendance: 16,690 Referee: Stephan Klossner

Final

7 June 2015

14:00

FC Basel	0 – 3	FC Sion
Gashi  46' T. Xhaka  49' F. Frei  64'	FCB summary ASF/SFV summary	18' (0:1) Konaté 50' (0:2) Fernandes 60' (0:3) Carlitos  72' Zverotić

St. Jakob-Park, Basel

Attendance: 35,674 (sold out)

Referee: Nikolaj Hänni

Note: Beginning of the second half with a 15 minute delay, because of the firing of pyrotechnics in the Sion fan sector.

GK Germano Vailati DF Taulant Xhaka  49'  74' DF Fabian Schär DF Marek Suchý DF Adama Traoré MF Fabian Frei  65' MF Shkëlzen Gashi  46' MF Mohamed Elneny MF Luca Zuffi ST Davide Callà  53' ST Marco Streller (c)  75' Substitutes: DF Ahmed Hamoudi  53' MF Matías Delgado  74' FW Albian Ajeti  75' Manager: Paulo Sousa

GK Andris Vaņins DF Elsad Zverotić  72' DF Léo Lacroix DF Reto Ziegler DF Pa Modou Jagne MF Carlitos MF Xavier Kouassi (c) MF Vero Salatić ST Edimilson Fernandes  73' ST Ebenezer Assifuah  75' ST Pape Moussa Konaté  85' Substitutes: MF Michael Perrier  73' MF Daniel Follonier  75' MF Demetris Christofi  85' Manager: Didier Tholot

UEFA Champions League

Main article: 2014–15 UEFA Champions League

Group stage

Main article: 2014–15 UEFA Champions League group stage § Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		RMA	BSL	LIV	LUD
1	Real Madrid	6	6	0	0	16	2	+14	18	Advance to knockout phase		—	5–1	1–0	4–0
2	Basel	6	2	1	3	7	8	−1	7			0–1	—	1–0	4–0
3	Liverpool	6	1	2	3	5	9	−4	5	Transfer to Europa League		0–3	1–1	—	2–1
4	Ludogorets Razgrad	6	1	1	4	5	14	−9	4			1–2	1–0	2–2	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Real Madrid v Basel

16 September 2014 Round 1	Real Madrid	5 – 1	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  85'	FCB summary UEFA report	38' (1:4) González  55' Elneny  60' Samuel  90+1' Xhaka	Attendance: 65,364 Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)

Basel v Liverpool

1 October 2014 Round 2	Basel	1 – 0	Liverpool	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:45	Streller 52' (1:0) Suchý  60'	FCB summary UEFA report	9' Sterling  54' Gerrard  71' Balotelli	Attendance: 36,000 (sold out) Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)

Ludogorets Razgrad v Basel

22 October 2014 Round 3	Ludogorets Razgrad	1 – 0	Basel	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia
20:45	Minev  24' Moți  86' Minev 90+2' (1:0) Espinho  90+3'	FCB summary UEFA report	18' Serey Die  43' Xhaka  45+2' González  67' Embolo  85' F. Frei (C)  90+3' Schär	Attendance: 29,150 Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Germany)

Basel v Ludogorets Razgrad

4 November 2014 Round 4	Basel	4 – 0	Ludogorets Razgrad	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:45	Embolo 34' (1:0) González 41' (2:0) González  42' Gashi 59' (3:0) Suchý 65' (4:0)	FCB summary UEFA report	84' Marcelinho	Attendance: 35,272 Referee: Stéphane Lannoy (France)

Basel v Real Madrid

26 November 2014 Round 5	Basel	0 – 1	Real Madrid	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:45	P. Degen  44' Suchý  53' Schär  80'	FCB summary UEFA report	35' (0:1) Ronaldo  43' Sergio Ramos  48' Coentrão	Attendance: 36,000 (sold out) Referee: Milorad Mažić (Serbia)

Liverpool v Basel

9 December 2014 Round 6	Liverpool	1 – 1	Basel	Anfield, Liverpool
20:45	Leiva  47' Marković  60' Lovren  66' Moreno  77' Gerrard 81' (1:1)	FCB summary UEFA report	25' (0:1) Frei  80' Schär	Attendance: 43,290 Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)

Notes

Round of 16

Main article: 2014–15 UEFA Champions League knockout phase

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.

Basel v Porto

18 February 2015 First leg	Basel	1 – 1	Porto	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:45	González 11' (1:0) F. Frei  22' Elneny  26' Samuel  46' Gashi  57' Suchý  62'	FCB summary UEFA report	29' Casemiro  36' Torres  51' Sandro 79' (pen. 1:1)  87' Danilo	Attendance: 34,464 Referee: Mark Clattenburg (England)

Porto v Basel

10 March 2015 Second leg	Porto	4 – 0	Basel	Estádio do Dragão, Porto
20:45	Brahimi 14' (1:0) Herrera 47' (2:0) Marcano 55' Casemiro 56' (3:0) Aboubakar 76' (4:0)	FCB summary UEFA report	30' Gashi  38' González  55' Safari  49'  90+1' Samuel	Attendance: 43,108 Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)

Porto won 5–1 on aggregate.

See also

• History of FC Basel
• List of FC Basel players
• List of FC Basel seasons

Sources

• Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2015/2016. Publisher: FC Basel Marketing AG. ISBN 978-3-7245-2050-4
• Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2017/2018. Publisher: FC Basel Marketing AG. ISBN 978-3-7245-2189-1
• Die ersten 125 Jahre / 2018. Publisher: Josef Zindel im Friedrich Reinhardt Verlag, Basel. ISBN 978-3-7245-2305-5
• Season 2014–15 at "Basler Fussballarchiv” homepage
• Switzerland 2014–15 at RSSSF

External links

• Official website