2013–14 FC Basel season

The 2013–14 season was the 121st in the history of FC Basel. Basel were the reigning champions of the Swiss Super League, having won the title in each of the previous four seasons. Playing their home matches at St. Jakob-Park, Basel lost only two matches in the league, at home to FC Zürich in Round 5 and away to Young Boys Bern in Round 34. Despite a high percentage of drawn matches, they finished seven points clear of Grasshopper Club Zürich to win their fifth successive title. Basel reached the final of the 2013–14 Swiss Cup but lost 2–0 to FC Zürich.

In the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League, Basel began in the third qualifying round and, after victories over Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ludogorets Razgrad, qualified for the group stage. They were drawn into Group E with Chelsea, Schalke 04 and Steaua București. Basel finished third in the group and qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League round of 32. They reached the quarter-finals, where they were defeated by Valencia.

Murat Yakin continued to manage the team, having been appointed on 15 October 2012. The club lost the services of Alexander Frei, who retired in March 2013. Basel were active in the transfer market, a significant transaction being the sale of Mohamed Salah to Chelsea for an estimated £13 million.

FC Basel Holding AG
In 2013–14, FC Basel Holding AG owned 75% of FC Basel 1893 AG; the club and its members owned 25%. Executive officeholders in the holding company were Bernhard Heusler (chairman), Stephan Werthmüller (finance director) and Georg Heitz (Sportdirector). As chairman of the holding company, Heusler was also chairman of the club.

Club management
At the annual general meeting, the existing board of directors were willing to continue as before. They were all re-elected unanimously.

Team management
The first team manager for the season was Murat Yakin, his second season in charge, his assistants being Marco Walker and Markus Hoffmann. Massimo Colomba was the Goalkeeper coach and Massimo Ceccaroni was appointed as head of the Youth System, with the coach of the Under-21s team, Thomas Häberli.

Offseason and preseason
Basel's biggest signings in pre-season were two players who had already played for the club in recent years: Behrang Safari, who returned from RSC Anderlecht; and Matías Delgado, who was signed on a free transfer from Al Jazira Club. Taulant Xhaka also rejoined the clubhaving spent the previous season on loan at Grasshopper Club Zürich. Giovanni Sio was signed from VfL Wolfsburg and Ivan Ivanov from Partizan

Aleksandar Dragović was transferred to Dynamo Kyiv. Others who departed were Park Joo-Ho to 1. FSV Mainz 05; Gilles Yapi Yapo to Dubai CSC; Cabral to Sunderland; Markus Steinhöfer to Real Betis; and Jacques Zoua to Hamburger SV.

The most significant departure was by Alexander Frei, who retired from playing to commence a coaching career. In two spells at the club (1997 to 1998 and 2009 to 2013), Frei played in 217 matches and scored a total of 148 goals, winning four league championships and two cup titles.

Mid-season
In August, Raul Bobadilla was sold to FC Augsburg of the Bundesliga, following a personal incident with traffic police.

Winter break
During the winter transfer window, Basel signed Davide Callà from FC Aarau in exchange for Stephan Andrist. Mohamed Salah was sold to Chelsea for an estimated £13 million. Basel also signed Marek Suchý on loan from Spartak Moscow until the end of the season.

2013–14 Swiss Super League
FC Basel were aiming to win the Swiss Super League for the fifth time in succession. The 2013–14 season began on 13 July 2013 and, in their first round match away to FC Aarau, Basel won 3–1. In previous seasons, the team had made a slow start before building momentum through the middle part of the season. This was the case once again because, after losing 1–2 to FC Zürich, they were fourth after round six, and six points behind the league leaders, BSC Young Boys. However, Basel turned things around in the next match as they defeated Young Boys 2–1 and began a run of 28 league matches without a defeat.

After round eleven, Basel were in pole position, two points ahead of Grasshopper Club Zürich. As the winter break began, they were one point above FC Luzern. Their unbeaten run continued until 11 May 2014, when they were defeated by Young Boys at the Stade de Suisse. Basel secured their fifth successive league championship title, finishing seven points clear of Grasshopper. It was their seventeenth title in all. They won 19 games of their 36 games, losing only twice. Despite their success, head coach Yakin did not have his contract extended. Valentin Stocker was the club's top scorer in the league, scoring 13 goals in 30 appearances.

2013–14 Swiss Cup
Basel played in the first round of the Swiss Cup on 17 August 2013. They were drawn against amateur club BSC Old Boys, who played in the 1. Liga Promotion, the third tier of the Swiss football league system. Having to go into extra time against Old Boys, FCB only prevailed 1–0 thanks to a header from the newly signed Bulgarian Ivan Ivanov in the 95th minute, playing with 10 men at the Stadion Schützenmatte, in front of 4,384 spectators. In the second round on 14 September, the teams from the Super League were seeded and could not play each other. Home advantage was granted to the team from the lower league. Basel were drawn against FC Münsingen of the fourth tier 1. Liga. Basel won 1–0 win with a penalty by Matías Delgado.

In the third round on 10 November, Super League teams were again seeded and could not play each other. Basel were drawn against FC Tuggen of the third tier 1. Liga Promotion. After a goalless first half, Basel won 3–1 with goals by Mo Salah, Giovanni Sio and Marcelo Diaz. The quarter-finals were played on 5 February 2014, following postponement due to the weather, and Basel were drawn away to third tier FC Le Mont, whom they defeated 6–1. In the semi-final on 26 March, Basel were drawn at home against FC Luzern and won 1–0 after a late goal scored by Davide Callà.

The final was played on 21 April (Easter Monday) against FC Zürich at the Stade de Suisse before 23,312 fans. Gastón Sauro was sent off in the second half and ten-man Basel held out for a goalless draw after 90 minutes. Nine minutes into extra time, Giovanni Sio received a yellow-red card and Basel were two men down. Mario Gavranović scored twice in the next five minutes to give Zürich a 2–0 win.

2013–14 UEFA Champions League
Because Basel entered the Champions League in the qualifying phase their initial aim was to reach the group stage. The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 19 July 2013 at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon. Basel were drawn against Maccabi Tel Aviv with the home leg of the tie at St. Jakob-Park on 30 July 2013. A goal by Valentin Stocker after 39 minutes gave Basel a 1–0 win. In the return on 6 August, Basel led 3–0 at half-time but Maccabi staged a comeback and the match ended 3–3, Basel winning the tie 4–3 on aggregate.

In the play-off round on 21 and 27 August, Basel were drawn against PFC Ludogorets Razgrad. The first leg was played at the Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia. Mo Salah scored twice as Basel won 4–2. In the second leg, Fabian Frei and Philipp Degen scored to give Basel a 2–0 win (6–2 on aggregate).

The draw for the group stage was held in Monaco on 29 August and placed Basel in Group E with Chelsea, Schalke 04 and Steaua București. In their first match on 18 September, Basel were away to group favourites Chelsea at Stamford Bridge before an attendance of 40,358. Chelsea took the lead in the first half and, creating more opportunities in the second, looked to be the better team. Basel sprang a shock, however, as Salah and Streller scored well-taken goals in the 71st and 81st minutes respectively for an unexpected 2–1 victory.

Basel's next match was at home to Schalke 04 on 1 October. St Jakob-Park was sold out with an attendance of 33,251. The kickoff was delayed by a Greenpeace protest action. Schalke won 1–0, courtesy of a 54th minute goal by Julian Draxler. Basel played Steaua București at the Arena Națională in Bucharest on 22 October. Marcelo Diaz scored for Basel early in the second half but Steaua equalised through substitute Leandro Tatu in the 88th minute. Having played each of their opponents once, Basel had four points and were still in contention for a place in the knockout phase.

In the return game against Steaua on 6 November, Basel went a goal down early in the first half and were still behind as the match entered injury time. To their relief, substitute Giovanni Sio then scored from close range, and as in the previous meeting between the two teams, the match ended in a 1–1 draw. On 26 November, Basel hosted Chelsea and completed a double by winning 1–0. The goal by Mo Salah came from a counter-attack in the 86th minute.

Basel's final match of the group stage was against Schalke at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen on 11 December. It was a sell-out with an attendance of 52,093. Despite losing twice to Basel, Chelsea had nine points from three wins and were certain to qualify for the next phase as only one of Basel (8 points) or Schalke (7) could overtake them. Chelsea defeated Steaua in their final match to win the group with 12 points. Regardless of what happened in that match, Basel needed only a draw to qualify while Schalke were in a must-win situation. After half an hour's play, Basel's central defender Ivan Ivanov was sent off for an illegal challenge on Ádám Szalai. After 50 minutes, Draxler again scored for Schalke. Six minutes later, Joël Matip scored a controversial goal when he appeared to be clearly offside. The match ended 2–0 to Schalke, who qualified as runners-up with 10 points. Basel, with 8 points, were out of the Champions League but their third place finish qualified them for the Europa League round of 32.

2013–14 UEFA Europa League
The draw for the knockout phase of the Europa League, involving 32 teams, was held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on 16 December 2013. Basel were drawn against the team that they had eliminated during the qualifying phase of the Champions League, Maccabi Tel Aviv. Both legs were scheduled for the end of February. The draw for the round of 16 was held on the same occasion and this matched the winners of the Maccabi v Basel tie against the winners of the AFC Ajax v Red Bull Salzburg tie. The last 16 matches were scheduled for 13 and 20 March.

Basel played Maccabi Tel Aviv on 20 and 27 February. They were away in the first leg which ended in a goalless draw. Basel dominated the return leg at St Jakob-Park and won 3–0.

Red Bull Salzburg had beaten Ajax 6–1 on aggregate to become Basel's opponents in the round of 16. The matches were played on 13 and 20 March. The first leg was played at St Jakob-Park before an attendance of 17,027. Basel were badly hit by injuries at this point of the season and were without Marco Streller, Behrang Safari, Marcelo Diaz, Kay Voser, Taulant Xhaka, Ivan Ivanov and Fabian Schär. Towards the end of the match, Basel used two 17-year-old substitutes Breel Embolo and Albian Ajeti, both making their professional debuts. Despite fielding a weakened team, Basel held out for a 0–0 draw. Salzburg were favourites to win the second leg and took the lead after 22 minutes with a goal by Jonathan Soriano. However, Basel fought back to win 21 after goals scored by Marco Streller (50 minutes) and Gastón Sauro (60).

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 21 March and Basel were matched against Valencia. Basel were at home in the first leg played on 3 April. This match took place behind closed doors because of crowd trouble in the away match against Salzburg. Basel were also fined €107,000. Although eight players were out of action due to injury or suspension, Basel produced an outstanding performance to win 3–0 with goals by Matias Delgado (2) and Valentin Stocker. In the second leg at the Mestalla Stadium on 10 April, however, Basel were overwhelmed as Valencia won 5–0 after extra time.

First team squad
The following players were members of the Basel first team squad, including those who left or joined the club, during the 2013–14 season.

Uhrencup
The Uhrencup is a club football tournament, held annually in Grenchen.

Swiss Super League
Kickoff times are in CET

League table

 * Results summary

Swiss Cup
Final

Third qualifying round
Basel won 4–3 on aggregate.

Round of 32
The draw was held on 16 December 2013. The first legs were played on 20 February and the second legs were played on 27 February 2014.

Basel won 3–0 on aggregate.

Round of 16
The draw was held on 16 December 2013. The first legs were played on 13 March and the second legs were played on 20 March 2014.

Basel won 2–1 on aggregate.

Quarter-finals
The draw was held on 21 March 2014. The first leg played on 3 April and the second leg played on 10 April 2014.

Valencia won 5–3 on aggregate.


 * Notes

Appearances and goals
! colspan="15" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center"| Goalkeepers

! colspan="15" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center"| Defenders

! colspan="15" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center"| Midfielders

! colspan="15" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center"| Forwards


 * colspan="15" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center"|Players who appeared for Basel but are no longer at the club
 * colspan="15" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center"|Players who appeared for Basel but are no longer at the club