2015–16 FC Basel season

FC Basel
2015–16 season
Chairman Bernhard Heusler
Manager Urs Fischer
Ground St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland
Super League Champions
Swiss Cup Eliminated in Quarterfinal
Champions League Eliminated in Play-off round
Europa League Group stage 1st
Eliminated in Round of 16
Top goalscorer League: Janko (16)
All: Janko (21)
Highest home attendance Swiss League:
33,360 vs. Young Boys
(25 October 2015)
Champions League:
18,200 vs. Lech Poznań
(5 August 2015)
Europa League:
22,550 vs. Fiorentina
(26 November 2015)
Lowest home attendance Swiss League:
24,558 vs. Thun
(10 May 2016)
Champions League:
15,620 vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv
(19 August 2015)
Europa League:
17,275 vs. Belenenses
(22 October 2015)
← 2014–15 2016–17 →

The 2015–16 FC Basel season was the 123rd season in club history and the club's 21st 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 Ukraine, Germany and Netherlands. Their 2015–16 Swiss Super League season began on 19 July with a home game against Vaduz. By the winter break, having won fourteen and drawing one of the first 18 games, Basel led the league table by 10 points ahead of the Grasshoppers and 15 ahead of the Young Boys.

Basel were qualified for the 2015–16 Champions League in the Third qualifying round. The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 17 July 2015 and they were drawn against Lech Poznań. The first leg was played on 28 July in INEA Stadion, the return leg on 5 August 2015 in St. Jakob-Park. In the Play-off round, their opponents were Maccabi Tel Aviv, but Basel failed to qualify for the Champions League groups stage. Because Basel failed to qualify for the Champions League group stage, they dropped into the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage, where were drawn into Group I alongside Fiorentina, Lech Poznań and Belenenses. Basel's first match was played away in Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence on 17 September 2015. Because they finished as group winners, Basel continued in the knockout phase (which started in February 2016), playing an away game against Saint-Étienne. In the round of 16, Basel played Sevilla, losing 0–3 on aggregate.

In the first round of the 2015–16 Swiss Cup, which was played on 15 August 2015, Basel were drawn away against Meyrin FC, winning 4–0. In the second round, played on 20 September 2015, Basel were drawn away against YF Juventus, winning 4–1. Then in the third round, played on 28 October, Basel were drawn away against SV Muttenz, winning 5–1. The fourth round was played on 13 December 2015, where Basel lost away at the Stade Tourbillon against Sion after a penalty shootout.

Club

Management

Paulo Sousa quit his Trainer position in Basel at the end of the 2014–15 season. On 18 June 2015, Basel announced that Urs Fischer had signed a three-year contract as first team manager.[1] His assistants are Marco Walker and Markus Hoffmann. Massimo Colomba remained the Goalkeeper coach. Massimo Ceccaroni is head of the FCB Youth System. Coach of the Youth Team (U–21) was Thomas Häberli until October, at which time, due to the bad results, he had to step back and then Ceccaronii coached the team.

Position Staff
Manager Switzerland Urs Fischer (since 18 June 2015)
1 Assistant manager Switzerland Marco Walker
2 Assistant manager Austria Markus Hoffmann
Goalkeeper Coach Switzerland Massimo Colomba
Team Administration Switzerland Gustav Nussbaumer
Youth Team Coach Switzerland Thomas Häberli
Switzerland Massimo Ceccaroni (since October 2015)
Youth Team Co-Coach Switzerland Roland Heri

Last updated: 1 July 2015
Source: FCB Official Site

Further information

Chairman Switzerland Mr Bernhard Heusler
Vice Chairman Switzerland Mr Adrian Knup
Finances Switzerland Mr Stephan Werthmüller
Sportdirector Switzerland Mr Georg Heitz
Marketing Switzerland Mr René Kamm
Ground (capacity and dimensions) St. Jakob-Park (38,512[2])
(37,500 for international matches)[3] / 120x80 m)

Last updated: 1 July 2015
Source: FCB Official Site

Overview

Off-season and pre-season

At the end of the 2014–15 FC Basel season four first team players left the club to continue their careers elsewhere. These were Fabian Schär to 1899 Hoffenheim, Fabian Frei to Mainz 05, Giovanni Sio to Rennes and Arlind Ajeti. Also no longer in the team for this season was Marco Streller, who retired from professional football. As mentioned above Urs Fischer was the new first team manager. Basel's biggest signings for the beginning of the new season were Daniel Høegh from Odense, Zdravko Kuzmanović from Internazionale, Michael Lang from Grasshopper and Marc Janko, who came in on a free transfer from Sydney FC. Also new to the team are Manuel Akanji, who transferred in from FC Winterthur, and Mirko Salvi, who returned from his one-year loan to FC Biel-Bienne. Because Streller retired, Matías Delgado was named as captain; Marek Suchý and Kuzmanović were named as his vice-captains.

Mid-season break

During the winter break, there were a number of changes to the Basel squad. Ivan Ivanov, who spent the last two years recovering from an injury, left the club by mutual consent.[4] Also outwards were Zdravko Kuzmanović, on loan to Udinese[5] and Albian Ajeti, who never quite managed to enter into the first team; he transferred to FC Augsburg.[6] Also Yoichiro Kakitani, who only played a minor role in manager Fischer's team, transferred back to Japan to rejoin Cerezo Osaka.[7] However, the one transfer deal that made the most news was midfielder Mohamed Elneny's departure to English Premier League side Arsenal.[8]

There were also a few players on the inwards direction. As early as 8 December 2015, the club announced that Andraž Šporar had signed a four-and-a-half-year contract up until the end of June 2020.[9] Then, on 2 January 2016, the club announced it had signed Alexander Fransson, also on a four-and-a-half-year contract.[10] Again, on 12 January, they announced that Renato Steffen had also joined them on yet another four-and-a-half-year deal.[11]

2016–17 off-season

On 4 May, Basel announced that they had signed 18-year-old Paraguayan defender Blás Riveros on a five-year deal. Due to Riveros' commitments with the Paraguay national team at the upcoming Copa América Centenario, he will not be expected to join the Basel first team until the beginning of July.[12] On 10 May, Basel also announced that they had signed Egyptian defender Omar Gaber from Zamalek on a four-year deal.[13][14]

The campaign

Super League

Basel's priority aim for the season is to win the league championship for the seventh time in a row. Basel's 2015–16 Swiss Super League season began well with a home victory on 18 July against Vaduz. In fact, they started the season very well, winning each of their first eight games, scoring 22 goals conceding 7. They suffered their first defeat in the Stade de Suisse 3–4 against Young Boys. Four of the next five games were won; the away game against Zürich in Letzigrund ended in a 2–2 draw. Two defeats were followed by two victories. By the winter break, Basel led the league table with 43 points, 10 points ahead of the Grasshoppers and 15 ahead of the Young Boys. They had won 14 and drawing 1 of the first 18 games, scoring 43 goals and conceding just 20. Basel started the second half of the season with three straight wins, a further 2–2 draw against Zürich and another three straight wins. In round 31, on 30 April, the home win against Sion gave Basel a 16-point lead in the league table with just five games left to play and thus the championship title. Basel ended the season with two defeats in the last three games, but won the championship with 83 points and were 14 points ahead of Young Boys and 29 points ahead of Luzern. Basel had won 26 games drawing five and had suffered five defeats; they had scored 88 goals, conceding 38.

Swiss Cup

Basel's clear aim for the 2015–16 Swiss Cup is to regain the title that they last won four seasons ago. In the previous three seasons they had ended the cup competitions as runners-up, in 2013 against Grasshopper Club Zürich, in 2014 against Zürich and the previous season 2015 against Sion. In the first round of this season's competition, which was played on 15 August 2015, Basel are drawn away against Meyrin FC, winning 4–0. In the second round, Basel were drawn away against YF Juventus, which was played on 20 September. Because of safety reasons, however, the game was not played at YF Juventus' home ground, the Utogrund, but instead at St. Jakob-Park. Then in the third round, played on 28 October, Basel were drawn away against SV Muttenz, marking the first time that these two teams played against each other. The game was played at the Sportplatz Margelacker in front of a stadium record attendance of 5,800. The match ended in a 5–1 win for Basel. The fourth round was played on 13 December 2015 away in the Stade Tourbillon against Sion, where Basel lost after a penalty shootout.

Champions League

Basel entered into this season's Champions League in the Third qualifying round. Their initial aim was to remain in the competition and reach the group stage. The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 17 July 2015 and they were drawn against Lech Poznań and in the play-off round against Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Lech Poznań (29 July 2015)

The first leg was played in INEA Stadion. Basel took the lead as Michael Lang, in the 24th minute, scored after a corner taken by Luca Zuffi. Just two minutes later, however, Lech Poznań equalized through Denis Thomalla. Although Shkëlzen Gashi missed a penalty in the 67th minute, Marc Janko (77th minute) and Davide Callà (90+2nd minute) completed the 3–1 away win.

Lech Poznań (5 August 2015)

The return leg in St. Jakob-Park ended in a home victory for Basel. Basel took control of the game early, but towards the half time break, and again just after, the match turned into a tough fight. French referee Ruddy Buquet had to show both teams three yellow cards before things calmed down again. Just as it looked like both teams would settle for the draw, Birkir Bjarnason scored his first goal for his new club in injury time to give Basel a 1–0 win.

Maccabi Tel Aviv (19 August 2015)

Basel had a home match in the first leg and they dominated from the first minute, but it was Eran Zahavi who but Tel Aviv in the lead with their first chance, in the 31st minute. Basel pushed harder and were awarded a penalty in the 39th minute which captain Matías Delgado netted to equalize after he himself was fouled. Basel continued to dominate but were unable to score a goal until Breel Embolo's 88th-minute goal seemed to have given Basel deserved win. But Zahavi equalised six minutes into added time for Maccabi. Basel had all statistics on their side, 68% possession, 741 to 254 passes, 16 to 5 attempts and 10 to 1 corners. The only statistic against them were the scored goals, as the match ended 2–2.

Maccabi Tel Aviv (19 August 2015)

The return game was played in front of a sold out Bloomfield Stadium with 13,350 spectators. Again Basel dominated the fixture. Luca Zuffi gave the visitors an early lead with a wonderful free-kick in the 11th minute. But Eran Zahavi's seventh goal of this season's competition levels the score in the 24th minute. Maccabi Tel Aviv reached the Champions League group stage for the first time in a decade by withstanding a second-half Basel barrage and progressed on the away goals rule thanks to the characteristically composed finish from Zahavi.

Europa League

Because Basel failed to qualify for the Champions League group stage, they dropped into the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage. The draw was held on 28 August 2015, 13:00 CEST, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco and Basel were drawn into Group I, together with Fiorentina, Lech Poznań and Belenenses.

Fiorentina (17 September 2015)

Basel's first match was played away at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence. Fiorentina's new first team manager was Basel's ex-manager, Paulo Sousa. Nikola Kalinić scored a fourth-minute opener for Fiorentina and they held the lead until well into the second half of the game. Fiorentina captain Gonzalo Rodríguez was sent off after 66 minutes and following his dismissal the Swiss club took charge and managed to draw level. Birkir Bjarnason beat Luigi Sepe with a low drive from the edge of the area on 71 minutes. Eight minutes later, Mohamed Elneny capped the fightback in style. His super-rising drive from outside the box completed the comeback success. With this 2–1 win, Basel extended their unbeaten run to five matches in Europe this term.

Lech Poznań (1 October 2015)

The first home game in the Europa League group stage was against Lech Poznań, who had been opponents in the Champions League qualifying earlier in the season. Lech's Swiss midfielder Darko Jevtić was signed from Basel after a successful loan spell. The 22-year-old was born in Basel and came through the youth ranks at the Swiss club. The first half passed without much action, but the home team dominated. Icelandic midfielder Birkir Bjarnason brought a long ball down with his chest at the edge of the penalty area, kept his balance under pressure, and then turned a finish past Maciej Gostomski to give the hosts the lead after 55 minutes. In the 90th minute, Luca Zuffi made a cross from the right, Marc Janko controlled with his chest and laid off for the waiting Breel Embolo, who finished with a powerful low volley. The final score 2–0 was a deserved result.

Belenenses (22 October 2015)

The third game in the group stage was the home match against Belenenses. Basel took an early lead after 15 minutes, Matías Delgado kicked an inswinging corner to the back post from the left and Michael Lang jumped highest to power his header into the goal from five metres. Belenenses leveled after 27 minutes with their first chance. A long ball forward was headed clear by Marek Suchý, but it dropped to Luís Leal, who was 25 metres from goal. He hammered a low volley into the bottom corner and the ball bounced to evade the dive of Germano Vailati. During the extra time of the first half, Leal ran clear on the right flank, rushed into the area, playing the ball across the face of goal to Kuca Miranda who had easyest of finishes, tapping in from just three metres. During the second half, Basel played forward non-stop but were unable to score the equalizer. Until this 1–2 defeat, Basel had been unbeaten this season, in the domestic league (nine games) and in Europe (six).

Belenenses (5 November 2015)

The return game against Belenenses was played in Estádio do Restelo two weeks after the home game. Basel took early command, a first chance from Breel Embolo hit the post after nine minutes, and Basel continued to dominate their opponents entirely. But it was not until very nearly half time that their efforts were rewarded. In the 44 minute, Embolo was fouled in the penalty area by Filipe Ferreira, and Marc Janko scored from the spot. Embolo himself scored the second goal after being played free by Luca Zuffi's long deep pass into the penalty box which was flicked on by Janko. With this 2–0 victory, Basel avenged their matchday three loss.

Fiorentina (26 November 2015)

Basel's third and last home match in the Europa League group stage was the return game against Fiorentina. Paulo Sousa returned to St. Jakob-Park, but this time to the visitors' bench. Basel's first choice goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík injured himself shortly before kick-off and was replaced by Germano Vailati. Federico Bernardeschi ended his personal run of 11 games without a goal with a first-half double (23 and 36 minutes) to give Fiorentina a two-goal lead. After 26 minutes, Facundo Roncaglia was punished with a red card after elbowing Breel Embolo in the face. Basel fought back into the game, with Marek Suchý cutting the gap before half-time (40th minute) and Mohamed Elneny equalizing on 74 minutes. The game ended in a 2–2 and Basel advance as Group I winners after recovering from being two down.

Lech Poznań (10 December 2015)

As written above, Basel were certain to finish top of the section before matchday six. For the last match in the group stage Basel had to travel to the INEA Stadion in Poznań. Lech Poznań had already lost to Basel three times this season and only a win would have given them any chance of making it through Group I. Unable to play were defenders Manuel Akanji, Philipp Degen and Daniel Høegh (all due to injury), as well as Marek Suchý, who was out suspended. Walter Samuel made his 100th UEFA club competition appearance playing this match. Reserve goalkeeper Germano Vailati was again Basel's starter because of first choice goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík's injury. In the 44th minute, Vailati himself also suffered an injury as he played a long pass forward. Just before half-time, third-choice goalkeeper Mirko Salvi was introduced and made his professional debut for the club. Adonis Ajeti also made his debut for the club after coming on as a substitute at half-time in place of Michael Lang.[15] Jean-Paul Boëtius scored the only goal five minutes after half-time, it was his first goal for the Swiss champions.

Because Basel ended this stage as group winners, they continued (seeded in the draw) in the knockout phase, which started in February 2016. The draw for the round of 32 was held on 14 December 2015, where Basel were drawn against French side Saint-Étienne. The first leg was played on 18 February at 19:00 and the return leg in the St. Jakob-Park played on 25 February 2016 at 21:05.

Saint-Étienne (18 February 2016)

The first leg of the round of 32 was played in the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, but without Basel supporters due to the high security alert following the terror attacks in Paris two months earlier. Basel came back from 2–0 down but ended up losing. Moustapha Sall in the fifth minute and Kévin Monnet-Paquet in the 39th minute put the hosts 2–0 in the lead. Then Walter Samuel started Basel's fight-back just before half-time in the 44th minute, becoming the second-oldest scorer in the UEFA Europa League at age 37 years and 332 days; he is surpassed only by Molde FK's Daniel Hestad, who scored at age 40 years and 98 days in this season's group stage. Marc Janko, via a penalty in the 56th minute, put Basel level and the guests pressed for their third goal. After a long clearance, however, defender Jean-Christophe Bahebeck scored for the hosts in the 79th against the run of play, and the final score ended 3–2 in favour of Saint-Étienne.

Saint-Étienne (25 February 2016)

The return game against was played a week later and Basel had to win to qualify for the next round. This was very apparent as Basel played forwards immediately and levelled the aggregate as midfielder Luca Zuffi curled in a 25-yard free-kick on 15 minutes. Saint-Étienne went close, but goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík saved the shot from substitute Romain Hamouma. Both teams were later reduced to ten men: In the 82nd minute, Saint-Étienne midfielder Valentin Eysseric collected two quick yellow cards for a foul and then a clash with Renato Steffen, while Basel's 19-year-old attacker Breel Embolo followed him off the pitch for a second caution. Saint-Étienne thought they had won it when captain Moustapha Sall netted from close range with just one minute of regular time left, only for Zuffi to crash the ball home in added time to level the tie at 4–4 and send Basel through on away goals.[16]

Sevilla (10 March 2016)

The first leg of the round of 16 was played in the Basel and Sevilla had not won a European away game all season, so the goalless draw in Switzerland represented an improvement. Three second-half saves from Basel goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík kept the home team in contention, but reigning Europa League title holders Sevilla cannot be unhappy with a goalless draw in this first leg. Marc Janko jumped high to head Basel's first chance just a little bit wide as early as the seventh minute – easily Basel's best chance of the first half – with Sevilla dominating possession thereafter. Steven N'Zonzi went quite close with headers at either end of the period, while Éver Banega twice found Coke with free-kicks but the Sevilla captain was unable to find the target from either position. Basel's resolve returned after the half time break, if not their composure, Birkir Bjarnason blazing off target from a loose ball after a Renato Steffen shot was blocked. The Icelandic midfielder then pulled a decent ball across from the right, only for substitute Adama Traoré to scuff his attempted conversion. However, it could have been worse for the Swiss team but for Vaclík, who was very awake and saved with his feet after N'Zonzi was played in and then kept out Kévin Gameiro's low drive, going to ground once more to repel Yevhen Konoplyanka as time ticked down.[17] Midfielder N'Zonzi's dismissal near the end of the game offered Basel hope, but Sevilla held firm.

Sevilla (17 March 2016)

The return game against was played a week later on 17 March 2016 at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium. Defender Adil Rami opened the scoring as he stooped to head a José Antonio Reyes corner in off the post. The match then slipped out of Basel's reach inside two minutes at the end of the first half. Reyes danced through the Basel defence and his low cross gave Kévin Gameiro an easy finish from close range. A minute later, Michael Krohn-Dehli advanced with a quick run and was the provider of the cross that found Gameiro. The striker's header came back off the underside of the crossbar and bounced in off his leg to make it 3–0 at half-time. Basel showed only small signs of a fightback. Luca Zuffi's effort from 25 yards out was still rising as it flew over the crossbar. Breel Embolo missed two chances late in the game as the Swiss side were dumped out of the competition. The result extended Sevilla's run of Europa League home wins to 11 – the longest in the competition's history and put a dent in Basel's impressive away record in Europe this season.

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 18 July but subsequently left the club after that date.

As of 27 August 2015 [18]

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

No. Position Player
1 Czech Republic GK Tomáš Vaclík
3 Ivory Coast DF Adama Traoré
4 Switzerland DF Philipp Degen
5 Switzerland DF Michael Lang
6 Argentina DF Walter Samuel
7 Switzerland MF Luca Zuffi
8 Iceland MF Birkir Bjarnason
9 Slovenia FW Andraž Šporar
10 Argentina MF Matías Delgado (Captain)
11 Albania MF Shkëlzen Gashi
14 Japan FW Yoichiro Kakitani
15 Sweden MF Alexander Fransson
16 Switzerland DF Manuel Akanji
17 Czech Republic DF Marek Suchý (vice-captain)
18 Switzerland GK Germano Vailati
19 Sweden DF Behrang Safari
No. Position Player
21 Austria FW Marc Janko
22 Serbia MF Zdravko Kuzmanović
23 Switzerland GK Mirko Salvi
24 Switzerland MF Renato Steffen
26 Denmark DF Daniel Høegh
27 Albania DF Naser Aliji
28 Switzerland MF Robin Huser
30 Switzerland MF Cedric Itten
33 Egypt MF Mohamed Elneny
34 Albania MF Taulant Xhaka
36 Switzerland FW Breel Embolo
38 Switzerland FW Albian Ajeti
39 Switzerland MF Davide Callà
40 Switzerland GK Dario Thürkauf
41 Switzerland DF Eray Cümart
42 Switzerland DF Charles Pickel
77 Netherlands FW Jean-Paul Boëtius

Out on loan

19 Switzerland MF Musa Araz (on loan at Winterthur until 30 June 2016)
20 Serbia MF Veljko Simić (on loan at Schaffhausen from 30 December 2015 until 30 June 2016)[19]
22 Serbia MF Zdravko Kuzmanović (on loan at Udinese until 30 June 2016)[5]
23 Switzerland GK Mirko Salvi (on loan at Lugano from 7 January until 30 June 2016)[20]
24 Egypt FW Ahmed Hamoudi (on loan at Zamalek until 30 June 2016)
27 Albania DF Naser Aliji (on loan at Vaduz from 1 July until 10 September 2015)
35 North Korea FW Pak Kwang-ryong (on loan at Biel-Bienne until 30 June 2016)

2015 summer transfers

In

5 Switzerland DF Michael Lang (from Grasshopper Club Zürich Free Transfer)
8 Iceland MF Birkir Bjarnason (from Pescara)[21]
21 Austria FW Marc Janko (from Sydney FC Free Transfer)
22 Serbia MF Zdravko Kuzmanović (from Internazionale)
26 Denmark DF Daniel Høegh (from Odense BK)
77 Netherlands FW Jean-Paul Boëtius (from Feyenoord)

Out

Paraguay FW Derlis González (to Dynamo Kyiv)
Switzerland DF Fabian Schär (to 1899 Hoffenheim)
Switzerland MF Fabian Frei (to Mainz 05)
Switzerland GK Pascal Albrecht (to St. Gallen II Free Transfer)
Albania DF Arlind Ajeti (to Unattached)
Argentina DF Gastón Sauro (to Columbus Crew)
Republic of Ireland FW Giovanni Sio (to Rennes)[22]
Switzerland FW Marco Streller (end of career)

2015–16 winter transfers

In

9 Slovenia FW Andraž Šporar (from Olimpija Ljubljana)[9]
15 Sweden MF Alexander Fransson (from IFK Norrköping)[23]
24 Switzerland MF Renato Steffen (from Young Boys)[11]

Out

11 Albania FW Shkelzen Gashi (to Colorado Rapids)[24]
15 Bulgaria DF Ivan Ivanov (contract beended mutual agreement)[4]
38 Switzerland FW Albian Ajeti (to FC Augsburg)[6]
14 Japan FW Yoichiro Kakitani (to Cerezo Osaka)[7]
33 Egypt MF Mohamed Elneny (to Arsenal)[8]

Results and fixtures

Kickoff times are in CET

Legend

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Friendly matches

Preseason

Winter break

Swiss Super League

First half of season

Second half of season

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Basel (C) 36 26 5 5 88 38 +50 83 Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2 Young Boys 36 20 9 7 78 47 +31 69 Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
3 Luzern 36 15 9 12 59 50 +9 54 Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round
4 Grasshopper 36 15 8 13 65 56 +9 53 Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round
5 Sion 36 14 8 14 52 49 +3 50
Source: Swiss Super League, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points 5) Draw.[25]
(C) Champion.

Swiss Cup

UEFA Champions League

Third qualifying round

The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 17 July 2015. The first leg is to be played on 29 July, and the second leg will be played on 5 August 2015.

Basel won 4–1 on aggregate.

Play-off round

The draw was held on 7 August 2015.[26][27]

Maccabi Tel Aviv won on away goals rule.

UEFA Europa League

Group stage

The draw was held on 28 August 2015, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco and Basel were drawn into Group I.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BAS FIO LPO BEL
1 Switzerland Basel 6 4 1 1 10 5 +5 13 Advance to knockout phase — 2–2 2–0 1–2
2 Italy Fiorentina 6 3 1 2 11 6 +5 10 1–2 — 1–2 1–0
3 Poland Lech Poznań 6 1 2 3 2 6 −4 5 0–1 0–2 — 0–0
4 Portugal Belenenses 6 1 2 3 2 8 −6 5 0–2 0–4 0–0 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Knockout phase

Round of 32

The draw for the round of 32 was held on 14 December 2015. The first leg was played on 18 February, and the second leg played on 25 February 2016.

4–4 on aggregate. Basel won on away goals.

Round of 16

The draw was held on 26 February 2016. The first leg played on 10 March, and the second leg played on 17 March 2016.

Sevilla won 3–0 on aggregate.

Sources and references

  1. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2015). "Urs Fischer ist der neue Trainer des FC Basel 1893" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  2. ↑ "The largest stadium in Switzerland". FC Basel 1893. 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  3. ↑ http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/StatDoc/competitions/UCL/01/67/63/78/1676378_DOWNLOAD.pdf
  4. 1 2 "FCB und Ivanov loesen Vertrag vorzeitig auf". FC Basel 1893. 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  5. 1 2 FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Zdravko Kuzmanovic leihweise zu Udinese Calcio". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
  6. 1 2 "Albian Ajeti zu Augsburg". FC Basel 1893. 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  7. 1 2 "Yoichiro Kakitani kehrt zurueck nach Japan". FC Basel 1893. 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-30.
  8. 1 2 FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Elneny: Ich werde für immer FCB-Fan bleiben". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-01-14. (in German)
  9. 1 2 FC Basel 1893 (2015). "FCB verpflichtet den Slowenen Andraz Sporar". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  10. ↑ "Alexander Fransson wechselt zum FC Basel 1893". fcb.ch. FC Basel 1893. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  11. 1 2 FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Renato Steffen wechselt zum FC Basel 1893". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
  12. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Der FC Basel 1893 verpflichtet Blás Riveros". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  13. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Der FC Basel 1893 verpflichtet Omar Gaber". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  14. ↑ Talaat, Tarek (2016). "Omar Gaber: Defender aims to emulate success of Salah and Elneny". bbc.com. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  15. ↑ Lech Poznań vs. Basel - 10 December 2015 - Soccerway
  16. ↑ "Basel snatch last-16 spot from St-Étienne's grasp". eufa.com. 2016. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
  17. ↑ Marti, Caspar (2016). "Keine Tore im Hinspiel zwischen dem FCB und Sevilla". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
  18. ↑ "Das Kader – Spielerportraits" [The Team – Player Portraits]. FC Basel 1893 (in German). fcb.ch. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  19. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2015). "Simic leihweise zum FC Schaffhausen". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2015-12-30.
  20. ↑ "Mirko Salvi leihweise zum FC Lugano". FC Basel 1893. 2015. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  21. ↑ Marti, Caspar (2015). "Birkir Bjarnason wechselt zum FC Basel 1893". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
  22. ↑ "Giovanni Sio, nouvel attaquant Rouge et Noir !". www.staderennais.com. 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-29.
  23. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2015). "Alexander Fransson wechselt zum FC Basel 1893". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2015-12-30.
  24. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2016). "Gashi wechselt in die USA zu den Colorado Rapids". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  25. ↑ "Super League 2015/2016 - Season rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  26. ↑ "Draws — Play-off round". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  27. ↑ "UEFA Champions League play-off draw made". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  28. ↑ "Basel vs. Belenenses". Soccerway. 28 October 2015.
  29. ↑ "Sevilla v Basel". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
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