| 2010–11 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Chairman | Gisela Oeri | ||
| Manager | Thorsten Fink | ||
| Ground | St. Jakob-Park | ||
| Swiss Super League | Champions | ||
| Swiss Cup | Quarterfinals | ||
| UEFA Champions League | Group Stage | ||
| 2010–11 UEFA Europa League | Round of 32 | ||
| Top goalscorer | League: Alexander Frei (27) All: Alexander Frei (33) | ||
| Highest home attendance | 37,500 vs.Luzern (25 May 2011) | ||
| Lowest home attendance | 25,349 vs.Sion (28 August 2010) | ||
The Swiss football clubFC Basel began their2010–11 season with various warm-up matches againstSwiss lower league,Ukrainian Vyscha Liha, andLigue 1 clubs. The aims for the team during the 2010–11 season were to take back theleague andcup titles as well as to qualify for theUEFA Champions League.
GermanThorsten Fink remained head-coach for the second consecutive season. He brought four youngsters up from the U-21 team, beingMatthias Baron,Janick Kamber and the brothersTaulant andGranit Xhaka. Further transfers into the team wereGilles Yapi who came fromBSC Young Boys on a free transfer,Genséric Kusunga who also came in on a free transfer fromServette FC andFwayo Tembo who was bought in fromÉtoile du Sahel.Yann Sommer also rejoined the team after being on loan toGrasshopper Club Zürich. During the winter breakAleksandar Dragović transferred in fromAustria Wien.
In the other directionMarcos Gelabert transferred out toNeuchâtel Xamax,Stefan Wessels moved on toFK Ventspils,Serkan Sahin toKonyaspor,Carlitos toMalaga andAntonio da Silva’s loan came to an end and he returned toKarlsruher SC.
The format of the2010–11 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 theYoung Boys out on the final day of thelast 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 againstFC 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 againstBellinzona. In the following round Basel suffered an embarrassing 1–4 home defeat againstLuzern, 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 againstThun. The first half of the domestic season ended on 12 December as Basel travelled to Zurich to faceGrasshopper in the away game at theLetzigrund. 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 againstThun. 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 againstFC 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 titleFC Zürich, both were then level on 66 points. Then Zürich lost the derby againstGrasshopper Club and because Basel drew againstSt. Gallen, they moved one point clear at the top. Subsequently on the final match day, on 25 May, Basel’s victory againstLuzern 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 wasHenri Bienvenu from theYoung Boys with 16 goals.Marco Streller was the team’s second top scorer with ten goals, third wasValentin Stocker with seven goals. Frei achieved his personal aim in winning the top-scorer title.
Basel entered the2010–11 Swiss Cup in the first round of the competition and the team's clear aim was to defend the title having won the2009–10 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.
In the first round Basel were drawn againstFC Mendrisio-Stabio, who at that time played in the1. Liga, the third tier of Swiss football. The match was played in the Campo comunale Mendrisio with an attendance of 3,200 spectators. Head coachThorsten 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 minuteFederico Almerares was able to put the visitors into the lead. Six minutes laterPascal Schürpf doubled the Basel lead and that was the score at half time. In the 64th minuteFwayo Tembo added a third, nine minutes later Schürpf added his second and two minutes from time Almerares also hit his second as well.[2]
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 againstYverdon-Sports, who at that time played in the1. Liga, the third tier of Swiss football. The game was played in theStade Municipal inYverdon-les-Bains. Again, head coachThorsten Fink played with a B-team, the goalieFranco Costanzo travelled with the team as substitute, but the playersAlexander Frei,Behrang Safari,Valentin Stocker,Marco Streller,Daniel Unal,Granit Xhaka were all given a day off undJacques Zoua was injured. There were six youngsters in the team, of whickTaulant 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 toFederico Almerares’ feet and he made no mistake. Five minutes later a free kick on the left was played shot from Almerares toXherdan Shaqiri, his cross was met by Tembo who scored from close distance. Basel won 2–0 and advanced to the next round.[3]
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 againstServette, who at that time played in theChallenge League, the second tier of Swiss football. The game was played in theStade de Genève with an attendance of 14,150 spectators. Basel were without captain and goalieFranco Costanzo and defenderBehrang 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 asAlexander 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 goalieDavid 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 refereeMassimo 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]
The winners of Round 3 played in the quarterfinals. The games were played on 2 and 3 March 2011 and Basel were drawn away againstFC Biel-Bienne, who at that time played in theChallenge League, the second tier of Swiss football. The game was played in theGurzelen Stadion with a sold-out attendance of 6,500 on the day. Basel played with their B-team, head coachThorsten 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, butScott Chipperfield failed to get contact to the cross, only a couple of inches were missing. Two minutes before the interval a long free kick fromGranit 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 goalieYann 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 andGiuseppe Morello put the home team a goal up. Basel coach reacted immediately, he brought his best forwardsAlexander Frei andMarco 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 toEtoundi, 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]
The club's clear aim had been to defend the title, having won it during theprevious 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 andSion advanced to the final, which was played in Basel’sSt. Jakob-Park. Sion achieved their overall 12th cup title and were thus qualified for theplay-off round of next season’s UEFA Europa League.[6]
As Swiss Champions Basel entered the2010–11 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 2010UEFA club coefficients in the Champions Path and were drawn against the Hungarian championsDebrecen.
Basel played the first match away from home, it was played inBudapest atSzusza Ferenc Stadium asDebrecen'sStadion 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 goalkeeperFranco Costanzo was able to save it. ThenAlexander Frei nodded a right-wing cross fromSamuel Inkoom just wide of the far post. Then Coulibaly played a neat ball toPéter 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 goalkeeperIstván Verpecz. In the 34th minuteJacques Zoua set upValentin 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 asJózsef Varga danced between the Basel defenders but his shot was too weak and Costanzo held with ease. In the 88th minute, Basel head coachThorsten Fink replaced Stocker and substituted inGranit 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]
The second leg of this fixture was played in theSt. 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 aDebrecen comeback in the return leg. DefenderÇağdaş Atan scored the first goal of the match asBenjamin 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 thatJacques 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 goalkeeperIstván 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 afterFranco 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]
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 the2010–11 Champions League Group Stage while the defeated side would enter into the2010–11 Europa League Group Stage.
The first leg was played at home in theSt. Jakob-Park in front of 13,640 spectators againstSheriff Tiraspol. Due to the rainy evening the pitch was described as wet. Referee wasTerje Hauge from theFootball Association of Norway. Both teams started well, but it soon showed that Basel were better. After 11 minutes it seemed thatAlexander Frei had given his team the lead as he took onBehrang Safari's cross and applied a neat finish, but he was offside. Minutes later at the other endVladimir 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 keeperVladislav Stoyanov to make his first real save. At the start of the second periodFlorent Rouamba had a good effort but home goalkeeperFranco Costanzo was ready. Basel responded to this with their best spell of the match. Only a timely tackle could stopJacques Zoua from taking his chance in front of goal after a good cross fromXherdan Shaqiri. A corner from Frei was met well byBenjamin Huggel but he headed the ball onto the post. In the 54th minuteValentin 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 deniedWilfried Balima and then substituteMarko 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 substituteFederico 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]
The second leg of this fixture was played inSheriff Stadium inTiraspol with 12,000 supports watching on this clear and warm evening. Referee wasMartin Hansson from theSweden 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 captainVazha 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, sendingSheriff into the UEFA Europa League.[10]
The draw for the group stage was held inMonaco on 26 August 2010. Teams were seeded into four pots based on their 2010UEFA club coefficients.[11] Basel were seeded into the third pot. And they were drawn into Group E together withBayern Munich,Roma andCFR Cluj.
Matchday 1 for Basel was played in the stadiumDr. Constantin Rădulescu inCluj-Napoca which had a crowd of 9,395. Referee wasAlan Kelly from theFootball Association of Ireland. Cluj started fast and furious into the game and Basel never quite recovered afterJuan Culio set up goals forIonuţ Rada andLacina Traoré inside the opening 12 minutes. Cluj head-coachSorin 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 keeperFranco Costanzo. Basel, who had started as favourites, only recovered their composure slowly. It was in the added time before the break thatValentin Stocker with a header at the near post following a corner kick fromAlexander Frei. This lifted Basel’s spirits and gaveThorsten 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 goalkeeperNuno Claro did well to tip the ball over asScott 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 were the visiting team on matchday two in theSt. Jakob-Park in front of a sold out 37.500 crowd. Referee wasCraig Thomson from theScottish 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 fromToni Kroos, but his low strike was excellently saved one-handed by Basel goalkeeper and captainFranco Costanzo. Bayern continually increased the pressure, butDaniel 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 toAlexander Frei who curled his shot past the helplessJörg 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 captainMark van Bommel. After the break Bayern improved and asBenjamin Huggel broughtThomas Müller to fall in the box,Bastian Schweinsteiger coolly sank the penalty kick to level things out. CoachLouis van Gaal then attempted to strengthen the Bayern attack and brought onMario Gómez andIvica Olić, but neither managed to finish off a good cross fromPhilipp Lahm on 68 minutes. With a quick reaction, Butt was able to deny Streller with his effort and thenGilles 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 aDanijel Pranjić free-kick to turn tables and give Bayern the 2 – 1 victory and all three points.[13]
RefereeAleksey Nikolaev from theRussian Football Union was in charge of the game in theStadio Olimpico on matchday three betweenRoma 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 toXherdan Shaqiri, his cross from the right was controlled byMarco Streller and his cushioned header back into the centre was met byAlexander 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 keeperFranco 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 minuteSamuel Inkoom had been far too quick forSimone Perrotta and he controlledXherdan Shaqiri's clever angled pass to hit an unstoppable low effort past the helplessBogdan 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 duoMatteo Brighi andPhilippe Mexès also headed over. With one minute to go a Totti' free-kick was well saved by Costanzo and his clearance flew toCabral, who sneaked though at the other end to score the final goal in Basel’s 3–1 win.[14]
Matchday four was the return game of that played a fortnight before. Basel hostedRoma in theSt. 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 keeperJúlio Sérgio bravely dived in to denyBenjamin 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 stopMirko 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 downJohn Arne Riise as he entered the box, this enabledFrancesco 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. ThenDavid 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, allowingAlexander Frei to nod the ball into the unguarded goal. Shortly afterwards Basel again pressed forward, butMarco Streller's shot flew against the post. Again, it was against the run of play as in the 76th minute substituteLeandro Greco smashed home Roma's third goal. Nevertheless, Basel pushed forward andXherdan 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 refereeBjörn Kuipers and was therefore dismissed.[15]
Visitors to theSt. Jakob-Park, with an attendance of 34,239 spectators, on matchday five wasCFR Cluj and referee on this damp and cold evening wasLaurent Duhamel from theFrench 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 endEmmanuel Culio mis controlled the ball after a good pass byLéo Veloso into the centre. With 15 minutes goneSamuel Inkoom setFederico 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, butAlexander Frei's shot was cleared off the line byFelice Piccolo. The hosts had another threatening chance asBehrang 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, butFwayo Tembo's shot was deflected onto the cross-bar by goalkeeperNuno Claro’s outstretched leg. On 73 minutesAlexander 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 theEuropa League knockout phase. CFR were eliminated.[16]
Matchday six for Basel was played at theAllianz Arena as visitors to German championsBayern Munich. Referee wasMartin Hansson from theSwedish 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 fromMarco Streller sentXherdan Shaqiri rushing behind the back four to deliver a cross forAlexander Frei, who shot the ball fiercely across the goal mouth, but goalkeeperThomas Kraft parried superbly. The early Basel rush subsided and Bayern played forward. FirstPhilipp Lahm played a good cross, thenThomas Müller a cross from the other side, before a Toni Kroos corner was somehow missed by three Bayern players stood within short distance ofFranco 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 fromCabral and set upFranck Ribéry to score the opener. Two minutes laterMario Gómez lengthened aToni Kroos corner and this enabledAnatoliy 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 keeperFranco 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 deniedBastian Schweinsteiger from adding a fourth. Basel substituteFederico Almerares wasted an excellent chance to pull one back. Late in the game only Costanzo's alertness prevented firstMark 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]
Theknockout phase of the2010–11 UEFA Europa League began on 15 February 2011. The draw was held at UEFA headquarters inNyon on 17 December 2010.
It involved 32 teams: the 24 teams that finished in the top two in each group in thegroup stage and the eight teams that finished in third place in theUEFA Champions League group stage. Basel were unseeded and were drawn, with the first leg at home, againstSpartak Moscow, who as Russian Premier League vice-champions had also dropped from the Champions League.
The match at theSt. 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 theFootball 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 aXherdan Shaqiri corner was directed on towards Frei at the near post he headed the ball beyond the reach of Spartak’s goalkeeperAndriy Dykan. Five minutes laterMarco 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 captainAlex battled forward to the edge of the box and took aim, but his shot was blocked and fell into the path ofDmitri Kombarov, who smashed the ball in via keeperFranco Costanzo’s left-hand post. Just ten minutes later the scores were levelled asArtyom 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 toJano 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]
The second leg in theLuzhniki Stadium took place one week later. Referee wasCristian Balaj of theRomanian 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 wasSpartak Moscow that started better. Their mobile attacking trioDmitri Kombarov,Aiden McGeady andArtem 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 keeperAndriy Dykan attempted to punch away a left-wing cross, but this fell to the feet ofScott 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 coachThorsten 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 goalkeeperFranco 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]
From the Basel group, Group E,Bayern Munich andRoma advanced to the knock-out phase, but both were knocked out in the next round.Barcelona andManchester 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 betweenPorto andBraga and Porto won the title with a 1–0 win. Therefore, for the club this was indeed a very pleasing result.[20]
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 wasGisela 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.
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 theNachwuchs Campus Basel, to English foundationYouth 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 |  MrsGisela Oeri |
| Vice Chairman | MrBernhard Heusler |
| Finances | Mr Stephan Werthmüller |
| Sportdirector | Mr Georg Heitz |
| Marketing | Mr René Kamm |
| Director | MrReto 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
The GermanThorsten 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
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 their4-4–2 formation |
As of 23 July 2010[24]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Franco Costanzo
Scott ChipperfieldFederico Almerares
Xherdan Shaqiri
Behrang Safari
Genséric KusungaMassimo Colomba
Cabral
Beg Ferati| 10 | MF |  CIV | Gilles Yapi(fromBSC Young Boys – Free) |
| 16 | DF | SUI | Taulant Xhaka(from Basel U-21) |
| 18 | GK | SUI | Yann Sommer(loan return fromGrasshopper Club Zürich) |
| 21 | DF | SUI | Genséric Kusunga(fromServette FC – Free) |
| 29 | DF | SUI | Janick Kamber(from Basel U-21) |
| 30 | FW |  ZAM | Fwayo Tembo(fromÉtoile 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(toNeuchâtel Xamax – ?) |
| 18 | GK | GER | Stefan Wessels(toFK Ventspils – Free) |
| 25 | MF |  BRA | Antonio da Silva (footballer)(loan return toKarlsruher SC) |
| 30 | MF |  POR | Carlitos(toMalaga – Free) |
| 33 | DF |  TUR | Serkan Sahin(toKonyaspor – 875,000 SFr) |
| 3 | DF |  ALG | Sabri Boumelaha(out on loan toFC Wil) |
| 5 | DF | SUI | Dominik Ritter(on loan toFC Winterthur) |
| 16 | FW | SUI | Orhan Mustafi(on loan toArminia Bielefeld) |
| 18 | GK | SUI | Jayson Leutwiler(on loan toYverdon Sport) |
| 27 | MF | SUI | Marco Aratore(on loan toFC Aarau) |
| 6 | DF |  AUT | Aleksandar Dragović(fromAustria Wien) |
| 27 | DF | GER | Markus Steinhöfer(fromEintracht Frankfurt) |
At the start of the season, Basel was entered into 3 competitions — theSwiss Super League, theSwiss Cup, and theUEFA Champions League. Upon elimination from the group stage of the Champions League, Basel dropped into theUEFA 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
Win Draw Loss Postponed
Kickoff times are inCET.
| 17 June 2010Pre-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 2010Pre-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 2010Pre-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 2010Pre-season | Basel | 1–0 | Shakhtar Donetsk | Sportplatz Chrüzmatt,Olten |
| 17:45 | Zanni 70' (pen.) | Summary | Attendance: 730 Referee: Markus von Känel |
| 29 June 2010Pre-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 2010Pre-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 2010Pre-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 2010Pre-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 2010Pre-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 2010Pre-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 2010Mid-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 2010Mid-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 2010Mid-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 2010Mid-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 |
| 7 January 2011Winterbreak | 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 2011Winter 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 2011Training 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 2011Training 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 2011Training 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 2011Training camp test | Basel | 0–0 | Lech Poznań | Marbella Football Center,Marbella |
| 16:00 | Summary |  14′ | Attendance: 80 |
| 22 January 2011Winterbreak | 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 2011winterbreak | 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 2011Winterbreak | 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 2011Mid-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 2011Mid-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 2011Mid-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 playerJean Deza played his second game for Basel, he later signed forMŠK Žilina. | ||||
| 20 July 2010Round 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 2010Round 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 2010Round 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 2010Round 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 2010Round 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 2010Round 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 2010Round 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 2010Round 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 2010Round 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 2010Round 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 2010Round 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 2010Round 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 2010Round 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 2010Round 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 2010Round 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 2010Round 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 2010Round 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 2010Round 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 |
| 6 February 2011Round 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 2011Round 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 2011Round 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 2011Round 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 2011Round 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 2011Round 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 2011Round 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 2011Round 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 2011Round 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 2011Round 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 2011Round 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 2011Round 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 2011Round 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'SafariCabral | Attendance: 11,800 Referee: Daniel Wermelinger |
| 8 May 2011Round 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 2011Round 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 2011Round 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 2011Round 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 2011Round 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 |
| 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 toChampions League group stage[a] |
| 2 | Zürich | 36 | 21 | 9 | 6 | 74 | 44 | +30 | 72 | Qualification toChampions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Young Boys | 36 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 65 | 50 | +15 | 57 | Qualification toEuropa League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Sion | 36 | 15 | 9 | 12 | 47 | 36 | +11 | 54 | Qualification toEuropa League play-off round[b] |
| 5 | Thun | 36 | 11 | 16 | 9 | 48 | 43 | +5 | 49 | Qualification toEuropa 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 torelegation play-offs |
| 10 | St. Gallen(R) | 36 | 8 | 7 | 21 | 34 | 67 | −33 | 31 | Relegation toSwiss Challenge League |
| 19 September 2010Round 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 2010Round 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 2010Round 3 | Servette FC | 1–1 (3–4p) | 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 2011Quarterfinals | 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 |
vBasel| 28 July 2010QR3 leg 1 | Debrecen | 0–2 | Basel | Szusza Ferenc Stadium,Budapest1 |
| 20:00 | UEFA report FCB summary | Stocker 34' 84' Cabral 50'G. Xhaka 90+2' | Referee:César Muñiz Fernández (Spain) |
vDebrecen| 4 August 2010QR3 leg 2 | Basel | 3–1 | Debrecen | St. Jakob-Park,Basel |
| 19:45 | Inkoom 11' Çağdaş 26'Chipperfield 59'Shaqiri 64' | UEFA report FCB summary | Coulibaly 74' | Referee:Vladislav Bezborodov (Russia) |
v
Sheriff Tiraspol| 18 August 2010POR 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) |
vBasel| 24 August 2010POR 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 |
vBasel| 15 September 2010Matchday 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) |
vBayern Munich| 28 September 2010Matchday 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) |
vBasel| 19 October 2010Matchday 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) |
vRoma| 3 November 2010Matchday 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) |
vCFR Cluj| 23 November 2010Matchday 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) |
vBasel| 8 December 2010Matchday 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 toknockout phase |
| 2 | Roma | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 10 | |
| 3 | Basel | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 6 | Transfer toEuropa League |
| 4 | CFR Cluj | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 12 | −6 | 4 |
v
Spartak Moscow| 17 February 2011First leg | Basel | 2–3 | Spartak Moscow | St. Jakob-Park,Basel |
| 21:05CEST | 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) |
vBasel| 24 February 2011Second leg | Spartak Moscow | 1–1 | Basel | Luzhniki Stadium,Moscow |
| 19:00CEST | 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.
Includes all competitive matches.
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 | ||
