2002–03 FC Basel season

FC Basel
2002–03 season
Chairman Switzerland Werner Edelmann
Manager Switzerland Christian Gross
Nationalliga A Runners-up
Swiss Cup Winners
Champions League Second group stage
Top goalscorer Christian Giménez (20)
Highest home attendance 35,000 (vs. England Manchester United, 26 November)
Lowest home attendance 16,053 (vs. Switzerland Servette, 8 March)
← 2001–02 2003–04 →

The 2002–03 season was Fussball Club Basel 1893's 110th season in their existence and was the club's 9th consecutive season in the Nationalliga A, the top flight of Swiss football.

As reigning double holders, the club's main aims for the 2002–03 season were to retain the Swiss Nationalliga A and cup titles. The third aim was to stay in the Champions League as long as possible and, if possible, to reach the group stage.

Basel ended the domestic league season as runners-up and Swiss Cup winners. They also reached the second group stage of the Champions League.

Overview

As reigning champions, Basel were favourites to win the domestic championship title. They also entered the 2002-03 Champions League in the second qualifying round.

Basel's biggest pre-season signings were Julio Hernán Rossi from Lugano, Antonio Esposito from St. Étienne and Bernt Haas on loan from West Bromwich Albion. In the other direction, Massimo Ceccaroni retired from his professional career. Ceccaroni is still considered to be a cult figure in Basel, not only because of his loyalty to the club (having spent 25 years at the club) but because he never scored a goal in the top flight of Swiss football.

Basel started the season of with various warm-up matches. Their oppopnent included teams from the Swiss lower league as well as teams from the USL Premier Development League, Major League Soccer and Brazil and PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands.

The Nationalliga A season began on 6 July 2002 with the game against Aarau and the Champions League qualifying started on 31 July with the away tie against Žilina. In the Swiss Cup, all the league teams were qualified for the round of 32 which was to take place on 22 February 2003.

Campaign

Domestic league

The season started well for Basel and they were undefeated in their first seven matches, winning five and drawing two. The following two games were both lost and Basel slipped down in the league table, but they regrouped to win nine and draw two of the following eleven games. A 1–2 home defeat against Grasshoppers cost them the lead in the league table and Grasshoppers ended the league qualifying stage as table leaders at the winter break. In the championship playoff round Basel lost just two away games, but because both ties against Grasshoppers were drawn the Zurich-based club managed to snatch the title by a single point.

Domestic cup

In the round of 32 of the Swiss Cup, Basel won away at lower league team Yverdon-Sport. In the round of 16 and in the quarter-finals Basel eliminated Servette and Young Boys respectively. Lower league club Schaffhausen was defeated 3–0. The final against Neuchâtel Xamax was a one-sided affair: Basel won 6–0 and won the domestic cup.

Champions League

In the second qualifying round of the Champions League, Basel defeated Slovakian club Žilina 4–1. In the third qualifying round they faced Scottish giants Celtic. In the first leg, away at Celtic Park, the home side won 3–1. Basel were able to rescue the tie in the second leg at St. Jakob-Park, coming away with a 2–0 victory, to draw 3–3 on aggregate, Basel proceeding to the group stage on the away goals rule. Basel's success saw them become only the second Swiss team ever to play in the modern Champions League.

In the group stage Basel were drawn into Group B along with Valencia, Liverpool and Spartak Moscow. Following a 2–0 home win against Spartak, Basel travelled to Anfield to claim a 1–1 draw against Liverpool. After two good results Basel were brought back down to earth by a 6–2 demolition at Valencia's Estadio Mestalla. However, they bounced back and held Valencia to a 2–2 draw in the next fixture. Basel were now sitting in second place in the group, but needing to win at least one of their last two games and needing Liverpool to fail to pick up more than two points. In matchday five, Liverpool lost 1–0 to Valencia and Basel won 2–0 against Spartak at the Luzhniki Stadium. Basel's place in the last 16 was all but secured, although they still had to make sure they did not lose to Liverpool in the last game of the first group stage.

On the last matchday, Basel led 3–0 at half-time through goals from Julio Hernán Rossi, Christian Giménez and Timothée Atouba. Although Liverpool fought back to equalise the game at 3–3 in the second half, Basel qualified for the next round.

In the last 16, Basel faced Manchester United, Juventus and Deportivo de La Coruña. They had a poor start, losing back-to-back games at home to Manchester United and away at Juventus. Basel managed to give themselves hope of reaching the quarter-finals by winning 1-0 home and away at Deportivo. Arguably two of Basel's greatest ever European games came next as they held Manchester United to a 1–1 draw at Old Trafford and claimed a 2–1 victory over Juventus at St. Jakob-Park. Despite being knock-out on tie-breaking criteria, Basel had achieved their seasons European aim.

Club staff

Management

Position Staff
Manager Switzerland Christian Gross
Assistant manager Switzerland Fritz Schmid
Fitness coach Switzerland Harry Körner
Goalkeeper coach Switzerland Thomas Grüter
Goalkeeper coach Switzerland Romain Crevoisier
Team manager Germany Oliver Kreuzer
Team administrator Switzerland Gustav Nussbaumer
U-21 coach Switzerland Heinz Hermann
U-21 co-coach Switzerland Pascal Burger

Last updated: July 2002
Source: FC Basel Marketing AG (2003). Rotblau: FC Basel 1893, Das Magazin. FC Basel Marketing AG. ISSN 1660-0878. 

Other information

Chairman Switzerland Mr Werner Edelmann
Ground (capacity and dimensions) St. Jakob-Park (33,433 / 120x80 m)

Source: Homepage FCB

First team squad

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

No. Position Player
1 Switzerland GK Pascal Zuberbühler
4 Switzerland DF Alexandre Quennoz
5 Switzerland DF Marco Zwyssig
6 Switzerland MF Benjamin Huggel
7 Switzerland FW Antonio Esposito
8 Spain FW Carlos Varela
9 South Africa MF George Koumantarakis
10 Switzerland MF Hakan Yakin
11 Cameroon FW Hervé Tum
12 Switzerland MF Sébastien Barberis
13 Argentina FW Christian Eduardo Giménez
15 Switzerland DF Murat Yakin
16 Switzerland DF Grégory Duruz
No. Position Player
17 Switzerland MF Mario Cantaluppi
18 Switzerland GK Eric Rapo
19 Switzerland FW Marco Streller
20 Switzerland DF Bernt Haas
21 Cameroon FW Jean-Michel Tchouga
22 Serbia MF Ivan Ergić
23 Switzerland MF Philipp Degen
24 Cameroon DF Timothée Atouba
26 Australia MF Scott Chipperfield
28 Australia MF Ljubo Miličević
30 Switzerland DF Boris Smiljanić
33 Argentina FW Julio Hernán Rossi

Left club during season

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

No. Position Player
19 Switzerland FW Marco Streller (on loan to Switzerland Thun from 30 September to 31 December 2002[1] and 2 April to 30 June 2003[2])
Switzerland DF Philippe Cravero (to Servette for one year with option to buy)[3]
No. Position Player
21 Cameroon FW Jean-Michel Tchouga (to FC Lugano)

Transfers

Summer

In

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

No. Position Player
18 Switzerland GK Eric Rapo (Wil - n/a)
33 Argentina FW Julio Hernán Rossi (Lugano - n/a)[4]
16 Switzerland DF Grégory Duruz (FC Sion – n/a)
7 Switzerland FW Antonio Esposito (St. Étienne)
No. Position Player
20 Switzerland DF Bernt Haas (West Bromwich Albion, loan)[5]
23 Switzerland MF Philipp Degen (promoted from Basel U-21)[6]
28 Australia MF Ljubo Miličević (Zürich, loan)[7]

Out

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

No. Position Player
1 Slovakia GK Miroslav König (to Zürich)[8]
2 Switzerland DF Massimo Ceccaroni (end of career) [9]

Winter

Out

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

No. Position Player
9 South Africa MF George Koumantarakis (to Preston North End – n/a)[10]

Results

Friendlies

Pre-season and first half-season friendlies

Winter break and second half-season friendlies

Nationalliga A

For more information, see 2002–03 Nationalliga A

Qualification round

The Qualification round to the 2002–03 league season was contested by twelve teams. The eight teams at the top of the table at the end of the regular season (or qualification) were then to compete in the championship play-off round.

Qualification league table
Pos
 Team
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Grasshopper Club Zürich (A) 22 15 4 3 58 26+32 49
2 Basel (A) 22 14 5 3 57 25+32 47
3 Thun (A) 22 9 4 9 33 330 31
4 Wil (A) 22 8 7 7 43 45−2 31
5 Zürich (A) 22 9 4 9 35 37−2 31
6 Neuchâtel Xamax (A) 22 8 7 7 30 33−3 31
7 Young Boys (A) 22 8 6 8 41 410 30
8 Servette (A) 22 8 5 9 45 37+8 29
9 Luzern (R) 22 7 5 10 31 38−7 26 Qualification to Nationalliga A/B Playoffs
10 St. Gallen (O) 22 6 6 10 31 48−17 24
11 Delémont (R) 22 6 6 10 31 48−17 24
12 Aarau (O) 22 5 3 14 19 40−21 18

Updated to games played on 7 December 2002.
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Championship play-off rounds

Final league table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts (B)
1Grasshopper Club Zürich149503715+2257(25)
2FC Basel1410223817+2156(24)
3Neuchâtel Xamax145451817+135(16)
4BSC Young Boys146172129-834(15)
5FC Zürich144372023-331(16)
6Servette FC144461626-1031(15)
7FC Thun143381830-1228(16)
8FC Wil142481930-1126(16)

Swiss Cup

Champions League

Second qualifying round

Basel won 4–1 on aggregate

Third qualifying round

3–3 on aggregate, Basel won on away goals

Group stage

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Spain Valencia 6510174+1316
Switzerland Basel 62311212+09
England Liverpool 6222128+48
Russia Spartak Moscow 6006118−170

Second group stage

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
England Manchester United 6411115+613
Italy Juventus 6213111107
Switzerland Basel 6213510−57
Spain Deportivo La Coruña 621378−17

Sources and references

  1. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2002). "Marco Streller leihweise zu Thun" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2002-09-30.
  2. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2002). "Streller nochmals leihweise zu Thun" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2003-04-02.
  3. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2002). "Philippe Cravero ab sofort bei Servette Genf". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2002-07-20.
  4. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2002). "Basel verpflichtet Julio Hernan Rossi". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2002-04-02.
  5. ↑ Weber, Dominik (2002). "Bernt Haas leihweise bis 2003 zum FC Basel" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2002-08-30.
  6. ↑ Weber, Dominik (2002). "Philipp Degen erhält Profivertrag" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2002-08-30.
  7. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2002). "Milicevic leihweise beim FC Basel" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2002-09-01.
  8. ↑ Weber, Dominik (2002). "König für 4 Jahre zum FCZ" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2002-03-20.
  9. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2002). "FCB plant Saison ohne Cecca". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2002-05-14.
  10. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2003). "George Koumantarakis wechselt nach England" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2003-01-23.

External links

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